What can you do, here at home or in North Dakota? Be willing to help however you can, be prepared so that you and your family (animals included) are ready if you have to leave or if you have to stay without many services.
I got a call from North Dakota yesterday looking for crates for cats and dogs who have been moved from the flood areas and are being cared for by vets and other volunteers. About four calls later we had an amazing response - the Winnipeg Humane Society put out a media call, offered their location for a drop off point and we've been coordinating with them to get the word out for our call. The awesome folks at MERA (Manitoba Emergency Response For Animals) got us a truck, trailer and a driver to get the crates down to the border for pick up by our US relay driver. All of this will be happening on Monday! Not bad for a Saturday afternoon...and there is MORE to the story.
The 'more' is the crates, once they are done using them in North Dakota, will return to Manitoba for storage and use when we need them for our own emergency animal care. That means if our shelters, rescue groups or other organizations have a need we'll be able to help. What a great coordination between AEWG, MERA and WHS to get this done...good work everyone!
If you have a crate to donate, you can drop it off at the Winnipeg Humane Society - all sizes are needed but large crates are going to be in high demand. Remember these are for cats and dogs who are needing a crate to call home until they can return to their own homes and families.
If you are on Facebook check out the pages for WHS and MERA - get involved and be ready. We can be a part of the solution when it comes to preparedness!
