As the East Coast recovers from Hurricane Sandy, thousands of people are looking for an essential family member: their pets.
With homes and fences destroyed, numerous animals freaked out and ran or flew away. Animal charities and owners have social networking available, and smartphones filled with photos of their furry friends.
One extremely popular site, with more than 21,500 "likes" as of Monday morning, is the Hurricane Sandy Lost and Found Pets Facebook page. Owners missing pets can upload a photo and information, and those who find lost pets can do the same. The creators organized the photos into albums by state and animal type. They even feature a "Reunited" album, featuring the photos of eight pets successfully reunited with their families.
Other Good Samaritans and owners took to Twitter, using the hashtag #sandypets to alert others and distribute information.
And with an uncanny sense of timing, Stephen Fern and his company E-scape, working with the American Humane Association, released the Lost Petz app on October 23. The app allows owners to upload information about their pets, and then if the pet is missing, send out something similar to an Amber Alert. The app is free to download, but registration cost $0.99 for a one-year subscription.
Before owners and finders get to the web, it's worth keeping a few tips in mind:
- If you find an animal, take it to a veterinarian's office or shelter to have it scanned for a microchip. This could speed up the reunion.
- Likewise, if an animal has a rabies collar, that would be registered with its regular vet.
- If you are able to take in the animal until its owner is found, that would be ideal, since most animal shelters in the area are filled past capacity.
- Pet owners should fill out a Lost Pet Report on the Animal Care and Control (ACC) page of the New York City website.
- Lost and/or Found posters are still worth the effort, since power hasn't been fully restored in some areas yet.
Rumors are going around that ACC is euthanizing large numbers of animals, but Jane Hoffman, the president of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, which oversees the ACC, said in an e-mail that's all it is--a rumor.
"It is unfortunate that people are spreading inaccurate information at a time when the NYC animal welfare community is struggling to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. It is not helpful and reposting inaccurate information does not make it anymore accurate," Hoffman said.
She added that if people want to help, they can adopt, donate, and volunteer.
Fortunately, unlike when Hurricane Katrina hit, the number of missing animals won't likely reach 250,000, because of the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act of 2006. Pets were allowed onto trains, and all of the New York City evacuation shelters, along with many in New Jersey, welcomed pets.
Now watch how Sandy became such a beast >
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