Do Animals Matter?
By: Dori Dumont
I
had just finished working a 14-hour day at a rescue animal shelter setup at
the local fairground in Moore, Okla., in aftermath of the tornado that
flattened 12 miles of the town. A
man in a city utility truck pulled up next to me and rolled down his window. I
noticed a black lab lying on the seat next to him. I don’t remember the man’s name, but his story and smile are
etched in my heart forever.
“Hi
there.” He said with a slight southern accent and a big friendly Oklahoman
smile.
“Hi,
how are you?” I responded, not sure what kind of answer I was going to get, or
why he had stopped his vehicle by me.
He
replied, “I’m doing great.” I asked him if he lived in the area. “Yep, I lost
my house.” His smile waned a bit, but then returned as he reached over and
stroked the dog.
I
said, “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry to hear this.”
All
of a sudden my exhaustion felt insignificant. I could tell this man needed to
tell someone his story…and I was eager to listen.
He
told me, “When the tornado hit, my house began to shake like nothing I’d ever
experienced before. I grabbed Max, by the collar,” he said, and nodded toward
the black lab next to him. “But, I couldn’t find Sandy, my old yellow lab who’s
almost blind. She was somewhere in the house, but I didn’t have time to find
her. Max and I had to get to the basement under my garage.”
It
was half an hour later when he opened the basement door, and saw sky above. All
that remained of his house was a large antique bank safe that had been situated
on the first floor of his two-story house. The safe was now lying on its side
at the far-end of his back property.
He
said, “I was in total shock...and Sandy was nowhere in sight.”
He
told me it was completely quiet and eerie as people came out of their
basements. He compared it to what a warzone might look like immediately after a
bombing.
“It
was a miracle that all my neighbors were accounted for,” he said, “but
unfortunately not all of their pets were located.”
He
told me that as soon as Max scrambled out of the basement, he lifted his nose,
sniffed the air and dashed around smelling the debris by the house. He caught a
scent and ran straight across the street to a 4 feet pile of rubble--and began
to bark. “When I got there,” he said, “I was surprised that the pile was mostly
my stuff.”
He
pulled up a large piece of what was left of his Lazy-Boy sofa, and found Sandy
lying there shaking. He said she had a few open wounds on one leg, but
otherwise okay. “I grabbed her with one arm and hugged Max with the other, and
broke down and cried.” He told me he had everything that was important to him,
and said not everyone was that lucky.
No
one can dispute that weather disasters are becoming more common each year. When
Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, it caught not only the people living in the
area off guard, but city and government officials were unprepared for the
aftermath. Rescue decisions were made to get people out quickly and into
shelters. Animals were not allowed rescue at the time of forced evacuation,
mainly due to the Red Cross having a National Policy of not accepting animals
into their shelters. National news
coverage showed pets pulled out of crying kid’s arms, elderly people in
hysterics where forced to leave their beloved pets and even service animals
where denied passage. As people were forced into boats, helicopters and busses,
the animals were left behind to fend for themselves.
This
situation created such a negative effect on the human victims and general
public, that in a time when many people still consider animals their personal
property, and place their worth on monetary value, it became an eye-opener.
President
Bush became aware of the tragedy and proposed a bill that would protect animals
in the future during a disaster. In 2006, the PETS Act (Pets Evacuation and
Transportation Standards Act) was passed and signed.
The
law allows federal disaster assistance funding for states having preparedness
plans for people with service animals or pets, with provisions for rescue,
care, shelter and essential needs. President Bush’s rationale behind this plan
was that Katrina proved people were less likely to protect themselves during an
emergency if their animals could not be provided for.
In
a time when disasters appear to be happening more frequently and with larger
severity, it is comforting to know that animals are being recognized as an
important aspect of people’s lives. Hopefully in the future, the Katrina
episode, where over 250,000 pets were left behind, will not be repeated.
In
2012, Super Storm Sandy devastated much of the Atlantic coast, targeting New
York City and the New Jersey area. I was proud to be a part of a federal
deployment where National Veterinary Response Teams were sent to aide an SPCA
emergency shelter for the animals of the people who lost their homes. Pet
owners would come in to visit their animal(s) for hours and would cry when they
had to leave. Many of these people were put up in hotels until they could find
elsewhere to live and be reunited with their pets.
Like
many Hurricane Katrina and Super Storm Sandy victims, and like the man I spoke
with in Moore, Oklahoma, these pets are all they have left in the world. Do
animals matter? It appears the Government is starting to think so.
