Pets in Irma’s path shelter in East Bay
Cats, dogs fleeing Florida hurricane in need of new homes
Nobody wants to be in the path of a Florida hurricane, including Ringo the dog.
Ringo, one of 152 dogs and cats rescued from the path of Hurricane Irma, was hanging out Friday at his new home at the Oakland SPCA. He was chasing a tennis ball and getting back to the business of being a dog instead of a rescue victim.
He was also sniffing the trees, rocks and planter boxes of Oakland, in preparation for doing other things that Florida and California dogs do.
The pets caught a flight
Thursday from south Florida and were settling in to three East Bay animal shelters that opened their hearts and kennels to the emergency. The idea was not only to dodge the wrath of Irma but to free up space in the Fort Lauderdale shelter so dogs and cats that were sure to be made homeless by the incoming hurricane would have a place to hunker down.
The newly arrived dogs and cats have had a tough week. Life as a pound animal is challenging enough without the stress of a cross-country flight — in the cargo hold, without movies — and the need to get used to an entirely new set of cages and human do-gooders.
On the other hand, “animals weather something like this better than people do,” said Allison Lindquist, director of the shelter. “I think they’ll all do fine.”
The Florida animal shelter reached out for help in light of what happened during Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged New Orleans in 2005. There, some animal owners who couldn’t shelter their pets ignored evacuation orders.
“We learned a lot of tough lessons,” Lindquist said. “This time we wanted to get out in front of the crisis.”
A lot of animal flesh was on the move this week. The Florida animals arrived in Hayward and were divvied up among the Oakland shelter, the Berkeley Humane Society and the Animal Rescue Foundation of Walnut Creek. Lindquist moved some of her Oakland shelter pets to another shelter in Dublin to make room. Then she called in extra animal lovers to the Oakland shelter — the shelter has 400 volunteers always ready to step in.
None of them made any cheap cracks about it’s raining cats and dogs in Florida. Their kindnesses were not lost on the animals.
“Woof,” said Ringo, a yellow Labrador mix, as a volunteer tossed him a tennis ball in the exercise yard over and over.
Most shelter dogs have the word “mix” in their pedigree. They also immediately get a name, even the anonymous strays. It is harder to turn your back on Ringo than on Dog 2315.
After a few days of rest, the newly arrived Florida animals must all pass a high-stakes exam — the behavior assessment. Shelter shrinks introduce the animals to other pets and people to see how well they get along. Animals that flunk are not offered for adoption.
The dogs are getting lots of time in the exercise yard so they’ll be ready. The cats, a different kind of animal, are being allowed to relax behind privacy curtains installed over their kennel cages.
“Cats need their private space,” said Linquist.
It’s not clear how soon the Florida pets will be available for adoption. Some must first undergo life-altering surgery and all must be fitted with microchips for identification.
In Oakland, dogs go out the door for $125. Cats go for $50. Those who are interested can call the East Bay SPCA at (510) 569-0702, the Berkeley Humane Society at (510) 845-7735 or the Animal Rescue Foundation at (925) 256-1273.
Linquist said a Florida pet is just as wonderful as a California pet, there not being anything in the man’s-best-friend thing about place of origin.
“These animals are well-traveled and welladjusted,” she said. “They all come with frequent-flier miles, and they’re ready for their new lives. The people of California will be lucky to get ’em.”