When it rains it pours

When it rains it pours. It may sound trite, but when it comes to natural disasters that affect animals, it is true. Barely 24 hours after deploying our Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) volunteers to care for the animal victims of the Humboldt Fire in Butte County, California, the call for help came again.

On Saturday, June 14, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Services asked UAN to send EARS volunteers to care for the hundreds of animals being displaced by record flooding in Cedar Rapids.

Within 24 hours, we had dozens of trained volunteers on the road to Cedar Rapids, where the devastating flooding has forced more than 24,000 people to evacuate, contaminated the public water supply, and left countless animals stranded on rooftops and elsewhere.

UAN's EARS volunteers are caring for animals at a temporary shelter as they are being rescued from the flood. We expect to be on the ground for two weeks, giving the animals the care they need until they can be reunited with their families.

Photos courtesy Dawn Frary and Shari Neal.