RISPCA working to help Houston animal shelters

EAST PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is stepping up to help animals displaced by the devastating flooding in Houston.

Dr. E.J. Finocchio, president of the RISPCA, said the organization has pledged to match donations up to $2,500 and send those donations directly to colleagues at the Houston SPCA.

“The Houston SPCA is the largest animal welfare agency in that area and helps 50,000 animals a year,” said Finocchio. “We felt we needed to do something.”

Finocchio said an estimated 600,000 animals were killed or stranded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and there’s a mounting effort to prevent it from happening again in Houston.

“The human-animal bond is tremendous,” he says. “When we went down to Louisiana after Katrina we found out that 44 percent of the people in that catastrophe refused to evacuate their homes because they couldn’t take their animals with them.”

In the early stages of the response to Katrina, some first responders had instructions not to take animals to safety, despite the pleadings of their caregivers. Human shelters, which filled up because of mandatory evacuation orders, excluded animals. That, Finocchio says, caused some people to refuse to leave their homes, because they wouldn’t abandon their best friends during a life-threatening crisis.

“That led to Congress passing the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006, which requires that state and local preparedness offices take into account pet owners, household pets and service animals when drawing up evacuation plans,” he said. (See related story).

Finoccio has seen first hand how natural disasters impact people and their pets.

“The RISPCA went to Louisiana after Katrina with 171,000 pounds of supplies in three 52-foot tractor trailer trucks and to see the separation of people from their pets was heartbreaking,” he said. “Thousands of animals died or were stranded and hundreds of displaced animals were never reunited with their owners. We’re hoping the numbers in Houston aren’t nearly as bad.”

Finoccio says the Houston SPCA is encouraging the public to make monetary donations instead of physical supplies.

“What they really need is money,” he said.

Rhode Islanders who would like to help can make out checks to Houston SPCA and mail them to the RISPCA at 186 Amaral St., East Providence, RI 02915. Checks can also be dropped off in person.

“We will record all of the checks and send them to Houston with our matching donations,” Finoccio said. “This way, we can be assured that every penny goes to help with animal relief efforts in Houston.”

We’re also hoping other organizations in the state of Rhode Island will join us in this endeavor.”