Humane Society of Missouri rescuing animals affected by storms in
southeast Missouri and western Tennessee
Rescue team asked to coordinate animal rescue efforts in Pemiscot County, Missouri

Statewide investigator Lindsey Billings and Assistant Director of Rescues and Investigations Tim Rickey pack plenty of Purina One® dog food for the rescue trip.

The team named the rescued Scottie mix, "Rufus," and gave him a bandana to cheer him up. Rebecca gives him lots of love and attention and takes him on plenty of walks. He has no injuries and spends his nights in the air-conditioned rescue trailer.

April 3, 2006 - The Humane Society of Missouri’s Disaster Rescue Team, including six Rescues & Investigations officers and a licensed veterinary technician left for Caruthersville, Missouri Monday afternoon to assist local emergency management organizations in the rescue of animals in distress as a result of recent severe storms in Pemiscot County in the Missouri bootheel and Dyer County in western Tennessee.

At the request of the Incident Commander for Pemiscot County, the Humane Society of Missouri Rescue Team is coordinating all animal rescue efforts in the damaged areas of the county. The first priority is to save any affected animals and work with local authorities to connect the animals with their families. At this point it is unknown if the team will bring any animals back to St. Louis.

When they arrived this afternoon, the team rescued two German Shepherds, one male chained to tree and one female in back of the house. The owner agreed to allow the team to temporarily care for the animals until he found housing; his home was uninhabitable. A local resident found a Scottie mix who was wandering the streets and handed him over to the rescue team. All three dogs are being housed and cared for in the Disaster Rescue trailer stationed near the Aztar Casino in Caruthersville.

Statewide Investigator Kyle Held rescues a male German Shepherd who was chained to a tree in his owner's front yard. The owner, whose home had been demolished by the tornado released this dog and his other German Shepherd, a female, to the Humane Society of Missouri's care temporarily until he found housing.

April 4, 2006 - Kyle and Carmen plan to stay in the Caruthersville area rescuing animals. Rebecca is stationed at the rescue trailer ready to receive animals. Brett and Lindsey traveled the path of the storm from the Dunklin County border to the Mississippi River, checking with residents to assist pets in need. They made sure that residents had plenty of food and appropriate shelter for their pets. Debbie and Tim traveled to Dyer County, Tennessee to offer animal rescue assistance to the hard hit areas of Dyersberg and Newbern in western Tennessee.

The team distributed more than two thousand pounds of dog and cat food to pet owners in southeast Missouri and western Tennessee.

	Pemiscot County Disaster Rescue Team Debbie Hill, Vice President of Operations and Director of Rescues and Investigations Tim Rickey, Assistant Director of Rescues and Investigations Carmen Skelly, Statewide Investigator Kyle Held, Statewide Investigator Brett Huff, Statewide Investigator Lindsey Billings, Statewide Investigator Rebecca Relling, Liscensed Veterinary Technician
Statewide Investigator Kyle Held and Director of Operations Debbie Hill climb over fallen branches and debris to rescue the female German Shepherd from her owner's backyard.

Kyle provides a bag of Purina One® dog food
to an area resident.

Debbie and Tim met with local officials, animal control and the humane society in Dyer County and Dyersburg to discuss their animal welfare needs and offer assistance. The team has assessed that hundreds of animals have been displaced by the storms. Fortunately, the Caruthersville and Dyer County humane societies and animal control facilities were not damaged and continue to be up and running. They are, however, at full capacity. April 5, 2006 - Kyle and Carmen plan to work with Caruthersville Humane Society and local officials. Tim and Debbie will be back in Dyer County. Brett and Lindsey plan to travel to Tiptonville, which is just north of Caruthersville across the Mississippi River. They plan to make contact with emergency management officials to offer assistance with animal rescue. Rebecca will continue to be stationed at the rescue trailer to take care of incoming pets. (Right) This picture shows a Chow mix inside a car parked in front of a destroyed home. The rescue team managed to get the dog out of the car, which was 106 degrees inside. They immediately treated the dog with cool water and ice packs to reduce his 104 degree temperature. The dog recovered quickly and is doing fine. The team was unable to locate the dog's owner.	(above) Rebecca cares for a puppy who suffered serious injuries possibly due to the storm. The puppy was later taken to an emergency vet clinic for further treatment
	(Left) Rebecca and Lindsey remove a splinter near this Red Healer's eye. This dog's owner released her into the care of the Humane Society of Missouri. See a map of where our rescue team is working. We will continue to provide daily updates and photos on the Pemiscot County rescue as we receive reports from our Disaster Rescue Team. Check back soon for the latest rescue news.

The rescued parakeet

Carmen and Kyle rescued a cat who was sitting on a transformer on top of a telephone pole with help of the phone company. Kyle caught a parakeet on a property that was severely damaged by the storm. The parakeet suffered a few wounds from the storm and his eyes were crusted over. The parakeet is recuperating in the the rescue trailer along with two dogs who were found on the same property.

Debbie, Tim, Lindsey and Brett traveled to Dyersberg to help load up five cows that were displaced by the storm and ended up in horse pasture. Several team members helped calm the horses while the others, along with staff members from the University of Tennessee's assistance office, helped load the cows into a trailer using a rescue slide. The staff at the University if Tennessee planned to reunite the cows with their owner. Unfortunately, twelve members of this herd were swept up by the tornado and suffered too many injuries to survive.

This picture shows one of the hardest hit residential areas in Caruthersville

Debbie and Tim rescued several more dogs while scouting other hard hit areas in Tennessee. They placed them with the Humane Society of Tennessee so that hopefully the dogs will be reunited with their owners.

Last night the team packed up and went to the other side of town to grab dinner. When they returned, a resident was dropping off a baby squirrel she had discovered on the ground by a tree that had fallen over. The baby squirrel was weak and dehydrated, so he was fed with a syringe and given lots of attention. The team is hopeful that squirrel will get better and within a week or so he will be released.

April 6, 2006 - This morning the team drove to to the Caruthersville Humane Society to drop off the recuperating stray animals they had rescued. To help relieve the overcrowded shelter and to make more space for displaced strays, they took sixteen animals and will bring them to St. Louis today.

How you can help:

Make a financial donation to help offset the rescue costs: Phone (314) 951-1542 or donate securely online.

All copyrights in photographs and diaries are claimed and reserved by the Humane Society of Missouri.