FROM CAT CHAT- Animal Disaster Preparedness Day 2013 was May 8th. When thinking of the chances of a disaster happening to US, we often turn blind eyes and ears thinking that there is NO WAY that this will ever happen to any of us. Well, disasters CAN and DO happen.
When thinking of the importance of conveying this message, my thoughts immediately turned to Hilary Grossman of the blog Feeling Beachie who not only LIVED, but is STILL living the horrors of Hurricane Sandy. I thought it only fitting that Hilary be my guest blogger today, she can convey the importance of Animal Disaster Preparedness better than I ever could. I am honored to feature Hilary's post:
I originally posted this on November 17, 2012 eighteen
days after Hurricane Sandy slammed the beach community that I call home. Let’s face it, life is so unpredictable. We never know what tomorrow will bring... We
get spoiled. We never think that a disaster
will happen to us or to our pets. But
sadly, sometimes they do. Two years ago I sat at a village meeting about
hurricane preparedness. I barely paid
attention, after all, no bad storm would hit us, I naively thought. But then, later that year as Hurricane Irene
approached, we had to evacuate our home for the first time, along with our cat,
Alex, who just had his tail amputated.
As a pet owner, I never thought prior about what would happen if a
disaster hit. But I quickly learned you
have to be prepared for everything. We
left our home with not only Alex’s necessities (food, litter box, litter
locker, medicine, bowls, and important papers) but also blankets and toys that
smelled like home to help comfort him in an unfamiliar environment. Despite sharing
a house with two dogs, he did great. I
am sure his evacuation was so successful because we properly prepared his
“refugee room” to be as home like as possible.
We made it through Irene unscathed.
Unfortunately the year after we wouldn’t be so lucky..... I learned the hard way, you really have to
prepare in advance for a disaster because even though you think you understand
what a situation may be like, until you live it you never really know...
Images on television don’t prepare you....
You had a very difficult day. Nothing seemed to go your way. You are tired, you are cranky, and you are
stressed. You are so looking forward to
relaxing. You want a break. Scratch that.
You NEED a break! You put on some comfy clothes and perhaps grab a snack
or maybe a glass of wine. You sit
yourself down on your couch remote control in hand. You aim it at the television and let out a
quiet sigh of relief. Finally you are
going to get the break you deserve.
Your favorite TV show is not on. Instead every channel you select is featuring
coverage of a tragic event - brush fire, school shooting, earthquake or
hurricane. You pause and watch. You feel terrible for those affected. You vow to make a contribution to help. Maybe you end up doing it. Maybe you don’t. You sympathize with those affected and you
feel like you understand their plight.
But do you?
I can tell you first hand, you don’t. No matter how much you think you can relate
to the heart ache and devastation you see on television you can’t until you
lived through a catastrophe, like Hurricane Sandy. Trust me, I know…. And I
hope that you never have to know….
Images on television don’t prepare you for how helpless
you feel as you watch your brother-in-law’s home, the home you evacuated to, fill
with over a foot of ocean and bay water within moments. The images don’t prepare you for the panic
and desperation your feel as you and your nieces help your sister-in-law
elevate her antique chairs to try to protect them from the gushing water before
you all move to another room to try and save her clothing that was on the
bottom of her closet. Keep in mind that
all this is happening while the wall to wall carpet begins to sway in the
waves.
Images on television don’t prepare you for the fear you feel
as you and your husband get into your sister-in-law’s car, because his car was
destroyed by the flood, to venture to your home to access your damages. You know you will find major damages when you
get there, but you don’t know how severe they will be, and you are afraid. You pray that you will find your home where
you left it.
As you drive you see images out of a television
report. You see down trees, missing
roofs, pieces of boardwalk on people’s front lawn, and sand filling the
streets. While these images are similar
to what you have seen previously on television from past catastrophes these
images are different. They are from your
home town. You know the people affected
and your heart hurts.
Images on television don’t prepare you for the moment you
arrive in front of your own home. If you are lucky your home is still
standing. Your breath hitches in your
throat as you slowly open your front door, fearful of what you will find
inside. And when you walk in you wish
you could walk right out. Ocean in your
den…. Major flooding in your basement….. Loss of property… Structural damage….
The list goes on and on.
Images on television don’t prepare you for the emotions
you feel as you find your friends and neighbors. You are relieved to see they are physically
alright. You are heartbroken to see that
their homes are as devastated as is yours, or maybe even worse. You hug each other. You cry.
And sometimes you even find a reason to laugh.
Images on television stop after the major event is over. It isn’t their fault. No one wants to see old
news. Images on television don’t show
the aftermath….
No one knows how your days and nights are spent cleaning
up and throwing out all your destroyed belongings, in the cold and the dark, as
your basement ceiling collapses on your head.
You are covered in dirt, muck, and sometimes sewage. You feel filthy, but you can’t bear to take a
cold shower on a New York November day, so you don’t. You forget the basic necessities; you forget
to take your medicine and brush your teeth.
Day turns to night and back to day again. You lose track of the hours
and the days as you try to help your neighbors and friends who are in the same
or worse condition as you are. You share
necessities – flash lights, batteries, bottle water, garbage bags, and even a
car. And if someone miraculously has a
cell phone that works, you share that too…
You realize who your friends really are, and you see
people’s true colors. Some shock you in
a good way, some in a bad way.
Regardless, you know you will never forget these moments, although you
really want to.
Weeks pass and life returns to normal that is for most
people, but not you. You are a person
who was hit hard. You may be staying
with friends or you may be struggling to stay at home. Regardless you still are struggling…. You feel a wide mix of emotions. You are sad and angry that you have to endure
this. You are jealous that others are
going about their life as normal. But
you are also thankful that you are okay, and you know that in the future, one
day too your life will return to normal….you just hope it happens soon.
