(Beth Clifton collage)
Port St. Lucie took the hardest hits––that we know about so far
PORT ST. LUCIE, Florida––As of three in the morning on October 10, 2024, animal agencies and advocates in Port St. Lucie in southeast Florida appeared to have taken the hardest hit from Hurricane Milton the previous evening––but with more than 1.1 million people caught in electrical outages and many isolated by flooding as well, reports of damage and casualties from the path of the hurricane were only just beginning to trickle in.
Julie Whitehead’s dog Daisy.
(Facebook photo)
“I think she’s wearing her pink collar”
“Tornado destroyed my house on Rock Road. My 9-month-old golden retriever Daisy is missing,” crossposted neonatal nurse Julie Wing Whitehead of Fort Pierce, with much help from sympathizers, to multiple social media.
“I think she’s wearing her pink collar,” Whitehead offered hopefully, but with even the Martin County Sheriff’s Office garage full of police cars destroyed, as night fell, the rain poured down, and high winds continued, few people were out and about to find Daisy, or any animal, or missing human for that matter.
Richard Couto. (Facebook photo)
“This storm is a beast”
“ARM Sanctuary is in the right in the line of fire of this 250 mile, category 5 monster, whose outerbands are already wrecking havoc around our property,” posted Animal Recovery Mission founder Richard Couto to Facebook.
“Power is already out around us, flooding is setting in, multiple tornados and black ominous skies, and the sheriff’s office close to us just took a direct tornado blow, shredding the roof and nearly lifting the building off the ground,” Couto said.
The Humane Society of St. Lucie County pronounced itself “hard at work taking care of all the kitties and doggies. All animals are well-cared for, with full bellies, and already snoozing. We are also spending some time doing enrichment activities which include KONGs full of peanut butter prepared by some paw-some volunteers yesterday, and getting some kitties to play with balls and spring toys. We’ll be here with them through the night and into tomorrow!” the Humane Society of St. Lucie County pledged.
(Big Dog Ranch Rescue Facebook photo)
Big Dog Ranch Rescue “hit by a tornado from Milton”
Big Dog Ranch Rescue, in Loxahatchee Groves, in south-central Florida, spotlighted by the Good Morning America television show on October 6, 2024 for helping pet owners after Hurricane Helene, prepared for Hurricane Milton by appealing for foster families to help evacuate the resident dogs.
“The storm brings a serious risk of power outages, and we urgently need to get our dogs into safe, loving homes as soon as possible,” Big Dog Ranch Rescue posted to Facebook.
The next posting, by one Danielle Freeze Hamel, was an unconfirmed report that Big Dog Ranch Rescue “got hit by a tornado tonight from Milton.”
Sharing additional reports collected during the night by ANIMALS 24-7 by agency, in alphabetical order:
(Greg Robbins photo)
“Five parakeets, two guinea pigs, & a black rabbit”
The Alaqua Animal Refuge, east of Pensacola on the Florida Panhandle, well outside the path of Hurricane Milton, announced that it “will be the evacuation site for shelters that are in the path of Hurricane Milton.”
Tampa television station WUSF reported 24 hours before Hurricane Milton hit, “more than 4,130 people and close to 700 pets” were in local evacuation centers.
Reported the Wall Street Journal team from Tampa, “As sheets of rain fell on Wednesday morning, dozens of people trickled into Middleton High School to take refuge. A family from Honduras arrived with five parakeets, two guinea pigs and a black rabbit, nervously juggling several cages.”
Big Cat Rescue, in Tampa, reminded those concerned that, “The cats from Big Cat Rescue moved to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge,” in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, “in 2023. There are no big cats in Tampa to be affected by this hurricane.”
Founder Patti Ragan at the Center for Great Apes.
