Ocean View resident Bette Meredith has six Pomeranians, one Shih Tzu and a 17-year-old beagle-spaniel mix. Several are show dogs, a few have never left the house – but they are all valued members of the Meredith family. If a disaster was to strike the Delaware coastal area, Meredith said that she would not evacuate without her pets.
Coastal Point • JONATHAN STARKEY
Bette Meredith holds on to some of her prized possessions.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, state officials have begun to recognize such sentiment among pet owners and are starting to make pets a vital part of any governmental disaster plan.
“People, quite frankly, are hesitant to evacuate if they’re not allowed to take pets. That creates a problem for us,” said Joe Thomas, Sussex County’s Emergency Operations Center director. “After the events that have happened the last couple of years … we understand that pets are like family members. We’re trying to incorporate a plan so there would be a plan in place to accommodate pets and livestock.”
Thomas said he is working with the state government, the Delaware Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), the Humane Society and the Department of Agriculture, trying to identify emergency shelter locations and educate the public on the importance for preparing for a disaster.
That kind of preparation takes on new meaning on the coast and in what is predicted to be a heavy season for storms.
Jim Eberwine, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that the 2006 hurricane season — which started June 1 — has the possibility of producing 13 to 16 major storms. Eberwine said that five of those storms are predicted to be major hurricanes, reaching at least Category 3 strength, and a couple could even travel up the eastern seaboard — perhaps causing damage in Delaware.
Individual, as well as governmental, plans should be made ahead of storm warnings and should include pets, said Georgetown SPCA shelter manager Jerry Linkerhof.
“The one thing we’re emphasizing on is evacuating early,” Linkerhof said. “If it was an unnecessary trip, at least you got out of harm’s way and you had a couple days’ vacation. Your property can be replaced, but you and your pets can’t.”
Linkerhof, the Delaware SPCA and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) have collaborated on a program to educate the public on disaster preparedness. Linkerhof said that they formed the Delaware Animal Disaster Services program (DADS) for one reason: “There is a possibility of a hurricane hitting the Delmarva Peninsula. A lot of people won’t leave their pets behind. That results in a lot of deaths – not only in pets but in people.”
Through brochures, speaking events and clinics, DADS officials will attempt to educate the public on how to properly add pets to their disaster plans.
In case of an evacuation, people should take their pets along, Linkerhof said. He said to locate hotels and motels that accept pets, or find campgrounds — most of which are pet-friendly.
Pets’ medical records should be organized into a medical kit, Linkerhof added, and emergency contacts — such as veterinarians’ phone numbers — should also a part of the emergency kit.
“Plan now,” said April Willey, the volunteer coordinator for RSVP and a founder of DADS. “Have it all in place. This year is targeted to be pretty bad. Let’s not let what happened down there happen to us,” she added, referencing the estimated 235,000 pets not rescued after Katrina and those pet owners who died because they wouldn’t leave their animals behind.
Willey and the SPCA teamed with Ocean View Police Chief Ken McLaughlin a couple months ago to promote the DADS program, and its first public event will be held in the town. On Saturday, June 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in John West Park on West Avenue, adjacent to Ocean View’s town hall, DADS officials will be micro-chipping dogs and cats and registering their information nationally for just $5 each.
The microchips — roughly the side of a grain of rice — are injected painlessly beneath the skin on a pet’s back, Linkerhof said, and can be scanned by most SPCA’s, shelters and veterinary offices across the nation, to help reunite a pet with its owner in case of separation.
“This is a way for us to quickly get the pets reunited with their owners,” McLaughlin said. “To a lot of people, these pets are every bit as important as their children. For folks who don’t have kids, they’re like kids.”
Bette Meredith said she is volunteering to work next Saturday’s event as a part of a local DADS committee. Because many of her pets are show dogs, she has already had chips injected in them in case of theft. But she paid up to $50 for a similar chip and registry available for $5 next Saturday. Meredith said that her other pets that are not yet micro-chipped will be micro-chipped that day.
“If people don’t take advantage of this, they’re silly,” Meredith said. “I’m going to have the rest of mine done.”