After the Storm: Mutt Shack makes sure animals not forgotten

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND - After Katrina stranded hundreds of animals in New Orleans - many of them pets left behind by people fleeing the storm - the leaders of Muttshack vowed, "Never again."

Kaye Harris of MuttShack, an organization that helped rescue more than 3,000 animals in the aftermath of Katrina, promised to never leave animals behind again.

"MuttShack will be there to transport pets to pet shelters during an emergency," she said.

When Hurricane Dolly approached the South Texas coast nearly a year ago, residents Charlotte Romay and Jacky Conrad scrambled to locate places where the animals in the Laguna Madre Humane Society Shelter could be transported away from the storm.

After the storm, relieved because evacuation had not been necessary, Romay and Conrad contacted Muttshack, which referred them to Dr. David Friedman in Washington state and Marty St. John in New Orleans.

St. John won awards for her work in New Orleans and on the Mississippi Gulf Coast where she led the effort to rescue animals after Katrina.

Friedman and St. John visited South Padre Island last week to sit down with Romay, Conrad and other Laguna Madre Humane Society members, and with representatives from Port Isabel and South Padre Island to formulate an evacuation plan for the next hurricane to threaten the area.

The pair stayed in condominiums provided at no cost by Latitude 26.

"Our job in the area was to consult with officials concerning the animals involved in disaster response," Friedman said. "That includes preparation, shelter, evacuation, transportation, mitigation and rescue."

Muttshack has branches all over the country.

"We've rescued animals from California wildfire threats. When Hurricane Gustav threatened the lower parishes of Louisiana we moved the animals to Shreveport," he said.

Muttshack even helps move people with pets but no transportation, he said. The animal is put into its own carrier and loaded into a temperature-controlled semi trailer, while the owner boards a bus to go to a shelter. Owners and animals are reunited after the storm.

"The animals will go to a predetermined safe area for the duration of the storm," he said. "We have hundreds of volunteers who have trained and drilled with Muttshack for just such situations."

Muttshack's goal, he said, is to rescue pets and their people. The local animal shelter now has a clear plan and knows who to call and when, he said.

"Next step is to bring Cameron County up to date on animal rescue," he said. "Considering the number of animals at the shelter in Port Isabel, moving them will take some time. They need plenty of advance notice."

Friedman, who got up very early Thursday to watch a turtle release, said this was his first trip ever to South Padre Island. "I'm impressed," he said. "It's gorgeous. Good food and nice people."