Reviving memories of its huge animal rescue effort following Hurricane Katrina, Best Friends Animal Society today announced that a full animal rescue team is hard at work helping to free companion animals from floodwaters that have the tiny town of Oakville, Iowa, submerged in five feet of water.
Located in Louisa County in southeastern Iowa, Oakville (population 450), is about 40 miles from the city of Davenport. Approximately 60 dogs and cats, pets left behind by fleeing residents, have been seen on rooftops and balconies. And 500 pigs, released by a beleaguered farmer, are scattered over 10 miles, with some stranded on top of a local levee.
Responding to an official request from the State of Iowa Emergency Operations Center, the Best Friends rescue team will be hard at work for at least the next three days. This morning, Best Friends Rapid Response manager, Rich Crook, and his swiftwater-trained team were piloting a Hurricane Katrina-tested, 14-foot Jon boat through the town, looking for abandoned dogs and cats.
“It’s a familiar scene,” says Crook, who along with dozens of Best Friends employees and volunteers spent months helping to save 6,000 dogs and cats in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Unfortunately, pets and farm animals are immediate victims of a natural disaster, and this situation is no different. Oakville residents, caught by the suddenness of rising waters, were forced to flee their homes, leaving frightened and forlorn pets behind.
Pigs and other farm animals are scattered in and around Oakville. A local farmer, Ron Lanz, was forced to leave his 500 pigs behind, fearing that floodwaters would sweep across his 450-acre farm. He escaped by catching a ride in the back of a friend’s pickup.
Surviving pigs from Lanz’s farm have managed to scramble to high ground and have been spotted along a 10-mile stretch. “Unfortunately, because the pigs are damaging the levee, local officials have given permission for locals to shoot the pigs to protect the levee,” Crook says.
“So far more than 20 pigs have been killed,” Crook says. “But fortunately, most of the people we’ve talked with, including the Iowa State Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, are willing to seek an alternative, in spite of the fact that the pigs pose a danger to the levee.”
Crook’s team is working closely with the local sheriff, local authorities, and the state agriculture department to not only rescue companion animals, but devise an efficient way for families to reclaim their pets once floodwaters recede.
Floodwaters are expected to remain high in Oakville for the next five to seven days. Although floodwaters along Highway 80, near Oakville, have receded, Crook says surrounding farmlands remain saturated and people are beginning to call authorities inquiring about their animals.
People concerned about their animals can check to see if they are in custody by calling Best Friends Animal Society’s Animal Help department, 435-644-2001, ext. 4789, or e-mail animalhelp@bestfriends.org.
Photos by smitme for Kinship Circle on Flickr
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