Sep12
With Hurricane Ike, Preparedness Is Key
Posted at 05:30 PM | Permalink
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Comments (6)
This hurricane season is sure keeping us on high alert! As you know, Ike is now set to hit the Texas coast within the next 24 hours, possibly bringing with it a gigantic 20-foot wall of water. Texans not following evacuation orders have been warned that they "may face certain death."
When the stakes are this high and the lives of your family and animal companions are at risk, there is no such thing as being too prepared!
PETA has issued news releases packed with info about having plans for companion animals to Texas areas set to be hit by Ike, and we have trained employees standing by to lend a helping hand to those who need it. PETA also has a disaster preparedness checklist that provides all the information you'll need to create a safe, effective plan to protect your animal companions.
Although hurricanes Gustav and Hanna did not quite live up to their initial projections, you never know if Hurricane Ike will be the next "big one." It's always better to be safe than sorry!
Posted by Carrie Ann Harris
TAGGED:
Hurricane ike disaster preparedness
Comments
Since I live in Florida it is important for me to know before hand how to deal with such a crisis. Thank you for your time & hard work to help keep pets safe this season. =}
Posted by: Crystal | September 12, 2008 07:52 PM
Hey guys,
I just wanted everyone at PETA to know that apparently some places, i.e. hotels, are not being so accommodating to Man's Best Friend.
My family and I lived in the Clear Lake zip code, 77062, that was mandated by Mayor Bill White to evacuate our homes due to Hurricane Ike.
We found a hotel in Katy, TX, on the west side of Houston. We obtained the last room available at the "Comfort Inn and Suites" and they are not allowing our dog nor anyone else's dogs to stay out of the Hurricane force weather winds (anywhere from 50-70 MPH gusts). We had to take our dog out to use the bathroom and we were told by an employee that we could not keep our pet in our hotel room. So my dad, who is a diabetic patient, is staying outside in our car with our dog so he is not alone and afraid. I am regularly checking on them every 20 minutes or so to assure they are safe.
I also spoke with a couple who are Galveston evacuees, of Galveston, outside concerned about their three dogs, also ESCORTED out of the hotel management because they do not allow dogs in the hotel. As a result, their dogs are in travel carriers in the bed of their F-250 pickup truck.
If this were normal circumstances, then I have no problem with a place of business that chooses not to accept pets at their locations; but this is a serious situation and we are being penalized because we are people who choose not to leave our pets to weather the storm and potentially lose their lives.
I want to leave you with the address of this location and would love to hear the explanation the hotel management gives the media for this situation. I took some photos of our dog and the other dog in the travel carrier and if I am provided an email. I will be more than happy to email them to you so we can get the word out to other pet owners so they know to avoid this hotel chain.
HOTEL LOCATION:
COMFORT INN
2205 Katy Freeway
Katy, TX 77450
Tel: 281.392.8700
Sincerely,
Jon Morales
832.277.0770
jonathan.d.morales@gmail.com
Posted by: Jon Morales | September 12, 2008 11:28 PM
I just rented a movie called "Seed", it is a horror movie. Kinda cheesy but, I like a good horror flick occasionally. The beginning of this movie is so profoundly sickening, it made my chest ache and made me feel ill. I pray that these scenes are not real but, I think they have to be. The cruelty to animals is beyond what I can describe. I am extremely upset and I wish PETA would bring this to the attention of the makers of this film. The movie would be just as effective without this upsetting torture. Not to mention, the violence already being exploited.(but, that's a whole can of worms standing alone) Anyway, just wanted to share and get that off my chest as best as I could. It shows killing, torture, skinning dogs alive and just, well, it's beyond belief. I don't think it was done for the movie but, I do, however, think the scenes are real. I wish to God someone would tell me that it wasn't real. Very disturbing and HEARTBREAKING is an understatement. HELP!!!!!!!
Posted by: Tonya Rearick | September 13, 2008 08:50 PM
Do you know if livestock is being rescued? I just saw video from Crystal Beach of a cow on someone's deck trying to stay out of water and had to ask. I hope so!
Posted by: shelly | September 14, 2008 12:49 PM
I am really upset that the authorities in Galveston are not allowing the return home of the citizens who were threatened to leave their island. Many thought that they would only be gone for a few days and couldn't bring pets along for various reasons. Although these pets may be safe within a shelter, the lack of adequate food and water is of great concern to me. I believe that through the entire media circus surrounding the Ike and FEMA stories in Texas, no real press or concern has yet been shown regarding these babies. Remember, many of the people who left in the evacuation are either too young to remember details of former hurricanes or have never had to deal with such baloney as the FEMA intervention. With Alicia, islanders returned to Galveston within the week. I believe that proper press must be given to this pet crisis of mass proportions before it becomes a disaster. Is PETA willing to take these concerns to the press for me?
Posted by: Mr. Silverton | September 14, 2008 07:32 PM
I just saw a report on CNN. A lady was coming back to her house that had been flooded by Ike. She had evacuated but left two lab puppies in a kennel on the floor. Picked it up to show the camera guy they were in there but had drowned. Isn't this animal neglect. All she was worried about was FEMA giving her a hand out. Makes me sick!
Posted by: Roxy | September 15, 2008 10:06 AM