by Elisa Black-Taylor
(USA)
Found!
There is a lot of help out there for pets lost in the April 27, 2011 tornadoes that hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama and other areas of the southeast U.S.
This article is going to be more scattered than usual because I'm trying to add a lot of links where people can turn for help in finding pets lost in these deadly tornadoes. Many are also stepping forward to rescue, foster, or adopt until the situation there is more stable.
Please be prepared to copy and paste the web addresses into your browser. There are so many Michael may not have time to link them individually.
Here's one of the best videos I've found online of what the actual tornado looked like from the ground. This video is long but worth watching. This type of storm almost never hit this area of the country until a few years ago. I've noticed for the past three years that nearly every thunderstorm we've had (I live in the Carolinas) is capable of producing a tornado.
A lot of the pet tornado victims have been transported to South Carolina with no idea yet of who their owners are or if their owners are even alive.
People were also killed in Rabun County, Georgia, which is less than 100 miles from where I live. The death toll is over 300 and could go MUCH higher.
I'm not verifying any of this missing pet information but I hope it will be a help and the readers are invited to add to this under comments.
Craigslist has a lot of listings to help find, rescue, foster, etc. (http://tuscaloosa.craigslist.org/pet/ - link broken). Sometimes Craigslist is dependable and sometimes it's not.
Most of the veterinary hospitals in the Tuscaloosa area have been destroyed. One exception is Canant Veterinary Hospital located at 1100 Rice Valley Road North. This practice is run by Dr. Jimmy Canant and Dr. Paul Bronold. Many of the animals are being brought in injured as strays with no known owners and no one to pay the bill. These vets are treating all of the animals free of charge around the clock. To help support their practice please donate here -- link broken March 2013.
There's also a Facebook page set up called Animals Lost & Found from the Tornadoes in Alabama on 4/27/11 to help reunite pets and owners. Here's the link. Please feel free to post a photo of a lost or found pet in the Alabama area.
The Shelter Pet Project on Facebook is also helping. Here's that link. Their wall states that many shelters in the tornado areas are either without power or water or destroyed. Please adopt ASAP near these areas to free up room so the displaced animals can have a temporary place to stay. Some rescue groups are even offering free transport out of the area to adopters.
The following paragraph comes from the Tuscaloosa News:
The U.S. Humane Society has set up the 205-397-8534 number as a database for lost-and-found animals. It'll be open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. The national group is also sending two teams in, probably arriving Sunday, to assist the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation Animal Control Division. A veterinarian from Mississippi is coming to the Metro Shelter to volunteer services.
Since cats are so good at hiding, it's believed many more cats will be brought to shelters and clinics once the rubble begins to be cleared away. Kittens are being fostered out to be bottle fed so they won't die.
Please spread this story around and support this area any way possible. This is the worst disaster this country has faced since Hurricane Katrina.
For those of you who wonder why I can't sleep at night, this is one reason. I was up almost all night the night these storms went through. My daughter and I are both weather freaks. I photograph storm clouds and Laura weather blogs. These storms are hitting a little too close to home with no sign of letting up. It going to be a bad year for pets caught in the path of these storms.
Let's do all we can to help them. Circulating this story is an excellent start.
Elisa
ALL PHOTOS CAME OFF OF THE ANIMALS LOST AND FOUND FACEBOOK PHOTO PAGE.
