Bevan, Laura

English

WBI Studies Repository (WellBeing International)

fields, dogs and cats fled their homes in terror. Thousands of exotic animals were released from zoos, import stations, and private collections. For days there was no news of the extent of the damage, especial-ly concerning animals, and chaos reigned. When information did start to flow out of the disaster area, it was stunning. Miami Metrozoo had almost been demolished, more than 2,000 primates were running loose from various facilities, and thou-sands oflost, injured, and hungry dogs and cats roamed neighborhoods. In rural areas hundreds of dead and injured horses lay in the fields. I heard my first eyewitness account of the devastation from Joe Terragrosa, of the South Florida SPCA. He focused his res-cue efforts on injured horses and other ani-mals. He drove his truck or flew in heli-copters over fields to find horses up to their necks in mud or in agony from the broken bones and deep gouges caused by storm-thrown, airborne objects. Some ani-mals could be saved, but those beyond hope were humanely destroyed. It was gru-eling, heart-wrenching work. Quickly, the networking among animal-protection and animal-control groups went into high gear. 1 spoke with representatives of the American Humane Association and the Florida Animal Control Association. A team of Hurricane Hugo veterans from South Carolina prepared to bring in animal crates, pet food and supplies, and water. Our phone rang constantly with offers of· help from around the country. The lams Company donated 44,000 pounds of pet food through The HSUS, and other large A wandering primate tries to make sense out of the world left by the hurricane's de-struction. Panicl..-y residents shot some pri-mates after hearing rumors that they were research animals carrying the AIDS virus. 14 pet-food manufacturers responded to re-quests from other groups. We then had to determine where the do-nations would be stored and how they would be distributed to those in the disaster area in need. Some pet food was put into the Red Cross food-distribution system. Other food was driven into the damaged areas by volunteers who gave it away from the backs of personal vehicles. Portable generators were desperately needed to provide basic electricity. Joe Ter-ragrosa carried a generator with him on his daily journeys into the disaster area to pump water for animals and humans alike. He was the first person some rural resi-dents saw after the storm. By the weekend two distribution sites had been set up for horse feed, and Tropi-cal Park, a former racetrack, had become both haven and veterinary clinic for severe-ly injured horses. The South Florida SPCA and the Horse Protection Association set up a compound for lost horses five miles north of Homestead, ground zero for the hurricane's worst damage. The number of horses at both sites soon grew to almost 200. Each day was fraught with unexpected problems. Some of the loose primates had escaped from the University of Miami re-search centers; panicky residents, terrified by rumors that the monkeys had AIDS, shot the animals on sight. Dade County Animal Services, although not in the disas-ter area, padlocked its gate for almost a week. Horses were being taken from the area, reportedly by "killer buyers" intend-ing to sell them for slaughter. Each prob-lem had to be resolved quickly at a time when state authorities were struggling with their own relief efforts. Soon dead animals were being burned where they lay. With no fences to stop them, dog packs roamed des-olate neighborhoods looking for food. A week after An-drew struck, it became apparent that little more could be accomplished cr OVer the phone from ~ our office in Tallahas-~ see. Information came ~ haphazardly and incom-pletely. Valuable time was being wasted as agencies and individuals jockeyed for posi-tions of leadership. It was clear that HSUS strategy could be determined only by first-hand observations. With enough clothes for one week, Southeast Regional Investi-gator Ken Johnson and I headed south. A command center had been set up first at the local humane society and then, when it reopened, at the local animal-control fa-cility. The disaster area boasted two veteri-nary MASH units (mobile hospitals) pro-viding emergency pet care. I first toured the devastated areas, command center, vet-erinary MASH units, and horse com-pounds. Sally Matluk of Citizens Against Pet Overpopulation of Fort Lauderdale was my guide. In one of the biggest trucks I ever saw, we traveled through the destruc-tion, passing out pet food, water, and other supplies Sally had stocked in the back. If I had a preconceived notion of what I would see, I don't remember it. I know on-ly that the reality was worse than anything I could have imagined. Newspaper pho-tographs and a television screen did not do it justice: the images were too small and unrelated- the devastation stopped at their edges. In the real world, the destruction covered an area about twenty miles by fifty miles. The world soon was filled with de-stroyed buildings, downed power poles and lines, and uprooted or broken trees. Traffic was bumper to bumper as victims, sight-HSUS NEWS • Winter 1993 seers, and rescue workers fra ntically nied to get somewhere all at the same