For Immediate Release:
August 29, 2011
Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382
Norfolk, Va. -- PETA staff worked in Norfolk, Va., and northeastern North Carolina when Hurricane Irene hit, as well as before and afterward, to help animals who were injured or left behind by people who tied them up or caged them before leaving town. PETA’s rescuers worked around the clock to help these animals, even after our building, which sits on the water, lost its underside. At 2 a.m. on Sunday morning, our vice president of cruelty investigations, who headed our animal rescue efforts, had to swim home through waist-deep water, only to be called out again.
The following are a few of the animals rescued during the storm:
- Nikita, whose owners evacuated, left him in a pen with only one sheet of wood above him for "shelter" for three days. PETA staffers found him as winds neared 70 miles per hour. He is now indoors with his new foster parents, who report that he is extremely happy and has not left their side since. He even growled at a noise outside during the storm, prepared to defend his new family.
- A 10-week-old puppy had been tied to a backyard grill by a shoe string so tightly that she had to remain standing to avoid strangling. She had been left like that all night long in a flood plain that had been evacuated. She was rescued, dried off, and fed a good meal, and she is now in foster care.
- Angel and Sasha were tied outside on a tiny metal balcony all night Friday as the hurricane barreled toward Norfolk. The eye of the storm was only an hour away when PETA arrived at the apartment, where the woman inside said that the dogs were her brother's and that she wouldn't let the soaked, terrified dogs inside because they were "destructive." She signed them over to PETA. As waters around PETA's headquarters were already starting to rise, our staff took the dogs to a shelter where they would be safe.
- Mr. Jones, an older dog, collapsed after seeking refuge in a local fire department toward the end of the storm. The kind firefighters fed him and took him to PETA, where he is receiving veterinary treatment for mange. Here is a photo of Mr. Jones, all kitted out in his new harness, inspecting PETA's dog park before going back to the vet.
And PETA's efforts continued throughout the weekend. We've received dozens of calls from kind people throughout our area who discovered lost, stray, or wild animals who were hurt by the storm, including a kitten who had been picked up by an ambulance crew, two wild baby bunnies, and several baby squirrels who were found inside a hollow tree trunk that had fallen onto a house. The very cold, hungry, and wet babies, whose mother could not be found, are now being bottle-fed. All these stories should serve as a reminder never to turn our backs on animals during emergencies—whether that means being sure always to evacuate with your animals or looking out for lost and hurt animals after the storm passes.
More information about these rescues, including photos, is available on PETA's blog.