b'realitysoundbites.Shelter From the StormLastSeptember,staffattheHumane People and pets are not. We help fill a gap During the storms, many of the HSPSociety of Pinellas (HSP)wereputting in the community. It is our obligation, as staff opted to stay at the hurricane-ratedthefinishingtouchesontheirnewly a shelter, to provide. Category 5 shelter to help. We told ourcompletedshelter,theSjouwerman Justpriortothestorms,HSPre- staff to come here for a safe place withAdoption Center. Wevisitedforatour opened their Hold for Home program, theirownpets,Paloffadded.AfterwiththesheltersCEO,DavidPaloff holdingontoasignificantnumberof Hurricane Milton, the shelter opened as a(shown above, center photo), on September pets whose owners had to evacuate. They comfort station. Under generator power,23.OnSeptember24,Hurricane also worked with the county to provide thepublicwasinvitedtocomein,sitHelene,thestrongeststormtoimpact pop-upcratesandstaffforthepet- downintheairconditionedbuilding,Pinellas in 80 years, hit. Less than two accommodating evacuation facilities. have a cup of coffee, read, charge theirweeks later, Hurricane Milton hit, dam- Those facilities are a lifeboat, not a phones,whatevertheyneededtogainaging 40,000 homes in Pinellas County.cruise ship, said Paloff. Its essentially a some semblance of normalcy.While the shelter sustained minor safeplacetorideoutthestorm.Pet Long before the storms hit, shelterdamage, the real work for staff and vol- owners are required to maintain care of leadership recognized the need for theseunteers was in their community, which their pets. We were there to help facili- types of additional resources. Staff hadhadbeenhithardwithflooding. tate in any way we could. The experience already taken a series ofhigh level train-Working with law enforcement, church- was an eye-opener for our staff; how we ing just for this type of disaster. Many ofes, and other Pinellas County animal were able to help the community. theseprogramshadjustcometotheshelters,includingFriendsofStrays, The HSP medical teams also visited forefrontafewmonthsbeforethePinellasCountyAnimalServices and theevacuationfacilities.Althoughthe storms, Paloff said.FLUFF, the HSP team was boots on the pets are safe from the storm, it does not After the storms, staff heard storiesground, delivering pet food, supplies and mean they wont be exposed to disease.frompeoplewhohadlosteverything.aid to families who had lost everything. Shelter staff also helped to provide This all gave our staff a sense of worthWe were contacted immediately by countypethealthcertificatestothose thatwhatweredoingismakingaa pet boarding facility whose majority of shelter animals being transported to out- difference in our community, especiallyclients had lost everything in the storm, of-state shelters. Typically, the hold time during a time of need, offered Paloff.Paloff told us, as he recalled the depth of for strays during a disaster exponentially When I speak with folks in the com-destruction across Pinellas County. The increases. The plan of action was to move munity,theyaresosurprisedattheshelter delivered a supply of pet food and the existing adoptable animals to shel- extent of our work and resources. We arenecessities to the boarding facility to pass ters, out of harms way, thereby opening a social services resource. Ualongtotheirclients.Paloff,whohas up kennel space at HSP for the stray ani- Humane Society of Pinellasspent 25 years in fire, rescue and public mals found during and after the storm.safety,said, Peoplewerehurting.And HSP also held onto pets of the areas first 3040 FL-590, Clearwater, FLthey continue to hurt. This is a disaster responders who were mandated to work, 727.797.7722where recovery is ongoing, long after the as well as those folks who had been dis- www.HumaneSocietyOfPinellas.orglocalandnationalcameracrewshave placed after the storm, and needed time Facebook & Instagram @HumanePinellasgone.Materialthingsarereplaceable. to find replacement housing.18 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com'