time. Ken assisted Joe Terragrosa with his rescue eff011s and rode \\·ith ,,·ildl ife offi-cers as tbey attempted to caprure the large number of escaped exotic animals. I coor-dinated my efforts from the Emergency Command Center in Homestead ,, ·ith Sue McLeod of the South Carolina team. ,,·ith whom I had worked on disaster relief after Hurricane Hugo. She summed up the t\\0 · experiences by simply stating that com-pared to Andrew, "Hugo " ·as a piece of cake." On my first visit with Sally :.1atluk to the lost-horse compound on Krome .As-enue, we looked at the horses grazing con-tentedly in the fi eld and quesrioned whether something similar should or ould be done for lost dogs and cats .. -\.s days passed the idea took hold. The closest ani -mal-control facility and shelter ,,·ere hour north. Most people in the disaster area had neither car nor money to make that driw to locate a lost pet or tum in one they had found. Sally and her husband, John Boisseau. took action. In the late hours of September 4, the Western Small Animal MASH nit HSUS NEWS • Winter 1993 was created. John raided his movie-pro-duction company, and suddenly a recre-ational vehicle, tents, generators, and other equipment appeared in the front pasture of the Krome Avenue horse compound. The MASH unit grew rapidly: we added crates from South Carolina to house lost dogs and cats, a Coachman travel trail er, and a forty-four-foot tractor-trailer for food storage (courtesy of the Orlando Humane Society). The U.S. Army's 478th Civil Affairs Battalion lent us three massive army tents to protect the animals and our veterinary clinic from direct sunlight. Soldiers brought food, drinks, and other supplies daily. They watched over all the MASH veterinary clinics at night as volunteers slept in their cars. Many lost and injured animals found their way to our compound in army , ·ehicles. One soldier. M-16 title thrown owr his shoulder. regularly bottle-fed tiny kjnen in his off-duty hours. \\.ithin days 1\ick Gilman of The HSLSs Companion Animals section ar-ri,·ed to direct the care and housing of the compound 's animal . As ,,·ord of our ef-forts spread ,·olunteers from around the country joined us. Our best fi nd was Col. The! ton ("Mac") HSUS Staff Veterinarian Stephen M. Krit-sicl•, sent to provide needed medical assis-tance to the animal victims of Andrew, min-isters to a young patient. Actress Bo Derek (right), touring the devastated area in an HSUS T-shirt, watches intently. McCorkle, D.V.M., of the 4 78th Battalion. A reservist from Alabama, he lived on-site, providing around-the-clock emergency veterinary care and general good cheer. HSUS StaffYeterinarian Steve Ktitsick, D.VM., joined Mac as the compound 's pri-mary veterinarians. They toiled in the heat and humidity to provide whatever care they could in less-than-sterile conditions with limited medical supplies. Some days the line of patients snaked through the com-pound. At night, almost like clockwork, soldiers and pet owners rushed to the com-pound with dogs injured by cars. In the pitch blackness of the di saster area, the dogs ' treatment became part of the evening routine. Partially because aggressive dogs roamed the streets freely and other animals no longer had the protection that fencing had once provided, a large number of ani-mals suffered from dog bites requiring vet-erinary care. Our free emergency veterinary service caused the greatest controversy. While many veterinarians offered us their sup-port and services, others fought us at every turn. They saw every injured or sick ani-mal we treated as money out of their own pockets. We stood firm in our belief that free veterinary care was an absolute necessity. The people who sought our services often had little left but their pets. Our veterinari-ans did everything within their power to help, but serious injuries were always re-ferred to local practitioners with X-ray ma-chines and better operating conditions. After three weeks of fifteen- to eigh-teen-hour workdays, I headed back to Tal-lahassee, exhausted and a little guilt-ridden over abandoning my compatriots. As the miles rolled away, the trees along the inter-state appeared massive and somewhat sur-real. It was strange not to have army heli-copters constantly overhead, soldiers sta-tioned on street corners, and army vehicles zipping along everywhere. My mind eerily supe1imposed images of destruction on the peaceful landscapes I traveled through. It was a strange joumey home. My return to the office the next day was shocbng. Somehow I had forgotten that all the other animal problems of the world did not go away in my absence! After a week in Tallahassee, I headed back to Homestead. The situation was vastly improved. The compound had begun 15 A dog waiting next to a destroyed house in Louisiana was fed by animal-rescue staff every day for a week until the owners returned. DEALING WITH DISASTERS NATIONWIDE A lthough Hurricane Andrew caused the greatest damage in Florida, its effects were felt as far west as Louisiana. Two other devastating storms struck parts of the United States within weeks of An-drew's landfall. The HSUS responded within hours to all three emergencies. As Andrew headed toward the Gulf of Mexico coast, Gulf States Regional Di-rector James Noe began calling animal shelters