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FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters

  • Posted on September 9, 2017December 3, 2018
  • 3 minute read
  • 1.5K views
  • Sean Sheer
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FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters

PETS Act of 2006

As of Friday, September 8, more than 600,000 people had left Miami-Dade county to escape the oncoming hurricane, Irma. My family was among them. We decided to head up to my parents’ weekend house in north central Florida, just south of Gainesville. What is normally a five-hour drive took us more then eleven hours! There was super heavy traffic everywhere and long lines at gas stations.

FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters
Lines at the Pumps

Everywhere we went on the slow trek north we saw dogs in car windows, dogs in crates, and dogs being walked at rest stops and gas stations. As the New York Times reported in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, saving pets is a priority for many people in times of disaster. And it’s not just ordinary folks helping our four-legged friends, the Federal government has gotten involved in animal rescue as well.

FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters
FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters

Paul Tashjian — a fellow John Jay College alum and friend of mine — works for FEMA. He has direct experience working with animal rescues during disasters. During a deployment to West Virginia to deal with floods, he was named the Task Force Leader of an initiative called “Animal Sheltering within the Mass Care Group.” That’s government-speak for “helping animals find a place to live during a disaster.”

FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters
FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters

He told us that FEMA recognized a need to help pets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He said “Katrina revealed to the Emergency Management community that, absent a plan to include pets in general population evacuation and sheltering plans, pet owners may not abide by official evacuation orders. The problem is that pet owners put themselves, their pets, first responders, and rescue crews at peril by these actions. FEMA mandated the inclusion of pet planning as a result of the PETS Act of 2006.”

FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters
FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters

During his stint as Task Force Leader he says established two goals: “The first was to harness all available Federal resources to ensure the welfare of displaced pets; and second, to establish open lines of communication between all stakeholders. I set up and moderated a daily conference call with important stakeholders including the USDA/APHIS, the USDA Animal Care Group, the American Humane Organization, NARSC, the ASPCA, the WV Dept. of Agriculture, County Emergency Managers, and local Humane Association leadership.”

FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters
FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters

Paul said he saw some terrific outcomes: “One of the greatest challenges the Humane Organizations faced was managing the abundant donations that were flooding in from all over the country from the likes of Purina, PetSmart, and numerous charitable organizations. Literally tons of pet food and supplies were arriving, mostly unannounced, and there was a mad scramble to secure storage space to warehouse the goods.”

Another positive he noted: “Humane Society shelter populations dropped to levels below what they were pre-disaster. Among the many reasons for this positive trend, the Humane Society of the United States facilitated the redistribution of shelter population to shelters outside of West Virginia  including the transfer of 62 animals — both cats and dogs — to two shelters in upstate New York.”

FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters
FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters

He was told that three months following the onset of the West Virginia flooding, pet shelter populations were lower than they were pre-disaster, despite the significant spike immediately following the onset of the floods. Paul said: “Pet lovers from across the nation responded to the need for finding ‘forever homes’ for our four-legged companions.”

Paul’s advice to pet owners in times of disaster: “Prepare! Have at the ready a week’s supply of food and medications, more if the pet meds might be hard to access following a disaster.  Have an exit strategy, both transportation and destination if you’re required to evacuate. A Sheraton is better than a shelter, a Hilton better than a hostel, and an always full tank of gas goes a lot further than… !” And as tough as this sounds, Paul added: “Assume there will be no help at your destination and that you must fend for yourself and four legged companions.”

FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters
FEMA Helps Pets During Disasters

Here’s Urban Dog’s quick read on disaster preparedness for you and your pet.

Here’s more from FEMA and disaster preparedness for pets.

Storms like Harvey and Irma put literally hundreds of thousands of pets in danger. Check with your local rescue organizations to learn how you can help. Urban Dog has given money to: Big Dog Ranch and the Humane Society in Florida, El Faro in Puerto Rico, and North Shore Animal League America in New York.

