By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
WABASH, Ind. – A Wabash woman was among a group of volunteers who traveled to Greenfield to tend to a shipment of animals needing help in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
Whitney Myers is a District Leader Volunteer for the Humane Society of the United States. Because of that, she was among those who traveled to the Indianapolis Regional Airport in Greenfield to help greet and tend to 82 cats and dogs rescued from Puerto Rico.
Because of low spaying and neutering numbers and underfunded shelters in Puerto Rico, the HSUS has sponsored flights to evacuate animals in existing shelters there due to the lack of space.
“They can’t help with the housing of some of the most defenseless residents of Puerto Rico who are stranded or lost as a result of the hurricane,” Myers told The Paper of Wabash County. “The animals who are moving into the shelters are ones whose families might be looking for them, so they can’t be transported to the mainland.
“The HSUS and other organizations are working to evacuate animals from shelters so they have room for animals stranded or lost as a result of the hurricane. The animals in the shelters have been there long enough that the odds of a family looking for them are slim to none.”
When Myers learned a rescue flight would be coming to Indianapolis, she said, “My first thought was ‘How can I help?’”
The flight left Puerto Rico at 4:30 a.m. However, because of weather, it didn’t arrive in Greenfield until 9:30 p.m.
“There were 82 animals on that flight that included adult dogs, puppies and kittens,” she said. “This was one of the smallest groups this airline transported; they have had as many as 200 animals aboard a single flight.”
Pilots, according to Myers, have been making flights to and from Puerto Rico and other hurricane-ravaged islands for 18 straight days.
“They have delivered animals all over the United States, and we were lucky enough to receive this one,” she said.
HSUS put all calls for help for shelters from around Indiana and as far away as Cincinnati, to come to help with the animals.
“Seeing all of these shelter vehicles was not only heart-warming, but humbling,” Myers said. “When the plane touched down a collective cheer went out, and as the plane opened its doors you could feel the love and energy. The animals were handed down to the volunteers on the ground, and we placed them on the tarmac in rows, which were quickly moved into groups according to the shelters poised to take them to their temporary homes.”
Some animals were a bit rambunctious, making it a challenge to get them from the plane to the ground. Others, she continued, were so exhausted they didn’t move at all.
“They all had water in their kennels, as well as treats when they landed,” she said of the animals. “Some were vocal; some were quite. But all of them had a look of gratitude in their eyes, almost as if they knew they were safe.”
After all the animals were on the ground, volunteers spent time with every dog and cat, Myers said, “reassuring them, loving on them, and establishing a human bond that many might not have had for years, or ever, outside of shelter employees or volunteers.”
The HSUS celebrates animals and works to confront cruelty to all animals, not just dogs and cats, Myers said.
Rather than run local shelters, the HSUS takes on the biggest transformational fights to stop large-scale cruelties, such as animal fighting, puppy mills, factory farming and the wildlife trade.
As district leader volunteer, Myers works to advance the group’s federal, state and local animal protection legislative priorities and corporate reform campaigns.
“It was by far one of the best experiences of my life – way better than Christmas,” Myers said of her experience with the animals. “As an individual, there is a limited amount we can do, but as a community, we can do so much.”