As residents begin to rebuild their damaged property following Hurricane Matthew, many pets in Pitt County still face a number of potential risks due to the flooding.
The risk of flood water contamination is dangerous to both pets and humans. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine for the Animal Hospital of Pitt County Anne Eldridge said there is a number of different diseases that can be dangerous to pets. With major flooding events, the risk of injury to pets comes in two phases. Eldridge said the initial risk of drowning or snack interactions generally leads way to medical issues from the flood water.
“If your animal was in the flood, any way that they are acting differently, they really need to be evaluated,” said Eldridge. “If they are not eating right or they are not acting right, they should be examined.”
According to Eldridge animals should still be examined by a veterinarian even if they are not showing any strange behavior.
“A physical exam is never a bad idea, it is always a good idea for nothing more than to get a baseline,” said Eldridge.
Homeowners who own pets should disinfect and clean any property that was touched by the flood waters. Thorough cleaning should remove all of the harmful toxins to pets and protect them.
“We are in the flood zone so we actually evacuated all of our animals into temporary foster homes,” said Sistine Burgess, shelter director for the Humane Society of Pitt County. “Some of our staff volunteered over at [Pitt County Animal Shelter].”
The shelter, located north of the river, did not receive any damage as a result of the flooding. Because the building flooded in 1999 during Hurricane Floyd, officials with the Humane Society evacuated.
“We have a really good volunteer base so when we learned that the hurricane was going to cause a lot of flooding, we put out a ply to our fosters for people to come in and take temporary fosters,” said Burgess.
Many of the volunteers who fostered the shelter animals kept them for more than a week, according to Burgess. Burgess said that many of those volunteers are not considering adopting the animals they fostered. During normal business, the Humane Society gives volunteers the opportunity to foster animals during the week to get them out of the shelter.
“It was a good opportunity for the animals to break from shelter life,” said Burgess. “Being in a shelter is very stressful in general. It is loud, there is people are coming and going. No matter what we do to try and provide them comfort it is still not a home.”
According to Burgess, the shelter staff has seen an increase in respiratory infections because of the stress in moving.
There may be a drop in adoptions and an increase in owner surrenders as a result of the natural disaster, said Burgess. With residents rebuilding their homes, they are less likely to adopt a pet. Along with that, owner surrenders may increase due to the financial difficulties caused by property damage and other unforeseen expenses.
“We are seeing people who are struggling to care for their pets, especially now in the aftermath of the storm,” said Kristen Below, co-founder and director of the Pet Food Pantry of Eastern North Carolina. “They are trying to get back on their feet, they have lost homes, they have lost cars.”
The Pet Food Pantry provides pet owners with animal supplies who cannot otherwise pay for it. They are currently going into the flooded communities and giving homeowners pet food, collars, leashes, bowls and other supplies. Below said that she hopes to stop owners from surrendering their pets. By helping pet owners through the financial burdens, they hope to keep the animals in their homes.
For anyone who wants to help the group with assisting pet owners, Below said people are encouraged to email Pet Food Pantry at PetFoodPantryENC@gmail.com. People can also run donation drives at local businesses or community groups to help compile dog food or money.
