RESCUE TAIL / Two Years Later

By Tammy Fox, Executive Director, Florida Keys SPCA

Just shy of the two-year anniversary of the devastating Category Four Hurricane Irma, our Marathon Campus was once again in the cone of uncertainty with monster Hurricane Dorian set to impact the state of Florida. 72 hours before the threat of any possible impact we must evacuate our Marathon Campus to ensure all the animals at the shelter are safe before a storm. Once again we reached out to our Hurricane Fosters throughout our community who opened their arms to our shelter pets in need. Hurricane Fosters keep a shelter animal safe whether they choose to stay or leave, until the threat has passed, or our shelter can reopen. Having initiated our first evacuation since Irma, with the emotions and impacts rising back to the surface, this is a story about all the animals at our shelter and how you can be a lifesaving partner.  

September 2017, as it became more and more likely that the Florida Keys would feel the wrath of Hurricane Irma, on Day One we started preparing the exterior of the shelter for possible impact: trimming branches, pulling down shade sails, packing away anything that could fly away, securing exterior kennels and storage, assembling hurricane pet kits and carriers. Our staff and volunteers worked countless hours and fell asleep exhausted that evening, hoping her path would change. Day Two, Irma was angrier than ever and aiming her fury at the Keys, the decision was made to evacuate the animals at the shelters into Hurricane Fosters. Hurricane Fosters are amazing community members prepared to take a pet in the case of an approaching storm. However, Hurricane Irma was headed straight for the Keys and tourist and local evacuations were issued, for very good reason.  Everyone was is in a panic. Call after call, people were leaving and preparing their own homes and families, and our situation grew more desperate in Marathon. Staff and volunteers made signs and stood out on US1 begging for anyone to take a pet before they left. We extended our hours and got out as many as we could before Day Three, when the last animals miraculously found families to take them in. 

Evacuating was a nightmare, and after the storm passed through, and with most of us trapped on the mainland with no communication, there was nothing but time to worry about our own homes and the animals we sent into foster. Were they safe? Did they evacuate? Were pets left behind? Was our home still there? The lives of our shelter pets, our friends, our family, our community hung in a state of uncertainty. 

Surviving any natural disaster is a slow process to recovery. Throwing away your personal items is emotional. Tearing apart your house and discovering mold is sickening. Seeing the brown decaying landscape is depressing. For all of us here in the Keys, we all must have a strength inside us to carry on even when times are tough. In the case of an animal welfare worker, this meant putting our own lives back together while rebuilding the shelter. It meant creating a safe dry mold-free space in our house for our own pets, while responding to calls of animals left behind or lost in the storm. It meant working countless hours in blazing heat with no cell phone service, internet, or air conditioning at home each night after chain sawing through fallen trees to be able to open the door to the shelter during the day. For months we worked to put our Marathon Campus back together and for some of our staff, they spent years putting their lives back together, balancing their own needs with the needs of the homeless animals we serve. 

Thinking about an animal shelter during the threat of a Hurricane may not be first on everyone’s minds understandably. But I’d like to take the time to remind you that between our two campuses in Key West and Marathon we have nearly 300 animals at any given time that, just like your own pets, need to be prepared in case of emergency. I hope you’ll consider contacting our Marathon Campus and signing up to be a hero to a homeless pet in need as a Hurricane Foster. Although Irma will forever remain a reminder of the price of paradise, it’s also a reminder of how truly incredible and caring our community is. Every single animal was evacuated from both campuses in 2017. Every single animal was kept safe. Of the hundreds of animals entrusted to people just like you in our community, nearly half were adopted by the families that cared for them during some of the most physically and mentally challenging times in our lives. 

I want to take a moment to thank all of our Hurricane Fosters past and present, and to those that are willing to help when we need you most. It is only because of caring compassionate people like you that we can continue to keep our homeless pets in paradise safe. If you’re interested in joining us as a Hurricane Foster, or learning more about becoming a Hurricane Foster, please contact me at [email protected] or our Director of Operations in Marathon at [email protected]. 

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