Press Releases - The Humane Society and Adoption Center at PAWS

PAWS cares for furry victims of storm's fury

September 23, 2004
Daily News
By Kelly Humphrey – Daily News Community Editor

     For the past few days, many local victims of Hurricane Ivan have waited in lines for ice, water and food.

     While these Federal Emergency Management Agency distribution centers have helped provide for the basic needs of humans affected by the storm, the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society has been looking out for the animals who have fallen victim to Ivan’s wrath.

     The organization has opened an animal food distribution center in a warehouse at 920 Skipper Ave., off of Racetrack Road in Fort Walton Beach.

     “There are many people who have lost their jobs or who have to pay for expensive repairs to their homes, so finding the money to feed their animals can be tough,” said Jan Fiffer, the kennel supervisor for PAWS. “We’re here to help them out.”

     The majority of the food stacked up in the warehouse was donated by pet food manufactures. In addition, the Florida Association of Kennel Clubs has provided financial assistance.

     “We’re offering people two or three days’ worth of food to get them through,” said Dee Thompson-Poirrier, Okaloosa County’s director of animal services. “Of course, we’re asking people to be reasonable. We’ve gone door to door in some of the hardest hit areas, letting people know that we have this help available.”

     In addition to helping feed animals affected by the hurricane, PAWS has found room for some of Santa Rosa County’s displaced pets.

     “We were lucky enough that we were ahead of the game and were able to make arrangements for the North Shore Animal Protection League of New York to take 24 of the dogs we had in our shelter,” Thompson-Poirrier said. “So after the storm, we had room to take in 22 animals from Santa Rosa.”

     In the aftermath of the storm, Thompson-Poirrier’s staff and PAWS volunteers have been working 12-hour shifts on a daily basis, trying to keep up with the demand for animal control.

     “The day of the storm, we had an older couple who were evacuating and got into an accident on I-10 with 15 cats in their vehicle,” Thompson-Poirrier said. “We ran up and took care of the cats for them. By Friday we’d rescued 30 baby squirrels that’d been orphaned by the storm, any yesterday we took a bunch of distemper and rabies vaccines over to Santa Rosa, because theirs had gone bad. It’s just been non-stop.”

     Thompson-Poirrier said that things would probably stay busy for her crew in the foreseeable future.

     “As the floodwaters recede, we’ll probably start to get more snake calls,” she said. “And if the Pensacola shelters send some of their animals to Santa Rosa, we’ll probably take them.”