Hurricane Charley Takes Toll on Animals
The devastating effects of Hurricane Charley on the human population in Florida have been well documented. What has not been widely reported is the heavy toll the Category 4 storm had on animals.
Terri Crisp, director of Noah's Wish, has been devoted to helping animals affected by disasters since 1983. She arrived in Florida soon after the hurricane left, and reports that many, many animals - and some of the agencies that care for them - have been left in dire straits.
"It's a widespread disaster. I don't think the full impact ... is known at this time," she says.
Punta Gorda Among Hardest Hit
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) was one of many groups that mobilized quickly, establishing a temporary shelter at the Carmelita recreational complex in Punta Gorda - which bore the brunt of the storm. That facility is receiving and housing stray or injured animals, while workers try to get the word out to reunite them with their people.
On the first Monday after the storm, the HSUS facility took in 30 animals. Another 50 were handled on Tuesday - including raccoons and a squirrel. By Wednesday morning, the number had swelled to include 78 dogs, 49 cats, three rabbits, two goats, two birds, 15 head of cattle - and one young bear.
"The numbers keep rising because the animals keep emerging," says Laura Bevan, director of the HSUS's Southeast Regional Office in Tallahassee, who is leading the HSUS response team of nearly 30 people. "They emerge when they finally get hungry enough or when they get dehydrated from the 90-degree-plus heat here."
"The residents have been amazing," Bevan continues. "They have rounded up countless animals and brought them to our compound. But at the same time, we have also been working overtime to get the word out that our Punta Gorda facility is open and that we're the point of entry for all stray, lost, or injured animals. The public has clearly heeded the call."
Help has come from as far away as the North Shore Animal League (NSAL) in New York, which sent two rescue vans down to take 50 cats who had been in the local shelters before the storm hit. Working hand in hand with the Humane Society of Pinellas, the NSAL will take these cats back to New York to wait for permanent adoptive homes - thus freeing up more space for the local shelters to take in animals displaced by the hurricane.
Unexpected Rescues in Remote Areas
While Punta Gorda has been the focus of most of the attention, many outlying areas are also reeling from the wrath of the hurricane.
With that in mind, Crisp and six members of her advance team have been working in the less-populated areas - they've put 1,700 miles on their car since they arrived. And what they have found hasn't been pretty.
In Arcadia, for example, the animal control building was destroyed. The animals were moved outside the affected area, but the four workers - two of whose homes were destroyed by the hurricane - were struggling to deal with the needs of the shelter and the community.
The Noah's Wish team helped them set up a temporary facility, and began making arrangements for delivery of food supplies, and for the care of incoming animals.
In nearby Zolfo Springs, the Noah's Wish staff came across the Peace River Refuge and Ranch, home to a wide variety of exotic animals, including primates, macaws, lemurs, a lion, a panther and some emus - all rescued from a defunct zoo.
The facility, run by Kurt and Lisa Stoner, is described by Crisp as "just a wonderful sanctuary." It had also been hard-hit.
Although fortunately none of the sanctuary animals were killed by the storm, the facility did lose nearly 80 percent of its trees, suffered an estimated $200,000 in damage to its enclosures, and is without phone or power. It will need massive help from volunteers to rebuild.
The Peace River facility posed some unique challenges for Crisp and her group when they offered help. When they were handed a list of needed supplies, it included fruits and vegetables - items essential for the exotic animals' diets. There was even a special request for spinach - for the bats! "They got their spinach and they were very happy," Crisp says with a chuckle.
"It's been very rewarding being able to help the animals, and [Kurt and Lisa] - they're so deserving," Crisp says.
The Burden of Trying to Find Them All
Most of the focus for Noah's Wish has been off the beaten path. "We've been doing assessments," Crisp says, "trying to find those pockets that have been overlooked."
The workers have also been working hand-in-hand with National Guardsmen who are patrolling the streets to guard against looting. The guardsmen report that once the sun goes down, they are seeing many cats, but the felines fail to come out in the daytime, when the chainsaws and backhoes are operating. Crisp's agency will set humane traps to catch these frightened animals at night.
And, Crisp says, there is a serious sense of urgency. Soon, cleanup crews will arrive with their front-end loaders and dump trucks. She worries that when they start gathering up debris, the cats "will just get scooped up with the debris and taken out to the landfill."
Crisp tells the story of a couple whose two dogs, ages 15 and 17, disappeared when their house was destroyed.
"It just kills you," Crisp says. "That's the image I have at night when I go to sleep - how many of them are out there, buried in the debris and unable to get out. I wish I could go out and tip over every piece of wood, every wall, to see if there is an animal trapped there."
Success Stories Abound
But along with the worries come many success stories.
The Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) set up a temporary shelter in Bartow last Monday, even though the Orlando home of EARS Florida state coordinator Kati Boswell was destroyed. Within several days' time, more than 200 animals had been taken in at the shelter.
Among them was an English bulldog who had been left inside his home alone for four days. His body temperature exceeded 110 degrees and he was barely clinging to life when he arrived at the EARS shelter. This lucky dog was nursed back to health - and on Wednesday was reunited with his person.
Similar positive stories emerge from throughout the devastated region. In Polk County, the Humane Society shelter suffered extensive roof damage. The 13 dogs, 14 puppies, three cats, and 16 kittens inside were traumatized - but suffered no injuries.
"Thank God we didn't lose any life out there," says Lisa Baker, executive director. "My eyes welled up with tears when I saw that everyone was alive."
As the rescue effort continues to unfold, one of the biggest problems is coordination. Toward that end, No More Homeless Pets of Hillsborough County (NMHP-HC) is keeping on its website a central list of rescue efforts happening across the state, and tips on how people can help.
NMHP-HC is also recruiting volunteers and gathering supplies from its base in Tampa, to take to the Bartow emergency shelter an hour away.
So far, the organization has recruited more than 100 volunteers - including several Best Friends members - as well as truckloads of supplies and significant monetary donations.
"We've really been impressed with the overflow of support we have gotten," says Megan Newman, one of the NMHP-HC founders.
