Helping pets affected by Hurricane Ike in Galveston, Texas

A Best Friends rapid response team is on the ground on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, helping animals stranded by Hurricane Ike.

Rapid response manager Rich Crook’s team, whose services were requested by Galveston County Health District Animal Control to assist in recovery efforts, is working closely with shelter workers in Texas City, a port town on Texas’ Gulf Coast.

Repairing the area animal shelter

When the Best Friends team arrived on September 16, they were relieved to see that the shelter was in better shape than they had expected. But because power to the area was out, the animals were kept outside.

The team immediately went to work, making basic repairs to the building, setting up a generator and disinfecting the kennel areas. Once the shelter, which serves the Galveston County area, could function safely again, the animals were moved back inside.

With that, Best Friends achieved its first goal: getting the shelter operational to safely house animals at that location, Rich says.

Best Friends to help animals affected by Hurricane Ike

In addition, the team will help with the search, rescue and recovery of animals, as necessary, in communities affected by the hurricane. In the meantime, team members are still assessing the search-and-rescue needs of the community.

On September 17, Rich toured the area with a police escort. "Devastation in Galveston is like Katrina without the water," he said.

Read about Best Friends Animal Society's involvement with Hurricane Harvey animal rescue.

Photos by Mike Harmon