On May 3rd, WHS HLE Officer Ann Russell joined our partners Noah's Wish in Arkansas to help in the rescue of animals who were caught in the terrible storms and flooding. Officer Russell is the lead staff member at WHS for disaster response. We will be posting her field notes and photos as they arrive from her.
DAY 1:
As the plane flew closer to the Little Rock Airport, I began to see what I initially thought were a bunch of dirt roads. Being a 'city kid' I just figured there were a lot of v4X4 drivers out here. When we got closer, I realized that they were not roads but streams and rivers that had swollen up and engulfed new dirt making the water a tanish brown color. After the plane landed and I was driving to the Noah’s Wish Emergency Shelter in Conway, AR along the side of the highway, I saw farmland submerged up to the tops of the barns in water. A street leading to a state park looked like a boat launch ramp, construction equipment submerged and most disheartingly, homes that once had surrounded a beautiful lakes submerged.
I arrived at the fairgrounds where the emergency shelter has been operating for about a week. Horse stalls now filled with cages of dogs... except for the ones on the other side of the fairgrounds which is holding horses and other hoof stock. There are approximately 100 dogs here. A handful of them from a local SPCA who lost their dwelling. Others are stray dogs or dogs whose owners have been displaced and have asked for us to care for them while they get back on their feet. Some are scared, rightfully so, while others are dealing with it like champs.
There is a great group of core volunteers here, most of them seem to have a lot of emergency sheltering experience and are glad to have another animal professional on board. I especially enjoyed training 2 new young volunteers today on proper animal handling and sanitation requirements.
I am preparing to sleep now, there is a morning meeting at 7 AM. Some volunteers are sleeping in a concession stand, some in a tent. My neighbor and I are sleeping in our cars.
If you would like to help WHS be able to respond to animal emergencies please click here
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