United Animal Nations also encourages residents to bring pets with them if they evacuate
SACRAMENTO, CA (June 13, 2008) – United Animal Nations (UAN) is offering financial assistance grants of up to $500 to help victims of the flooding in Iowa care for their pets. UAN’s LifeLine Crisis Relief Grants can help flood victims with expenses for the following:
- Veterinary care to treat injury or illness caused by flooding
- Temporary boarding for those whose homes are damaged or destroyed
- Transporting pets to a temporary living situation for those whose homes are damaged or destroyed
“When people are displaced from their homes by a flood, they often do not have the resources to pay for vet care for injured pets, or to board their pets temporarily until they make repairs or find a new place to live,” said UAN Program Director Karen Brown. “Through our LifeLine Crisis Relief Grant program, we can relieve families of the stress of caring for their pets so they can focus on rebuilding their lives.”
To get eligibility information and apply for a LifeLine Crisis Relief Grant,
visit www.uan.org or call (916) 429-2457.
Download an informational flier [PDF].
UAN also encourages residents forced to evacuate to take their pets with them. Animals left behind during floods can get injured, fall ill, drown, and hamper human evacuation and rescue efforts. Pet owners should:
- Seek refuge in a hotel that allows pets. Most hotels and motels are pet-friendly, and those that aren’t may make exceptions during disasters. A searchable database of pet-friendly accommodations is available at www.petswelcome.com and www.BringYourPet.com.
- Place animals in a pet-friendly evacuation shelter. Local animal control agencies or Red Cross chapters can provide information on the availability of emergency shelters for animals. Find Red Cross chapters at www.redcross.org.
- Leave animals with loved ones or board them at a professional kennel safely out of the flood’s reach.
“Animals left to fend for themselves during disasters suffer terribly, and evacuees can compound their own stress by worrying about the pets they left behind,” said UAN’s Brown. “For both human and animal safety, it is vital that every family include their animals in their evacuation plans.”
Through its volunteer-driven Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS), UAN has provided emergency animal sheltering during some of the nation’s most severe disasters. In addition to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, UAN also responded to Hurricanes Bret, Dennis and Floyd in 1999; the
Founded in 1987, United Animal Nations (UAN) is
###
