BACK TO TOP - FIELD NOTES LIST Give Feline Flood Survivors Forever Love!

► FOSTER OR ADOPT A FELINE FLOOD SURVIVOR: When Kinship Circle learned cats who survived Piedmont's flood needed shelter, we thought of one person: Nancy Lupia of Felines Forever. Last February, Nancy took in 14 Katrina kitties we brought back from New Orleans. She didn't hesitate to retrieve 12 lucky kitties this time. ALL cats who made it out alive have gone to rescues, most of them with Nancy! Piedmont's shelter took in 5 feet of water and lost 8 dogs. Cats survived because they'd been let out of cages in a last-minute effort to save them and were able to climb atop shelves. All were traumatized by the ordeal.

► TO FOSTER OR ADOPT:
CALL NANCY LUPIA, FELINES FOREVER: 314-707-0795
felinesforever@hotmail.com
www.felinesforever.petfinder.com


BACK TO TOP - FIELD NOTES LIST Floodwaters Swell Near Illinois Shelter

► TO FOSTER A DOG/PUPPY OR CAT/KITTEN, REPLY DIRECTLY TO:
630-271-9002 or michelle.parson@comcast.net
Michelle Parson, President and Dog Program Director
A Caring Place Humane Society, Darien, IL
www.acaringplacehs.org

► SHELTER OVERWHELMED, PLEA FOR HELP — from bjkalmbach@yahoo.com, nightvine@yahoo.com: I write again out of desperation for Franklin County Animal Control in Benton, IL. This pound suffered devastating loss during Thanksgiving week when a fire burned their main building to the ground, killing over 50 animals. Since that time, volunteers and staff have continued taking in animals…with minimal facilities. They've housed cats and kittens in a storage shed and dogs and puppies have been living in outdoor kennel runs — even through the coldest and snowiest parts of winter. Now Franklin County faces a new problem — rain and flooding.

► Darien, Illinois — from michelle.parson@comcast.net: Conditions getting worse. Constant rain for 2 days. Places in West Frankfort (6 miles away) evacuated homes and called to pick up pets. Dottie and I set up our garages for animals. Dottie has all puppies in her garage plus she has Brownie (dog with broken leg), the puppy with leg pins, another adult dog and all her own animals. I have Moonbeam and another old adult dog who belongs to a homeless woman…in my garage in cages…the 6 survivor pups in in my cat room, 2 other adult cats and 3 caged cats in my back bedroom plus all my own animals. We've both been soaked in the rain while trying to get tarps back up and help these animals, but the situation is hopeless… They will euthanize large numbers of animals if we and other rescues don't help them.


BACK TO TOP - FIELD NOTES LIST Feedback: Missouri Floodwaters Rising



Eureka firefighter Corey Marler tries to pull a reluctant dog to his boat in the Meramec River near Highway 109. Passersby spotted two Dogs clinging to driftwood in the middle of the river. Sgt. Bryan Parrott of the Missouri Water Patrol comforts the first dog rescued. Both dogs were taken to the Eureka Fire Station. St. Louis Post Dispatch, www.stltoday.com

3/21/08 ► FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE: We thank everyone who took initiative to help animal victims in response to our 3/18 and 3/19 alerts about flash floods in Piedmont, Missouri (that wiped out the town's only animal shelter). Terri Archer, our contact who coordinated resources from her home in Cuba, MO, writes on 3/20/08: "Thank you so much for everything you have done. We've received many responses with offers to help and supplies being sent. As soon as we can get them to her [Cibele Hasenbeck, ACO in Piedmont]. They are expecting rivers to crest again on Sunday. Yikes."

Kinship Circle has been informed surviving animals from Piedmont's shelter have gone to rescue groups in Missouri. At least 11 lucky kitties have a second chance with Felines Forever, the same foster group that took 14 cats Kinship Circle brought back from New Orleans last February.

► FLOODS IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI/ILLINOIS CONTINUE TO RISE: Outlying communities along swollen rivers (Eureka, Valley Park, Fenton, Pacific, Delta, Whitewater, Gray Summit, High Ridge…) have partially evacuated. Humane Society of Missouri has set up a temp shelter in Cape Girardeau, MO. If Kinship Circle learns of specific needs for animals, we will post updates.


BACK TO TOP - FIELD NOTES LIST 3/19/08 Update: Piedmont, Missouri Flood Disaster

► THIS SITUATION IS FLUID AS NEEDS ARE ASSESSED

• A St. Louis group, Act Now! Rescue is leaving for Piedmont this afternoon (3/19/08).


• Humane Society of Missouri is also headed to Piedmont, to pick up animals rescued so far.


