That's not me in the picture & I'm not mentioned in the article, but I swear I'm the "arranged [volunteer] transport" about which they speak. LOL I could not possibly care less about not being mentioned. If someone is in this for recognition or thanks, they don't need to be in it (and there are those in it for or the other, or both, sadly). This story gets across the points that need to be made, and that is awesome!! I love an article that can do that!! WOOHOO! Kudos to them!!
From the Kerrville Daily Times
Courage and compassion
Christine McEntyre holds one of the dogs rescued from Bridge City, Texas, after Hurricane Ike.
Photo by Jack Parker
Courage and compassion
By Alyson Chapman
The Daily Times
Published October 2, 2008
The tales of survival from Hurricane Ike are dramatic, chilling and heart-wrenching.
One group of people in Bolivar Peninsula rode out the massive storm in a church with a lion. Another couple clung to rafters until daybreak after their house began to break apart.
These are the stories told by the people who lived through Ike.
But there are stories of survival that cannot be told by the victims themselves.
They are true tales of beating the odds.
One such story is about five dachshunds, which now are living in Kerr County.
They were left at home in Bridge City when their owners evacuated from Ike’s rage.
The storm’s surge filled the house and yard with about 5 feet of water.
“The dogs were outside and were washed over the 4-foot fence,” said Christine McEntyre, who has taken in the dogs at her facility, Diamond Dachshund Rescue. “They apparently swam a distance together, and got onto something to get out of the water.”
The five dogs — three females and two males — gently were rounded up by an animal search and rescue team and were brought to the safety of the Beaumont Humane Society.
The dachshunds — although their specific ages are not known, range from very young to old — were covered in black sewage and salt brine.
The dogs were bathed in Beaumont and housed in a temporary emergency shelter for about two weeks.
The shelter then contacted McEntyre who arranged their transport from Beaumont to Kerrville.
Upon their arrival in Kerrville, the five dachshunds were excited. Not timid, they jumped up and licked on McEntyre.
“All are understandably uncertain of what’s happened in their lives, but they are all really sweet dogs that seem to be very personable, like laps, dislike cats and bark at the goats at my house,” she said.
It is unclear if the family of dachshunds are related.
Mariah, the obvious matriarch of the group, is white and tan. McEntyre estimated she may be older than 10. Miranda is middle-aged and has a maturity that suggests she may have had a litter of pups. The baby girl of the group is Marissa, who is quick and hard to catch.
There’s a black and tan male who’s now been named Rufus, and the red male is now named Wilbur.
The next step for this crew is a trip to the vet next week for heartworm testing, shots and spay or neutering.
After that, the doxies will be ready for adoption.
To the rescue
McEntyre and her Companion Animal Rescue & Response Team were deployed Anahuac to help care for animals affected by the storm.
McEntyre, Cayce Kovacs of Comfort and Tom Coker of San Antonio left Sept. 16 and returned four days later.
“When people evacuate, they need to take their pets,” McEntyre said. “There are resources available to house pets in hotels, boarding kennels, veterinarians, shelters and animal control facilities during disasters and emergencies.
“Never leave a pet behind because you don’t know how long you will be evacuated. As discovered with Ike, many people didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was, so they left their pets behind and no longer have homes or pets. The guilt and emotions suffered can be overwhelming and preventable.”
In Anahuac, the CARRT team joined with the International Fund for Animal Welfare and cared for 47 dogs, six cats and five goats.
The Humane Society and SPCA took in and rescued hundreds of animals after Ike, but that number doesn’t compare to the 10,000 pets rescued in Louisiana and Mississippi after Katrina.
In 2006, Congress passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, which required states seeking FEMA assistance to accommodate pets and service animals in their plans for evacuating residents facing disasters.
Last year, Texas passed a similar law.
During the Katrina evacuation, many pet owners were not allowed to take their pets on evacuation buses and stayed behind, leaving them to perish with their beloved animals.
McEntyre did see animals who didn’t make it through Ike.
“Not all animals can be saved due to lack of resources, trained volunteers, time, shyness, fear and injuries the animals can have after a major event, and the delay in obtaining permission to enter the affected areas,” she said. “For trained national teams to get called in to help go into a disaster areas for search and rescue of animals over a large area is very difficult and time consuming.
“We need more responders who are able to take time away from home or work and are willing to go through the training required to deploy to help pets and animals.”
In the weeks since Ike roared ashore, volunteers slowly return home, but many pets won’t have a home to go home to.
“Many pets will go unclaimed by owners who lost everything and have no place to bring their pets home to,” McEntyre said. “There are others still left behind that need to be relocated and re-homed.”
For Mariah, Miranda, Marissa, Rufus and Wilbur who survived Ike’s fury, making it to the shelter was half the battle.
Now, they need a home.
See why I do this??? I love it!!!!! Diesel is expensive, so if anyone would like to donate a brand new Toyota Prius, just e-mail me and I will send you my street address. Any color is absolutely fine, and I mean that! Of course, there's a waiting list for those so I guess I could do with a Chevy HHR, they hold good-sized crates.
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