RedRover deploys volunteers trained in emergency animal sheltering to help disaster victims
August 31, 2012 – California-based RedRover (www.redrover.org) has sent trained emergency sheltering volunteers from across several Gulf states to care for animal victims of Hurricane Isaac. These animals are pets rescued from the flooding or brought to the emergency shelter upon evacuation with their families.
RedRover Responders volunteers will provide sheltering assistance for more than 200 animals who were displaced by the storm and are now residing at a temporary shelter. RedRover has deployed five volunteers to the emergency sheltering operation, traveling from Texas, Mississippi and Florida to help the animals.
“Our volunteers are trained in emergency sheltering, and they are ready, willing and able to travel at a moment’s notice to bring animals out of harm’s way and to provide peace of mind to their families,” said Nicole Forsyth, RedRover President and CEO.
RedRover was asked by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry via the National Animal Rescue and Sheltering Coalition (NASRC) to provide assistance at an emergency shelter in Alexandria, Louisiana. RedRover Responders volunteers will assist evacuated pet owners with the daily care of their pets, and provide food, water, comfort and care for pets whose families are not located nearby until they can be reunited.
“We at RedRover were heartbroken about the devastation this storm has brought to the people and pets of the Gulf Coast, and we are happy we can step in to help,” Forsyth added.
Distinguished by their red shirts, RedRover Responders volunteers are specially trained to care for and shelter large numbers of animals. RedRover Responders volunteers provide manpower, free of charge, that enables local animal control and law enforcement agencies to care for people and pets when disaster strikes. Volunteers take time off work and travel at their own expense to help animal victims of disasters.
With nearly 3,000 trained volunteers in the United States and Canada, RedRover can deploy its volunteers when communities become overburdened by a crisis involving large numbers of animals. In its 25-year history, RedRover has responded to more than 130 natural disasters and other crises, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005; the Greensburg, Kansas tornado in 2007; flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in 2008; flooding in Fargo, North Dakota in 2009; and the Joplin, Missouri tornado in 2011.
To support RedRover’s work to provide temporary sheltering for animals rescued from large-scale cruelty situations or displaced by natural disasters, visit their website at www.redrover.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: LEILI KHALESSI, 916.429.2457 or lkhalessi@redrover.org
Founded in 1987, RedRover focuses on bringing animals out of crisis and strengthening the bond between people and animals through a variety of programs, including emergency sheltering, disaster relief services, financial assistance and humane education. For more information, visit www.redrover.org and the Emergency Response Journal. Follow RedRover on Facebook and Twitter. To donate to RedRover’s Emergency Response Fund, visit www.redrover.org/isaac.
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