Guest blogger Laura Greaves is a proud ‘crazy dog lady.’ The author of the best-selling book Incredible Dog Journeys and the forthcoming Dogs with Jobs, there’s nothing she loves more than tales of pets overcoming incredible odds and humans who’ll do anything for their four-legged friends. Laura was moved recently by the many inspiring stories of animal devotion that emerged after the devastating hurricanes that struck the Caribbean and southeastern United States. Here, she shares some of her favourites…
If there’s one thing writing about dogs has taught me, it’s this: people who truly love animals will do anything for them, even in the face of overwhelming difficulty. Every day, the Pets Of The Homeless team works with people who will feed their pets before themselves; people whose main concern is ensuring their companion animals have a warm place to sleep; people who don’t think twice about spending their limited financial resources on veterinary care for their best friends. It is both humbling and inspiring to witness.
Such devotion has been heartwarmingly obvious recently in the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which swept through the Caribbean and southeastern United States in August and September. Though these storms struck the other side of the world, they proved that humans’ dedication to animals is universal. People who lost everything in the hurricanes, who found themselves suddenly homeless, still refused to leave pets behind. And at the same time, charities and rescue groups just like POTH worked tirelessly to keep people and their pets safely together.
Amid the incredible destruction and devastation, stories have emerged showing that even the most extreme conditions can’t shake that profound human-animal bond.
A Lucky Dog
Stories like that of Lucky, the dog found chained to a telephone pole and abandoned in torrential rain as Hurricane Harvey battered Texas, where more than 250mm fell in less than 24 hours, sparking flash flooding. Texas law specifically prohibits tethering pets outdoors in extreme weather conditions, including under a hurricane or tropical storm warning.
Fortunately, the little dog was spotted by news photographer Ruaridh Connellan. There were no other humans in sight — the entire area had been evacuated — so he waded through floodwaters to free her, but she ran away before he could take her to safety. After a sleepless night spent worrying about the poor pup, Ruaridh returned to the site the next day and was thrilled when she ran out to greet him.
He called the local animal control agency, which took in the dog — christened ‘Lucky’ — and several other pets abandoned in the area. New York-based Ruaridh says he hopes to adopt Lucky if her owners aren’t found.
No One Gets Left Behind
Just days after Hurricane Harvey battered the region, the category 5 Hurricane Irma roared through the Caribbean, destroying virtually everything in her path.
On the island of St John, in the US Virgin Islands, Ryan Moore made a last minute decision to stay behind when his wife, two young sons and pet dog evacuated. Ryan is the manager of the St John Animal Care Center and simply couldn’t bring himself to leave the homeless dogs and cats in the center’s care to the mercy of the storm.
The shelter was damaged, but none of the animals were harmed. In the days that followed, Ryan worked to repair the facility and also collaborated with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to evacuate the pets off the island.
46 Reasons To Stay
While Hurricane Irma’s wrath ultimately wasn’t felt as keenly on the US mainland as Harvey days earlier, many Florida residents sensibly chose to evacuate just in case. As is often the case, some were not able to take their much-loved pets to the safer locations where they planned to ride out the storm.
Enter Gretchen and Ron Levine. The Florida couple, who run a pet-sitting business, took in an incredible 46 animals from families who couldn’t take them along, as well as pets whose owners were out of town and couldn’t get home because of the Hurricane.
The couple, who also have several dogs of their own, said they would keep their extra pets until their owners were able to return, however long that may be.
Flight To Safety
In the wake of Hurricane Irma, Island Dog Rescue founder Sali Gear, who grew up in the Caribbean, planned to airlift 20 dogs each day to the US mainland from the three US Virgin Islands.
But when Hurricane Maria set a course for the region just a week after Irma, Sali chartered a private plane to fly some 300 pets to the mainland at once. She funded the flight using her own money and donations raised through a Facebook campaign.
The rescued pets had been either abandoned or surrendered by evacuating owners. One of the shelters Sali’s mission cleared was subsequently destroyed by Hurricane Maria.
Australia is no stranger to extreme weather events, and as we head into summer we’ll undoubtedly feel the power of Mother Nature once again. But while we can’t know what’s ahead, I take great comfort in knowing that people won’t forget their pets, no matter what happens — and that groups like Pets Of The Homeless will be on hand to help in any way they can.
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