(Center for Great Apes photo)
The Center for Great Apes
The Center for Great Apes, in Wauchula, before Hurricane Milton actually made landfall on Siesta Key, west of Tampa and St. Petersburg, pronounced itself “fortunate to be far enough inland to avoid the worst of it,” but acknowledged that “we’re still facing severe flooding and high winds that will impact our sanctuary grounds.”
The Center for Great Apes maintenance team “boarded up offices and residences, placed sandbags in flood-prone areas, and supplies have been secured,” staff posted.
“The caregivers have prepped the apes’ night houses and created special enrichment to keep them calm during the storm. Starting this afternoon,” the Center for Great Apes pledged, “our team will be hunkered down in the night houses alongside the apes, staying vigilant through the night.”
Beth Clifton collage/ CROW – Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife photos)
A newly arrived brown pelican
Said Collier County Domestic Animal Services, of Naples, Florida, “Thankfully, we have a total of 78 shelter pets currently in loving foster homes until the hurricane is over. The remainder of our shelter pets will be in good company with shelter staff who will be sleeping over to make sure they are not alone.”
CROW, the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife Inc. on Sanibel Island, pledged that staff would “continue to care for our patients through the storm,” including a newly arrived brown pelican who may have been an early Hurricane Milton casualty.
FLUFF Animal Rescue of Pinellas Park pronounced itself thankful to people “ready to open up their homes and allow us to evacuate with 24 dogs and four ferrets.”
Sean Hawkins at Halifax Humane Society. (Sean Hawkins Facebook photo)
“Impacts are all around us”
“As the sun is setting on our beachside community,” posted Sean Hawkins from the Halifax Humane Society in Daytona Beach, “the impacts of Hurricane Milton are all around us. We’re under a hurricane warning, storm surge warning, and multiple tornado warnings.
“The shelter dogs and cats are hunkering down for the evening,” Hawkins said. “All have been fed and have had treats and meds. The dogs have a warm blanket and an elevated bed. The cats all have towels and hiding boxes so they can curl up and sleep. You can tell some of the old dogs are worried and scared.
“We’ll be here through the night with them,” Hawkins promised, “and will update you later this evening,” but electrical outages apparently squelched that plan.
(Beth Clifton collage)
Spending the night with the animals
The Humane Society of Manatee County, in Bradenton, offered a portfolio of “evacuation photos from our amazing shelter manager Lisa Zalewski.
“All of our shelter animals are now safe at our HSMC Veterinary Clinic,” Zalewski said.
Said the Humane Society of Pinellas, “Our dedicated HSP staff are on-site sheltering with our animals in our new Category 5 rated building. This facility ensures the safety of our pets and team through the storm, while also allowing us to immediately assess any impacts to our resources so we can begin helping our community with recovery efforts.
(Beth Clifton collage)
“The majority of our pet areas are powered”
“Like many in the greater Sarasota area, the Humane Society of Sarasota County has lost power,” the Humane Society of Sarasota County posted, “but the majority of our pet areas are powered, thanks to our back-up generator, a very generous gift by a longtime supporter just prior to his passing following Hurricane Ian,” in 2022.
The Humane Society of Tampa Bay pledged before Hurricane Milton hit that, “20+ staff members and their pets and families will stay at the shelter to care for the 362 animals currently at the shelter. The Humane Society of Tampa Bay building is built to withstand a Category 4 hurricane, ensuring the safety of the staff and animals during the storm.”
Kitty Block. (HSUS photo)
Humane Society of the U.S. heads south from helping after Hurricane Helene
Blogged Humane Society of the United States president Kitty Block, “Our animal rescue team—having just deployed to various locations across Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina to provide emergency veterinary care and distribute pet supplies and food last week—collaborated with Wings of Rescue to fly about 60 adoptable animals from Tampa-area shelters to the Alaqua Animal Refuge. This pre-storm evacuation brought these animals to safety while increasing the capacity of local animal services to accommodate the anticipated influx of animals displaced by the storm.
“We have also been responding to the destruction caused by Hurricane John in Mexico,” which raged from September 22 to September 27, 2024, Block mentioned.