throughout the region to suggest emergency prepar ations and offer The HSUS's assistance if it was needed. Later The HSUS helped coordinate shipment of pet food donated by The lams Compa-ny and Nature's Choice. In Andrew's wake Mr. Noe and Guy Hodge, HSUS director of data and infor-mation services, traveled to the hardest-hit areas of Louisiana and helped the Louisiana SPCA deliver pet food to ani-mal shelters and pet owners. Fortw1ately, area shelters reported that they had suf-fered little damage. Outside the disaster area, HSUS re-gional offices worked closely with local humane societies to collect and channel emergency supplies to devastated areas of Florida. The Great Lakes office worked \\i th the Kent County Humane Society of Grand Rapids. Michigan, to truck donat-- ~ ;ood and supplies into Florida. The ~ :=: gland office arranged for a group -~~eer aninlal-control officers to _ '=" -, =~ ·- ster scene to help provide · !-care services. approaching the islands. West Coast Re-gional Office staff immediately called the Hawaii Humane Society, letting that staff know we were standing by to assist in any way possible. We also contacted emer-gency relief organizations in the area, of-fering our help. We identified and publi-cized evacuation shelters willing to take in people with their pets. When Iniki hit the island of Kauai, communications there were completely cut off. Working with the Hawaii Hu-mane Society, Charlene Drennon, West Coast regional director, purchased portable cages and shipped them to the Kauai Humane Society. The cages are still being used by the humane society and pet owners who cannot confine their animals due to hurricane damage. The destructiveness of Hurricanes An-drew and Iniki overshadowed stories of yet another severe storm that struck the U.S. territory of Guam. An urgent call from Guam Animals in Need reported that its animal shelter, the only one on the island, had lost its dog and cat runs dur-ing Typhoon Omar, which had struck a week before Iniki hit Kauai. The HSUS donated funds to the Guam shelter to as-sist it in rebuilding the dog kennels and building a typhoon-proof cat room. The HSUS will continue to collabo-rate with other organizations and agen-cies to ensure that communities are better prepared to meet the needs of animals and their owners in future disasters. We have scheduled a special session on dis-aster preparedness for Animal Care Expo '93 and will be providing additional re-sources in the months ahead. • to operate smoothly, considerably easing tensions among volunteers. Through sp -cia! fares on USAir, The HSUS brought in additional experienced shelter workers from Massachusetts. Good Samaritans brought dinner to us each night (good-by and good riddance to army chow). We ate under the stars by candlelight and di s-cussed preparations for future disasters. As my last week progressed, the number of workers slowly diminished. Some, li ke Shirley Minschew of Georgia, had gone without pay for more than a month and needed to get back to family and job. We were all exhausted, and it appeared the life of the compound was nearing its natural end. On my last night, the giant generator powering the horse and small-animal com-pounds imploded. We took it as the final sign to go. On October 7 the last dogs left the com-pound, followed by every trace of its exis-tence. The Krome Avenue compound had housed more than 600 dogs and cats at dif-ferent times and provided veterinary care to an estimated 1,000 more. Our sister compound for large animals took care of 110 horses, several cows, and a llama. The stmies of Andrew could fill a book. There were the tears of joy as a pet thought lost forever was found by a grateful owner, and the tears of those who had to ask us to take care of their pets. Some of those ani-mals entered temporary foster homes, oth-ers found new homes. One hurricane victim, an eighteen-pound beagle-terrier mix, wangled herself a new home with me. Two months after Andrew, she is still frightened of being locked in the house alone. When I returned home after leaving her alone for the first time, the terror in her eyes sent chills through me. I will never know what she went through during the hurricane, but maybe time will heal those mental wounds. I would be greatly remiss if I did not ac-knowledge those individuals and organiza-tions who assisted our efforts on behalf of animals; I have mentioned only a few. Theirs was truly a labor of love under the most difficult conditions. There is a special spot in heaven for them all. Hurricane Andrew taught us many lessons. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about nature's destructive forces and how to assist its victims. Before the next disaster strikes, we must be better prepared on local, state, and national lev-els. I pray it will be a long time, though, before that knowledge and preparation are needed. • Laura Bevan is the HSUS Southeast re-gional director. HSUS NEWS • Winter 1993 

Struggle and Triumph in Andrew\u27s Wake

Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy

https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1133&amp;context=newshsus

Struggle and Triumph in Andrew\u27s Wake

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Humane Society Institute for Science and Policy