Without Fido, some won't flee
Most Florida hurricane shelters don't accept pets, and as a result, some people just won't get out of harm's way.
By STEPHEN NOHLGREN
Published August 26, 2005
FORT LAUDERDALE - Hurricane Katrina is 20 miles offshore, 60-mph gusts and a kumquat tree are practicing drumrolls off the aluminum walls of Renee Fitzgerald's double-wide mobile home. Inside, Dunkledorf's black toenails are clicking madly as he scrambles over linoleum.
Fitzgerald, 88, is a 32-year resident of Lake Eden Gardens mobile home park. Dunkledorf is her 5-year-old dachshund and "best buddy."
While Fitzgerald was not particularly fearful of Katrina - she has survived four larger storms - she is part of a thorny evacuation equation that continues to vex Florida officials:
Hurricanes, plus mobile homes, plus older residents, plus pets equal heartache in the making.
Florida's mobile homes don't need to take a direct hit to collapse in hurricane winds. And despite last year's hurricane grand slam, older residents are still reluctant to leave because they cannot bring a treasured cat or dog or bird along.
Hours after Broward County emergency officials recommended evacuation of mobile homes and low-lying areas Thursday, Fitzgerald was considering her options. Newscasts had mentioned Broward's first "pet-friendly" shelter, but Fitzgerald couldn't figure out where it was. And the shelter was nearly empty after news broadcasts incorrectly reported people had to preregister.
One thing was certain, though: Fitzgerald would never, under any circumstance, save her own neck while abandoning Dunkledorf and his rhinestone-studded collar.
"I love him, he's my best friend," she said. "If he goes, I go. I would never leave him."
The pet effect in evacuations is not just anecdotal. In 1997, authorities in Yuba County, Calif., ordered the evacuation of 64,000 people after a broken levee threatened to flood them out.
A later study of 863 households did not measure age, but showed that people with pets and no children were 50 percent more likely to stay put than people without pets. That's no surprise to Roy and Janet Nichols. Last year, the St. Petersburg couple watched their neighbors leave Green's Mobile Home Park during hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne.
The main reason the Nichols stayed? Buster, 9, and Buster Jr., 11/2, father and son poodles with some terrier thrown in.
"You love your dogs. You're afraid to leave your dogs and you have no place to go," said Roy Nichols, 68. But he said he would consider alternatives - like a pet-friendly shelter.
Shirley Margraf also hunkered down four times last year at Southernaire Mobile Home Resort in St. Petersburg. Margraf, 73, moved from Massachusetts two months before Charley. She wanted to evacuate but couldn't take Suzki, her 6-year-old Pekingese who quakes even during a typical summer thunderstorm.
"He's my little pet. He's my little son," she said. "If I went anywhere, I would have had to leave him in the car. I couldn't take him into a church or a school. So I might as well stay home with him."
The American Red Cross, which operates emergency shelters, does not allow pets because of the potential for bites and pet dander that aggravates allergies in tight quarters.
But some local authorities are edging toward solutions.
Hillsborough has prepared a pet-friendly shelter at Burnett Middle School, just south of I-4 in Seffner. A locker room will hold about 100 cats and 100 dogs. Residents must bring their own cages, food and medicine.
Officials in Pinellas, which has 300,000 to 400,000 pets, are trying to find the appropriate place for a shelter for pet owners and their animals, spokeswoman Nancy Whitlock said Thursday. It will not be available for Katrina, but should be up and running before hurricane season 2005 finishes.
Shelters in Citrus and Hernando do not accept pets.
"Pets are a huge issue," when residents refuse to evacuate, said Larry Gispert, Hillsborough's emergency manager. But he thinks pets sometimes are a rationalization for people who just don't want to leave.
"I can understand if you are 85 and a little poodle is the only thing you've got. But when an average, healthy person says I won't leave because of a pet, I think it's just an excuse."
Tom Merrill, manager of Regency Cove Mobile Home Park near Gandy Bridge, agreed that many people are set in their ways. Last year, the owners association reserved motel rooms so residents could evacuate. About 20 of 200 residents stayed home anyway.
"A lot of these homes were built in the '50s or '60s and in any wind you are looking at a death box," Merrill said. "But people have told me, "You gotta go sometime. And I'm not going to leave my cat, no way."'
HURRICANES AND YOUR PETSDon't leave your pet behind when evacuating. They can get lost, become injured or die if left to weather the storm alone.
Check to see if friends or family can take care of your pet. Or contact veterinarians or boarding kennels, although those generally take care of regular customers first.
Bring your animals inside so they will be easier to gather for an evacuation.
Animals react differently under stress. Outside your home and in the car, keep dogs securely leashed. Transport cats in carriers. Don't leave animals unattended.
When you return home, carefully allow your pet outdoors. Familiar scents and landmarks may be altered and your pet could become confused and lost. Downed power lines and animals and insects brought in with high water could present real dangers. Don't allow your pet to consume food or water that may have become contaminated.
For tips on transporting certain kinds of pets, visit www.sptimes.com/hurricane and scroll down to click on "Don't leave pets behind to face storm alone."
Source: Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.