New Page 0

I apologize for the lateness of this information on the animal response to Hurricane Charley, which I've pasted below. I was deployed to Florida on Wednesday, August 18, and just returned to work today, Friday. My job was to set up an animal relief center in Port Charlotte, Florida, a few miles north of Punta Gorda. Working in conjunction with HSUS National Volunteer Disaster Responder Nina Wingfield of Collierville Animal Control (Tenn.), the Sun Coast Humane Society (which is housing all the displaced animals for 30 days so that owners can reclaim them), the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (which sent their mobile neuter clinic out of Ft. Lauderdale), a volunteer vet from New York City, and an animal shelter volunteer from neighboring Lee County, we processed 66 incoming animals and provided free pet food, pet supplies, veterinary advice and referrals to more than 400 disaster victims in just 4-1/2 days at our small facility. I am very proud to have been part of the larger HSUS response, and of the opportunity it provided to coordinate efforts with other groups and individuals concerned for animals.

Many other experts in the animal welfare field are responding or on stand-by as I write. Of special note is Debby MacDonald, cruelty investigator from Michigan Humane Society, and a member of the HSUS Great Lakes Office Response Team, who was deployed just after me. Debby used her extensive expertise in field rescue and animal handling in the demolished neighborhoods of Charlotte County, and her organization is to be commended for supporting her work in national disaster response. Other members of our Great Lakes team remain on stand-by for deployment: Sherry Luckhaupt (Indiana), Bob Wisenberger (Ohio), and Dawn Slessman (Indiana). I was also priviledged to work with two other top-notch HSUS National Responders, Bruce Earnest, animal control officer from Iowa, and Willie Cirone, animal control officer from New Jersey, both of whom were deployed in field response in the affected areas.

I spoke with so many people who lost everything except their pets--people who sat in the closet holding their dog or cat in their arms while 140-mph winds tore their home down around them. It is hard to describe their appreciation for even something small, like a bag of dog food or free treatment for their pet's injury. Putting their lives back together will take many months. It certainly puts my own life and work in perspective.

Linda M. Reider
Regional Coordinator
Great Lakes Regional Office
Humane Society of the United States
745 Haskins St., Suite G
Bowling Green, OH 43402
(419) 352-5141
www.hsus.org