• The entire town has been evacuated. Communication systems are shut down and information is coming in piecemeal, with Act Now to further evaluate supplies/volunteers needed.


• Noah's Wish is monitoring situation, but cannot go on site without permission from local authorities. Presently, communication is difficult.


• We understand all but 17 cats and 9 dogs may have died in floodwaters. Cibele of Piedmont Animal Control has been authorized to clear out any survivors in the shelter, which is nearly unsalvageable. All items within building are destroyed: files, computers, basic necessities…


• The concern now is for left-behind pets and rural strays. For Katrina alums, the flooded town of Piedmont, MO is more comparable to lower Plaquemines (spread out and rural) than New Orleans.

BACK TO TOP - FIELD NOTES LIST How To Send Supplies, Money, Or Volunteer

Donations are tax-deductible. www.terrispetrescue.com www.terriscatrescue.com

► 3/21/08, HOW TO HELP TO VOLUNTEER: Contact Terri Archer, 573-885-2607 fancy587@fidnet.com Potential volunteers must contact Terri Archer of Terri's Pet Rescue, a 501c3 in Cuba, MO 60 miles from the flood site. People with disaster relief experience may call Terri for details. SUPPLIES NEEDED URGENTLY! SHIP TO: For Piedmont Animal Flood Victims c/o Terri's Pet Rescue 1766 Becker Road; Cuba, MO 65453 Rope Crates Duct Tape Markers, Notebooks Rags, Toilet Paper Table Ties Work Gloves, Latex Gloves Shavings (for lining cages) Betadine, Liquid Wormer, Liquid Antibiotics Slip Leads Blankets Fresh Water Dog and Cat Food MONETARY DONATIONS (for supplies/rescue): For Piedmont Animal Flood Victims c/o Terri's Pet Rescue 1766 Becker Road; Cuba, MO 65453

BACK TO TOP - FIELD NOTES LIST Emergency: Piedmont Animal Control Underwater

3/18/08 ► PLEA FOR HELP FROM PIEDMONT, MO

• Piedmont has been evacuated. Cibele [of Piedmont, Missouri Animal Control] got out who she could, but many of her babies drowned. Piedmont AC and the town's animals are all in danger.


• REPLY DIRECTLY TO: Susan Rhoades at suerhoades@gmail.com or 314-223-9741
  Jan Siener, ACT Now! Rescue
  P.O. Box 510321; St. Louis, Missouri 63151
  info@actnowrescue.org, www.actnowrescue.org
  
  Piedmont Animal Control Shelter
  FLOODED, COMMUNICATION DOWN AS OF 3/19/08
  115 W Green Street; Piedmont, MO 63957
  573-223-4020; Cibele: cibelebr@care2.com

3/18/08 ► PIEDMONT, MISSOURI EVACUATED FOR FLOODING

• The town of Piedmont, Missouri was evacuated due to flooding, the Missouri Highway Patrol said. NewsChannel 5 has learned that parts of the town were without water. Floodwater knocked out a bridge carrying a main water line. According to the state patrol, most people in town evacuated to friends and relatives homes' on higher ground. No shelter has been set up for displaced residents.
  
  Most roadways have flooded, including HWY 34 east of town and HWY V to the south. All rivers and creeks have flooded out. Access to Piedmont is only available from the north. Poplar Bluff has received six inches of rain and state police said comparable amounts were expected in Piedmont.

BACK TO TOP - FIELD NOTES LIST Animals Saved From Floods At Southern Illinois Shelter


Photos: www.wpsdtv.com

3/18/08 ► FROM WWW.WPSDTV.COM: Dozens of dogs are in area vet offices and foster homes after a Johnson County (ILLINOIS) shelter flooded. Nearly one hundred dogs were trapped, after roads around it were flooded with nearly four feet of water.

"When they first called they said it was under two feet of water and I said 'Uh-oh' this isn't gonna be good," St. Francis Animal Care volunteer Jim Sullivan remembers. He was one of the first to stage a rescue. Braving waist deep water, Sullivan and several others started what would stretch to become a three hour process. The dogs were saved one at a time.

"Little Cricket, you saw over there she was swimming around," another volunteer says, pointing to a 6 pound black and white mutt. Whether by boat or even by truck all 90 dogs made it out of the shelter okay, with larger breeds being the last to make it to safety. Shivering and scared, the dogs were loaded into waiting cars and for a brief moment the worst seemed to be behind the folks at St. Francis Animal Care. Then, a problem. "There is no flood insurance, I just found that out," said Doris Luther of the shelter.

► TO ADOPT FLOOD SURVIVORS: Call Cook Sales, 618-893-2114

See Kinship Circle Disaster Animal Response Team in rescues around the world ▼

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