“Our team set up veterinary clinics and distribution points for pet supplies and food,” Block said, “helping nearly 1,000 animals in Guerrero, a hard-hit region that is also one of the poorest states in Mexico.”
(Beth Clifton collage)
Lots of thank-yous
Block thanked “corporate supporters such as Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Total Quality Logistics, Fetch Pet Insurance, Chewy and Cat’s Pride” for helping the Humane Society of the U.S. to deliver “17 truckloads of pet food, crates, cat litter and other essential supplies” to animal shelters in five states that were hit by Hurricane Helene.
“Partners who supported our efforts to respond to Hurricane Helene in various ways,” Block continued, “include Green Dogs Unleashed, Queen Anne’s County Animal Services, Lehigh Valley Humane Society, Petey & Furends, New Hampshire SPCA, PetConnect Rescue, Animal Haven, Williamson County Animal Center, Young Williams Animal Center, Nashville Humane Association, and Humane Fort Wayne.”
Kari Bagnall and friend.
(Beth Clifton collage)
“So far, we just have lots of wind & rain”
Kari Bagnall, founder of Jungle Friends in Gainesville, posted about three hours after Hurricane Milton hit Siesta Key that, “So far, we just have lots of wind and rain. I guess the worst of it will be in about five hours for Gainesville. We should be able to let the little darlings out pretty early after we inspect their habitats, of course, and then I will send some monkey pictures to Facebook, and hope I will not be putting up any more images of hurricane tracks for a while. We need a break!”
Orange County Animal Services in Orlando reported assisting “pet-friendly evacuation shelters across Orange County. These nine locations, a mix of schools and recreation centers, now shelter hundreds of people, 126 dogs, 53 cats, and 10 various types of small animals including birds and a pet mouse.”
The Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League in West Palm Beach offered a public “Thank you to our staff who signed up to sleep at the shelter during Hurricane Milton. The team includes animal care staff, vet techs, and a veterinarian. They won’t leave until it’s safe for other staff members to drive to the shelter. The animals in their care include 38 evacuees who arrived yesterday.”
Beth Clifton as New Port Richey Animal Protection Unit animal control officer. See Recurring nightmare: my escape from a serial no-killer, by Beth Clifton.
Eight cats from New Port Richey
SPCA Florida, in Lakeland, posted just ahead of Hurricane Milton that “Volunteers and staff were busy last night picking up dogs and cats in the path of (yet another, ugh) hurricane. Yesterday we sent out our SPCA Florida vans and brought in four dogs from a Fort Myers shelter and eight cats from a New Port Richey shelter to keep safe.”
Said SPCA Tampa Bay, also ahead of Hurricane Milton landfall, “Our team has been busy making preparations to keep our campus and animals safe. Crew are hunkering down with our animals at the shelter to make sure they have everything they need over the next few days. Windows are boarded, supplies stockpiled, and two vehicles are prepped to be auxiliary power sources to keep vaccines and other critical supplies cool.”
(Beth Clifton collage)
Suncoast Primate Sanctuary ran short of sandbags
“While we are almost back to normal post Hurricane Helene,” posted the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor on October 7, 2024, “we are now preparing for a more intense hurricane, Milton. Our biggest priority is gathering sandbags. Do you have any you can spare? Or can you pick up your allotted amount and donate them to us if you’re not using them? Please leave them at the front gate and our volunteers will bring them in as we see them arriving.”
Beth & Merritt Clifton, editors, ANIMALS 24-7.
On October 8, 2024, the Suncoast Primate Center asked, “Are there any landscaping companies that can make an emergency delivery of sand to us today? Please share this or tag your contacts. Thank you!”
ANIMALS 24-7 hopes to follow up on all the many loose ends above as soon as communications permit.
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The post First reports from animal agencies & rescuers after Hurricane Milton appeared first on Animals 24-7.