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Sean Sheer
Sean Sheer

Sean is a passionate dog lover and the proud owner of Urban Dog’s Official Spokes-Dog, Bodhi the Weimaraner. His family has always owned dogs, but Bodhi is the first he's been fully responsible for since puppyhood… and he couldn't be more doting. As a longtime New Yorker of more than 20 years, Sean knows what a dog's and dog owner's lifestyle is like in NYC. Besides being a doggy dad and top dog at Urban Dog, Sean also has a "real job" experience as co-owner of a Palm Beach, Florida-based private investigative firm, and as a licensed (pet friendly) Real Estate Salesperson with Douglas Elliman in NYC. Sean also exercised his creativity and business sense as an award-winning journalist, producer, TV marketing exec, and private investigator. When not blogging, working, or playing with Bodhi, he is an avid adventure traveler who has circumnavigated the world, bird-watched on all seven continents, safari-ed in Africa, and SCUBA-dived in exotic waters.

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7:00 pm: Drag BINGO and Burlesque Night

7:00 pm: Drag BINGO and Burlesque Night

December 6, 2019 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Join Boris & Horton, Nina Josephine, and more for an evening of drag BINGO and burlesque performances in support of The Noire Pageant and Foster Dogs NYC. This will be a holiday-themed, on-leash night. General Admission includes one drink and one BINGO card. You can buy additional BINGO cards for a dollar donation.

Boris & Horton
195 Avenue A
Manhattan

Friday December 6, 2019
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

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7December 7, 2019

4:00 pm: thelovemaze.com Single Dog Lovers Match Up

4:00 pm: thelovemaze.com Single Dog Lovers Match Up

December 7, 2019 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Connect with single dog lovers using the LoveMaze’s scientific, matchmaking algorithm.

Note: A profile and RSVP in LoveMaze are required to attend any events and get matched: https://thelovemaze.com/events

These events are taking place pretty much all month-long in December. The next one is today at 2:00 PM. Check out Eventbrite for the full schedule.

Museum of the Dog
101 Park Avenue (Entrance on 40 Street)
Manhattan

Thursday December 5, 2019
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

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8December 8, 2019
9December 9, 2019 10December 10, 2019 11December 11, 2019

6:00 pm: After Hours Pastel Painting Workshop

6:00 pm: After Hours Pastel Painting Workshop

December 11, 2019 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Experience a step-by-step demonstration on painting dogs with pastels with artist Karen Miura. You should bring a photo of your pet, or use Karen’s dog Lucy as your muse! In addition to the lessons, you’ll get a chance to enjoy the museum’s extensive collection of canine-related art.

Museum of the Dog
101 Park Avenue (Entrance on 40 Street)
Manhattan

Wednesday December 11, 2019
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

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12December 12, 2019 13December 13, 2019 14December 14, 2019

10:00 am: PetCon: A Pet Lover’s Dream

10:00 am: PetCon: A Pet Lover’s Dream

December 14, 2019 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Come meet pet influencers, get some holiday shopping in, and experience Instagrammble moments at PetCon: A Pet Lover’s Dream.

Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18 Street
Manhattan

Wednesday December 11, 2019
6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

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15December 15, 2019

12:00 pm: Pugly Sweater Party hosted by Pug Squad

12:00 pm: Pugly Sweater Party hosted by Pug Squad

December 15, 2019 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Bring your pooch in their ugliest sweater and you and your Pug could win a prize.

Sunday December 15, 2019
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM

BARK
221 Canal Street
Manhattan

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16December 16, 2019 17December 17, 2019 18December 18, 2019 19December 19, 2019

7:00 pm: Top Dog Honoring Dylan Lauren

7:00 pm: Top Dog Honoring Dylan Lauren

December 19, 2019 7:00 pm – 11:00 pm

The Animal Medical Center’s premier fundraising event honors Dylan Lauren this year. Lauren is the founder of Dylan’s Candy Bar and the driving force behind Dylan’s Candy BarN Animal Foundation. She will be receiving AMC’s Brooke Astor Award.

Cipriani 42nd Street
110 East 42 Street
Manhattan

Tuesday December 19, 2019
7:00 PM to 11:00 PM

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