When disaster strikes, often people’s first thought aside from their own safety is that of their pets, said Hamilton County Disaster Animal Response Team coordinator Renita “Shorty” Beaty.
Following the tornadoes that ripped through the Chattanooga area Easter Sunday night, Hamilton County Emergency Management deployed the county’s response team for door-to-door grid searches for animals left behind, and McKamey Animal Center officials partnered in those efforts to search the 17 grids across the 9-mile area of the county hit hardest by the storm.
McKamey brought in a veterinary medical team to do minor triage, taking care of pets with minor injuries, such as lacerations from flying debris, on-site and taking animals with more serious issues back to the center. A few required surgery, including one dog whose toenails were ripped off as it was pulled through the roof of a home, said Executive Director Jamie McAloon.
Along with dogs and cats, larger animals in more rural areas hit by the storm were also affected.
Beaty said she and her three teams assisted residents with cattle hit by falling trees. They also helped find places to board animals living in a barn that was completely destroyed.