Galveston residents are calling emergency officials concerned over pets they left behind in their homes when Hurricane Ike hit Texas. While many people moved to safer ground, apparently not everyone took their pets with them -- as instructed.
So far, animal rescuers have found more than 88 dogs and cats on Galveston Island, plucking them from rooftops, streets, and in homes. But even more residents are upset because they can't get back on the island and some pets were left behind with only enough food and water for a few days. It's hard to believe that people who were faced with mandatory evacuations still left their pets behind to weather the storm.
Add to that, 4,000 cattle are dead, 20,000 more cattle and horses are in need of food, a tiger living at an exotic pets center in Crystal Beach -- one of the hardest hit communities by Hurricane Ike -- has gotten loose (and officials say he is probably very hungry), and some people weathered the storm in a church -- with a lion.
HSUS animal responders rescued 100 pets today, including two dogs that had been left on Thursday and had no food, and 12 horses, that had become very agitated from standing in floodwaters. The animals were taken to the SPCA of Texas in Dallas. in the meantime, PetSmart Charities sent an Emergency Relief Waggin' to provide kennels, food, water, leashes and other equipment for animal responders to care for 500 more pets.
Here is an HSUS video of rescuers going house to house looking for abandoned pets.
Comments
I cannot understand how people could leave their pets behind... There was at least 4 days notice of this storm. I know not everyone has the means to get the pets out but surely most people could have done something! Thanks for keeping us up to date.
The Tiger was not loose as reported by media all over the world.
See our exclusive story with the Ex-county Sheriff, and local vet who tranquilized the tiger in his cage.
http://www.theexaminer.com/npps/story.cfm?ID=2618
Thanks for the update Don. It's amazing to see how quickly a "tiger tale" can circle the globe, which means you probably have your hands full in trying to get the real story out.
interesting, i'll be back later http://recompostaje.com/img/sexy/
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