#and lived on a ranch filled with rescue beagles

[todaysdocument]

Mrs. Laura Bush meets the Westminster Kennel Club's 2008 Best in Show Winner, Uno, in the East Room on May 5, 2008. 

Collection GWB-WHPO: Records of the White House Photo Office (George W. Bush Administration)

Series: Photographs Related to the George W. Bush Administration

Image description: Uno, a brown-and-white beagle, lies on a table covered in white fabric, with one paw over the edge of the table. He is looking at Mrs. Laura Bush, who is seated on a nearby chair and smiling. In the background is a dark gold curtain and pink flowers. 

[fionnafree-blog]

Bad Weather and Beagles!

It seems that recently, the East Coast of the U.S. has gotten its fair share of bad weather, but yet, mother nature doesn’t seem to be finished yet. Amongst the chaos of hurricanes sweeping across the nation, hurricane Florence is wreaking havoc against the Carolinas’. Sadly, people get sidetracked by the flooding and the destruction around them to take into consideration the helpless lives of animals. Thankfully, some people will take the time before disaster strikes to clear out animal shelters in the affected areas or to rescue during or after the disaster has come.

There are endless stories of people letting dogs or cats that had been trapped in their houses free, or someone opening the gates to an arena where a horse had gotten trapped. These heroic people have really made a difference in these animals lives. They have saved them from a possibly horrific ending. Unfortunately, these civilians that save these animals are not always around and many of them lose their lives.

During these natural disasters, rescue teams will typically go out in search for people in need of rescue, where they will pick up trapped animals that they encounter on the way. They will place them in the rescue boats where they will then find out out where the rescued animals are being taken. From there, the animals will be dropped off at their destination, which is most commonly an animal shelter, where the animals will be mixed with about 3-5 other dogs. If the kennels are already filled, they will be placed in dog crates where 1-2 will be put in each crate; the same also goes for cats.

The most difficult animals for rescue are farm animals because they typically require a longer and more difficult transfer due to their size. There are two most common methods that farmers will take into consideration while preparing for these kinds of disasters. The most common one is preparing a disaster plan, which could include having another farm across state at a friend’s ranch, that the affected farmer could take their animals to during the storm or a worst-case scenario protocol. Otherwise, farmers will prepare on the ranch in hopes that the storm won’t hit too hard. They will place sandbags around arenas and tarps to prevent flooding. They could raise any housing that is low to the ground in attempt to protect their animals. Although, when the disaster strikes and evacuation becomes a necessity, the beginning circumstances for abandonment of an animal takes place.

Of course, I can not leave my readers without a more personal story. Sadly, I don’t know any rescues that took in hurricane Florence animals besides Big Fluffy Dog Rescue that took in about 30 dogs and 15 cats. In contrast, during Hurricane Harvey, Priceless Pets Rescue took in over 40 dogs from a shelter that was to be receiving the new animals during the storm.

The list of links below are some to websites and videos of Hurricane Harvey rescues.

https://abc7news.com/weather/watch-dogs-cats-rescued-during-hurricane-florence/4244685/

https://www.wcnc.com/video/weather/hurricane-central/florence-horses-rescued-from-flooded-farm/275-8253335

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/14/animals-trapped-shelter/1307149002/