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During a storm, where's a pet to go?

The lack of a pet-friendly shelter leaves pet owners with few options for safe boarding during hurricane season.

By RICK GERSHMAN
Published August 7, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - She's 83 and a grandmother, so you know what's coming when you visit Helen Havens.

First the photo album. She's so proud. These are her babies, her "very spoiled" babies.

There's the 9-year-old girl, Nala for short, so pretty, so shy; she hides when company arrives. And there's the 8-year-old boy, Maximillian, so big, so handsome, so in need of attention and affection.

They live with Havens. Even while you scan the photos, Maximillian is right next to you, poking his head in to steal your attention, wanting to play.

How spoiled is he? Well, he jumps up on the table. And then he's licking your hand, chewing your ballpoint pen, and chewing your fingers while kicking you.

No problem. That's standard greeting from a cat. He's perfectly at home here. But at hurricane-approved shelters in Hernando County (as in most counties), Maxi is not on the guest list.

Cats, dogs and all other animals are forbidden at most shelters, for a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons, such as the potential for animal attacks, are obvious. Others are less so. For example, some officials are concerned that cat dander could infiltrate a sheltering school's air ducts, causing problems for kids with cat allergies when the school reopens.

Most of those reasons are entirely reasonable. To many people, though, pets are family members. And you don't leave family behind.

Numerous residents of the Clover Leaf Farms community in Brooksville, where Havens lives, ignored an evacuation order during last summer's storms because they didn't want to leave their pets.

"My children are all grown, I am a widow, and the cats keep me wonderful company," said Havens, who refused to leave the pets behind last September, when the Tampa Bay area was threatened by two hurricanes.

"Everyone in this county became acutely aware last year that it's a problem," said Joanne Schoch, executive director of the Brooksville-based Humane Society of the Nature Coast. "We need to take a look at the logistics and what it will take to correct it."

Schoch recently spoke to Clover Leaf residents about the need to evacuate. They live in mobile homes, and if hurricane-force winds had hit, the results likely would have been devastating.

There are some other options for pet owners facing evacuation, but the lack of a shelter that accepts humans and pets still is cause for concern, Schoch said.

If a hurricane is threatening, pet owners can try their veterinarians, some of whom will board pets. Also, Hernando County Animal Services will take in as many pets as it can, but owners need to provide a supply of bottled water, a cage or carrier to contain the pet, and food.

Last year was the first time Animal Services provided the storm service, and it housed more than 100 pets. But it has limited space, so manager Liana Teague suggests that pet owners first try to stay with friends or relatives.

If that's not an option, try Animal Services. But don't try dropping off Fido five days before a storm makes landfall. Don't wait, either, until hurricane-force winds are bearing down on the county.

"Make sure you bring a cage or carrier - that was the biggest thing we found lacking last year," Teague said. "We only had to turn away one dog, and it was at 11 at night, and (the owner) didn't have a cage for it. But we even took in a couple of guinea pigs. We had plenty of space, but as word gets out, that might be more of an issue."

Bad as last September seemed, Hernando County in fact never experienced anything worse than tropical storm-force winds, said Tom Leto, county emergency management coordinator. He has warned county residents not to become complacent this year because the worst of the season is yet to come.

That's scary news for Havens, though she at least has some other options. Her daughter, also named Helen, and two grandchildren live in Spring Hill. Last year, with one of the several hurricanes threatening, a veterinarian did take in Maxi, a longhair Maine coon mix, and Diamond Nala, a shorthair calico. Havens flew to her son's home in western Pennsylvania.

Havens said she would never consider evacuating without a place for her pets.

"If they got out - they are declawed - they'd have no way to defend themselves," Havens said. "They never go outside. They have never been totally on their own. They would have no way to find food. If they found something, they might play with it, but I'm not sure they'd know to eat it. They'd be absolutely defenseless and totally bewildered."

At a recent Hernando County Commission meeting, Commissioner Jeff Stabins noted his concern that the county lacks a public shelter to house both people and pets. He owns two black Labrador mixes, Rusty and Casey, a 4-year-old male and 3-year-old female, respectively.

"When I travel, I take them; they're like family to me," Stabins said. "I think it's very possible we have residents that simply refuse to evacuate. Their pets are so important to them, just as mine are to me."

A constituent suggested to Stabins that the Hernando County Fairgrounds might work for an emergency animal shelter, and he passed the notion along to the board and county officials. Leto, Teague, Schoch and others are discussing to how best to deal with pets during a disaster. But don't expect a shelter at the fairgrounds, which are not equipped to withstand hurricane-force winds.

"You need to have a safe and sound location," Schoch said. "And then you have to consider who are the volunteers who man that facility? You can't just leave the pets there. They have to be supervised. These are all things we have to take into consideration."

The fairgrounds will take in horses during hurricanes - just not hurricanes threatening Hernando County, said fair association president Deb Pedone. When a hurricane threatens another Florida region - say Naples or Daytona Beach - and Hernando is well off the projected path, owners can board horses here.

Several other counties have similar procedures, so horse owners in Hernando are advised to find out about them in advance and be prepared to travel.

Schoch would like to see two of the Hernando schools that are used as shelters be designated as pet friendly. Even then, people and animals should be housed separately at the schools, she said.

"You can't just have pet owners keeping pets with them," she said. "And with the pets, you need people who know how to handle pet needs. Even the sweetest pet does not act the same way when it's under stress. And dogs need to be walked. You can't just leave it in a kennel."

Rick Gershman can be reached at rgershman@sptimes.com or 352 754-6117.

[Last modified August 7, 2005, 01:29:21]