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Diann Rogers
thought her cat Bebe
was lost forever, until a fateful
conversation at a local laundromat.
Photo courtesy
Kelly
Glasscock |
After spending more than three weeks
helping a shelter in Pratt, Kansas, that was overwhelmed by
animal victims of a May 4 tornado in nearby Greensburg, United
Animal Nations sent its last Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) volunteers home on June
18.
On May 25 United Animal Nations began
deploying EARS volunteers to help staff from the State of Kansas
Animal Health Department care for an influx of tornado
victims that had overwhelmed the Pratt County Humane Society.
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) referred UAN
to respond to this incident through its mutual aid agreement
with our organization.
In addition to feeding,
walking and caring for the dogs and cats, EARS volunteers also
trapped cats who were still living amid the tornado debris in
Greensburg and worked to reunite pets with their
families.
David and Diann Rogers
were two lucky pet owners who reunited with their cat, Bebe, at
the Pratt shelter -- just days after the EARS cat trapping team
found her and brought her to safety.
Read Bebe's reunion story here.
While assisting the tornado victims,
State of Kansas Animal Health Department officials determined
that the Pratt County Humane Society shelter did not meet state
regulations. EARS volunteers assisted state officials with
ensuring that all the sheltered animals received care consistent
with existing state regulations. The Pratt County Humane Society
Board of Directors recently decided to tear down the existing facility to make way
for a new shelter.
The 110 tornado victims who were
not yet reclaimed by their owners were moved to a veterinary
clinic in Pratt, where they will remain under the care of the
State of Kansas Animal Health Department until July 15. After
that, the animals will be available for adoption. Read more here.
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Forty-four EARS volunteers cared
for more than 100 tornado victims and dozens
of other animals at the Pratt County Humane
Society.
Photo courtesy Kelly
Glasscock. |
All told, 44 EARS
volunteers deployed to Pratt to feed,
love and care for the animals, and to provide general
upkeep for the shelter. One of them was Diann Wellman, EARS
North Central Regional Director, who was in Pratt for 22 days.
Read an article about Diann's
deployment to Pratt here.
“Every night we fell into bed exhausted, but in the
morning we were so charged up when we got back to the
shelter,” Diann said of the EARS volunteers, most of whom
were making their first deployment for UAN. “The animals
didn’t care what we looked like or what we were wearing...
they were just glad we were there for
them.”
And United Animal Nations is grateful that our EARS
volunteers were ready and willing to help bring these animals
out of crisis and into care!
Don't forget ... summer is peak
disaster season in much of the United States and Canada.
Are you prepared to care for your pet if a disaster
forces you from your home?
Visit www.uan.org to get free
disaster planning tips and to purchase pet emergency
kit items from the UAN Store.
You can also help us help victims of future
disasters by making an online
donation to our Disaster Relief Fund.
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