Answering the call to help pets impacted by disaster

As soon as the plane touched down in Salt Lake City, things started moving fast. About 90 pets had just arrived from Texas, adoptable cats and dogs who were already in shelters before devastating floods swept through the region. Best Friends staff and local volunteers were waiting for them on the tarmac, as were members of the Best Friends emergency response team.

The emergency response team includes specially trained volunteers from across the country who jump into action when disaster strikes — people like Mark and Kim Spragg of Gulfport, Florida. The retired couple received an email about the flight on Friday. The next day, they were flying to Salt Lake City to help.

Mark and Kim helped unload the animals, gave them food and water, walked dogs, cleaned crates, and prepared things for the pets who were continuing on to rescue groups.

Best Friends supports communities around the country as they embrace no-kill philosophies and programs designed to save dogs and cats’ lives. That support includes when disaster occurs. Best Friends can assist by taking in pets already in shelters in affected areas, bringing them to safety, and freeing up space for displaced animals.

After those pets were squared away, the work didn’t stop. Kim and Mark then flew to Texas to deliver much-needed supplies from Best Friends — food, litter, crates, leashes, and more — to six shelters impacted by the floods. “We caravaned from San Antonio to Austin and loaded a 53-foot big commercial truck,” says Mark.

Rising up for pets every day and when disaster strikes

Best Friends Emergency Services Senior Manager Tim Perciful was impressed by how Mark and Kim adjusted to changing plans during the complex mission. But his favorite memory of the couple is something much simpler. On a sweltering Texas day, they paused amid the hustle and bustle to buy ice cream for the local volunteers working alongside the Best Friends team. “It was a small gesture compared with everything happening around us, but it showed exactly who they are,” says Tim.

Mark and Kim bring that personal touch every time they volunteer. After back-to-back hurricanes hit Florida, the couple took the night shift in a Red Cross shelter. They watched over the pets and took dogs for walks so their people, many of whom had lost everything, could sleep.

Emergency response is relatively new territory for the couple. Working with dogs isn’t.

Mark and Kim first visited Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in 2013. Since then, they’ve been back 60 times to volunteer. Along the way, they have completed extensive animal behavior training and are now able to work with some of the dogs at the Sanctuary who have the biggest challenges. The couple, who have a soft spot for shy dogs, meet each dog where they’re at and use the skills and techniques they’ve learned to help dogs live the best life possible.

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“We learn how to trust the dog and for the dog to be able to trust us,” says Kim.

Whether caring for pets impacted by natural disasters or taking a dog for a sleepover at the Sanctuary, Kim and Mark’s commitment to the animals is clear. But as Mark says, “We get so much more out of it than we give to it.”

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.