Pam Winslow finds hard work, but plenty of rewards, at temporary animal shelter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jackson, Mississippi (September 17, 2005) – A twelve-hour flight and six thousand miles wasn’t enough to keep Pam Winslow from helping the animal victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Winslow, a trained volunteer with the United Animal Nations (UAN) Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS), has been in Jackson since Monday, helping care for animals owned by evacuees and animals rescued from coastal areas devastated by the hurricane. Winslow, of Honolulu, owns Elite Innovations, a distributor of car detailing equipment and supplies. She said the company sponsored her trip and her employees offered to pick up the extra work while she was gone.
“In Hawaii we are so far removed from the disaster that we felt helpless to do anything for the victims,” Winslow explained. “Everyone at work thought that sending me to help the animals would be a good way to get personally involved.”
Winslow was not dismayed that she would spend her week off cleaning cages and walking dogs in 100-degree temperatures. Kay Mayfield, EARS National Director, said Winslow has been an enormous help and a “workhorse.”
“Pam is the type of volunteer who just dives right in and does whatever needs to be done,” Mayfield said. “Every time I turn around she is doing something – I don’t think I’ve even seen her sit down.”
UAN is currently operating two emergency animal shelters – the Jackson shelter and one in Monroe, Louisiana. UAN is also partnering with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Code 3 Associates to conduct water rescues of animals in New Orleans.
Through the Emergency Animal Rescue Service, UAN has responded to 63 disasters since 1987. With more than 2,300 volunteers nationwide, EARS can set up and run a temporary shelter to care for animals displaced by disasters such as a hurricane, fire, flood, tornado or criminal seizure. Winslow took UAN’s daylong training workshop to become an EARS volunteer in 2003. This is her first disaster response.
“This disaster has brought a lot of tragedy and loss,” Winslow said. “But animals can bring comfort to people at times likes this, which underscores the importance of the work that we are doing.”
Founded in 1987, United Animal Nations is North America’s leading provider of emergency animal sheltering and disaster relief services and a key advocate for the critical needs of animals.
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