Helping flood victims in Missouri and Mississippi

As floodwaters, saturate parts of the Midwest and Southeastern United States, UAN's Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) volunteers are hard at work taking care of hundreds of animals evacuated in Southeast Missouri.


A puppy at the temporary shelter for
flood evacuees in Kennett, Missouri

Last week, staff at the Caruthersville Humane Society began housing a few evacuated animals, but quickly outgrew its space as animals poured in. Now more than 500 dogs, cats, birds, bunnies and even two guinea pigs are enjoying comfortable and temporary accommodations in an old warehouse and a fairgrounds building in nearby Kennett.

EARS volunteer Shannon Asquith is leading the volunteer team and said the temporary shelter took in more than 100 dogs per day three days in a row.

"There was a lot of pre-evacuation planning and it worked," she said. "Everybody responded. I think we have every dog and cat in Caruthersville in the temporary shelter!"

Meanwhile, another UAN volunteer team is arriving in Natchez, Mississippi to set up an emergency shelter for families expected to evacuate their pets in advance of anticipated flooding of the Mississippi River there.

Please check back soon for photos and stories from these disaster responses.