Article September 27, 2004 Issue

REMEMBER THE ANIMALS

P. K.

In Charley's wake, members of several rescue teams donated hundreds of pounds of animal food to south Florida residents. Organizations including HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) and DART (Disaster Animal Response Team) also rescued hundreds of animals and donated hundreds of pounds of animal food.

Linda Evans, of HSUS, reported that raccoons, squirrels, ducks, and even a black bear "sitting behind someone's house" were rescued, and that they set up a kind of "... modern-day M-A-S-H unit. You'd hear 'Incoming! Incoming!' ... rush out and get the injured animal where it needed to go." Pet housing was available, but for some stricken residents letting pets out of sight was too much to ask, and people lived in vehicles so they could be with them.

Patti Ragan, Director of the Center for Great Apes, in Wauchula, wrote that 50 percent of the trees on their property, including the largest oaks—with roots as high as 15 feet—blew over. Loss of shadecover is difficult for apes, and the estimates for restoration and repair are running at over $100,000, over a period of six to 12 months. But Ragan was delighted that their five orangutans, 14 chimpanzees, and six dogs were safe and unharmed. She reported that afterward, "the apes ... wanted to come to touch our hands frequently." P. K.

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