Local Animal Shelter is an anchor during historic flood
Humboldt county Emergency director Kyle Bissell poses with his new cat River (formerly Kyle) and wife Michelle, who has made 15,000 blankets for shelters across the state. Submitted photo.
BY KYLIE PORTZ
With flood levels cresting at a record-breaking 17 feet, Humboldt County remains in a flood warning weeks after the initial flood. The historic flooding was caused by heavy rainfall along the west branch of the Des Moines River in northern Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota. The flood reached its crest on June 27 although the area remains under a flood warning.
Throughout the chaos, Moffitt Animal Shelter was a beacon for families and their pets. From helping distribute pet food donations, to rescuing pets who had to be left behind when their families evacuated. The Humboldt animal shelter worked tirelessly throughout the week to help not only the animals of Humboldt but their families too. Director Miranda Peterson shared some insight into what the week looked like for the shelter.
“We didn’t have to sandbag at any of our holding locations or the shelter but our volunteers, some board members and family members, were out in full force helping sandbag and then again to help clean up in the community between doing animal chores and handling regular animal calls. Our regular animal control officers are currently on vacation and have been through the duration of this event, so my family has been handling the animal calls in their absence,” Peterson said.
It is important to have a plan so that you are prepared in case of an emergency, something that Peterson said they had in place thanks to the help of Humboldt Emergency Management Director Kyle Bissell.
“We’ve worked close with Kyle Bissell in the past to come up with a plan for a large-scale response in case of some sort of disaster type of situation,” Peterson said, “so we had the groundwork laid on our response that we were able to put into action right away. Peace Creek and Mechanical Solutions became our secondary holding locations for smaller animals. When we put out our Facebook information posts, we had so many offers of help for the large animals that we felt very confident that we could manage all the animals in Humboldt County with the help of residents and volunteers.”
Peterson stressed the importance of microchipping your pets and making sure their vaccinations are updated so in case of an emergency you can be reunited with your furry friend.
“Making sure you plan ahead for your pets in case of emergencies is the absolute best thing you can do for them. They don’t want to sit in a shop with a bunch of strangers getting to them when there’s time. They would much rather be with people they know and feel safe with. Animals get scared when you’re scared or panicking. They pick up on that so offering as much consistency and calmness along with making sure they’re microchipped, and vaccines are up-to-date to avoid illness is the best thing you can do to help your pets in times of emergency and chaos.”
To read more about how Moffitt Animal Shelter stepped up for the Humboldt Community, check out this weeks issue of the Humboldt Independent.
