People aren't the only ones who lost their homes when all four buildings of Superior Creek Lodge in East Ridge were condemned last week and emptied of about 1,500 residents.
Many of those people had pets - cats and dogs - and animal welfare groups have been scrambling to find places for them, as well.
Among those trying to help are the scant staff at East Ridge Animal Shelter.
For the past week, supervisor Andrea Dillard and animal control officers Kevin Jones and Jennifer Holter have worked almost nonstop caring for more than three times the number of animals the shelter is accustomed to handling.
They said they could not have survived without an outpouring of volunteers assisting the staff.
About eight volunteers visit the shelter three times a day to walk dogs. People stocked the shelter with blankets and cat litter. Another volunteer recently started coming to the shelter daily just to help care for cats.
People brought so much dog food over the past week that shelter staff started looking for places to store it. Dillard has used some dog food to make "goody" bags for relocated owners when they come to collect their pets.
The frenzy started about a week ago when the city of East Ridge first condemned two buildings on the site, then the other two. City officials warned the shelter that it should be on standby for pet owners who couldn't move with their animals.
But no requests came that Wednesday, so Dillard thought the shelter might not be affected.
She thought wrong.
On Thursday, the dam broke. First, a call came from a family asking for assistance for their animal.
Then East Ridge United Methodist Church requested shelter for four animals.
By 6 p.m., the shelter staff had received so many calls that the staff set up a station at the hotel to take in animals.
It was a challenge, Dillard said, keeping the paperwork straight to identify and properly shelter all of the animals.
At its peak, during the Superior Creek resident displacement, the shelter held 56 dogs and 30 cats. The norm is about 12 to 15 dogs and a half dozen cats, Dillard said.
Owners have come daily to reclaim their pets. Still, 47 pets - 30 dogs and 17 cats - remained at the shelter Wednesday afternoon.
Dillard said she's receptive to owners who need help asking for an extension to pick up their animals. If she hasn't heard from them by the end of the week, however, she plans to start making sure all animals are spayed and neutered on Monday. Then the facility will have a special adoption fair before the end of the month.
Most animals are in good shape and have been well cared for, she said.
Arden Woods of Chattanooga, who has been helping at East Ridge, said volunteering at the shelter has brought her joy at a time she needed a break from bad news.
"Between the fires in California and the homeless people in Chattanooga and the Hungarian refugees, I would literally sob," she said. "I decided this is one small thing I can do. If I had to give up my animals while I tried to get housing, I would hope someone would come and do this for me."
Meanwhile, the staffers at the animal shelter are regrouping after a dizzying busy spell.
"It's so crazy," Dillard said. "Everything moves so fast, I'll get home at night and die. None of us have had time to go to the grocery store."
Asked what the shelter staff needs now, Dillard turned to humor.
"A massage," she joked. "Surely somebody thought of us in all of this."
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.