HERMITAGE – With their first animal supply drive a resounding success, organizers are making plans for the future.
Though animals are sometimes forgotten or take a backseat to human victims during times of disaster, a group of animal-lovers here in Mercer County didn’t forget them and organized a supply drive to donate items from cages to collars to pet food.
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A puppy displaced by Hurricane Harvey receives care from a volunteer in Conroe, Texas. At left, a forklift unloads donated pet supplies at an animal shelter at the Montgomery County (Texas) fairgrounds.
“We had many people greet us with tears. They were extremely happy to be a part of it,” said Diana Estman with Club Pet Adoption.
The founders of the drive included Club Pet Adoption in Transfer, All Paws Matter in Sharpsville and the Humane Society of Mercer County in Sharon.
The drive started with a semi-truck and trailer donated by Joy Cone, along with a second trailer which was intended only to display a banner in the parking lot so people could find the drive at Tractor Supply Co. in Hermitage.
Initially, Kim Burdick of All Paws Matter said those involved worried they might not be able to fill an entire trailer with supplies.
By the end of the drive, however, the group was able to send six semi-trucks to Texas, carrying roughly $100,000 to $150,000 worth of supplies gathered.
The journey was about 1,370 miles and took about two to three days for each truck, said Estman.
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Trucks are filled with supplies
“It far exceeded our expectations. We had so many people come to help,” Estman said.
To coordinate the supply distribution, Jason Cooke, a Brookfield resident involved in several animal rescue groups, was already on-the-ground in Texas after flying there on Aug. 31 to volunteer at the Montgomery County Animal Shelter.
Spending nine days at the shelter’s facility at the Montgomery County fairgrounds in Conroe, Texas, Cooke helped to take care of more than 950 dogs and cats.
“It was so uplifting to see those trucks arrive and to see the amount of supplies gathered,” Cooke said.
Cooke took photos and videos of the supplies being unloaded and distributed where necessary. The images were shared on Facebook, allowing those in Mercer County to see their efforts being put to good use, said Burdick.
“It made people feel good to have a local person down there,” he said.
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A truck is filled with pet supplies.
At the shelter, the animals were given the best possible care, including getting medical care, being cleaned and enjoying a few walks a day to get them out of their cages.
About 700 cages were arranged in a room so people could find their lost pets, said Cooke.
In some instances, the animals were pets whose families had to go to a shelter themselves.
Others were pets left behind and even strays who had no home before the hurricane and were brought to the shelter by returning families.
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Pets are given medical examinations by the Montgomery County Animal Shelter in Conroe, Texas.
“One guy lost his house and didn’t want to give up his dog to go to a shelter, so he was living in his pickup truck,” said Cooke, who added a lot of volunteers respected the man for not abandoning his dog.
“We gave him a bunch of food and supplies and washed his dog. He was literally crying, he was so appreciative.”
The efficiency with which the volunteers sorted and packaged the goods with pallets and shrink-wrap before sending them off made things very easy for the volunteers at the fairgrounds.
They could have a truck unloaded and on its way in less than an hour, Cooke said.
“It’s amazing how organized they were. You could tell they put a lot of effort into putting them into pallets and making sure they were stuff we could use,” Cooke said.
“God bless them for doing that for us.”
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Sir Scruffy thanks rescue workers for finding him a good home.
But despite the amount of supplies local residents managed to send to Texas, it looks like the group hasn’t run out of steam and has more work to do.
“Kim and I are bombarded with people wanting to help out with Florida,” Estman said.
Since Burdick and Estman are not sure if they will be able to get as many semi-trucks as the last drive, they want potential donors to understand that any excess supplies will be sent to local shelters in case they can’t be taken to Florida.
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Pet supplies are piled on a flatbed truck.
“Some people wanted to donate toward a truck, others wanted to donate toward food, so some people like to designate how they help,” Estman said.
However, both Burdick and Estman wanted to thank all of the people and businesses who volunteered with the first drive.
Two semi-trucks were donated from Joy Cone, two from P I and I Motor Express, and two others were from independent truck drivers, one of whom took his two dogs with him in his cab wherever he drove, said Burdick.
Besides volunteers from the local animal groups, the local Kohl’s, Tractor Supply Co. and Lowe’s donated employees to help load the trailers. Some employees gave up their Labor Day holiday to help on Sunday and Monday, while some people who came to donate items ended up donating their time as well, said Burdick.
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About 700 crates were set up by the Montgomery County Animal Shelter for animals displaced or abandoned by Hurricane Harvey.
“One lady stopped by with some things and wanted to help out a little, and she ended up staying for eight or nine hours,” Burdick said. “People stayed all day. We definitely weren’t short of help, but we needed everyone there.”
The location of the next drive will remain behind Tractor Supply Co., with donation days from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and 2.
MORE information: Visit All Paws Matter and Club Pet Adoption pages on Facebook.
Like David L. Dye on Facebook or email him at ddye@sharonherald.com.
