Hurricane Harvey: Miami-Dade Search Team Finds 'Tails Of Hope'

HOUSTON, TX — As search and rescue efforts continue around the Houston area in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, first responders from Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue found two puppies on Thursday amid all of the devastation. First responders quickly dubbed the pups "tails of hope." The animals appeared to be in good health.

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"Hurricane Harvey has impacted Texas in more ways than one, bringing record, catastrophic flooding and heavily damaging homes and businesses," Erika Benitez of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue told Patch. "But in the midst of tragedy came hope." (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.)

She said that the pups were rescued by a crew from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue US&R FL Task Force 1. Like many animals in the Houston area, the puppies had been displaced by Harvey and were "stranded, waiting to be rescued," she said. "Man's best friend came to the rescue of hope."

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Benitez said that the puppies were found near Angelton, Texas by the Miami-Dade team that was activated by FEMA as part of the National US&R Response System to bring additional search and rescue capabilities to Texas following the unprecedented flooding and devastation around the storm.

The 45-member Miami-Dade team is comprised of specially trained firefighters, paramedics, physicians, engineers, search dogs and a swift water rescue team capable of providing search and rescue in collapsed structure water environments. The swift water search and rescue team is equipped with small and mobile rescue boats, flotation devices, rescue harnesses and throw bags that can be used in shallow rapid moving waters.

Additional search capabilities include acoustic listening devices and fiber optic cameras as well as the ability to gain access through breaching and breaking of steel and heavy reinforced concrete structures.

The Miami-Dade team traveled by ground to Houston immediately following the storm. They were carrying some 60,000 pounds of equipment and supplies with them, including a seven-day supply of food and water.

The medical component of the team can provide medical care to all team members as well as any victims the team comes across during the disaster.

The Miami-Dade team was one of 12 that have been dispatched to the Houston area from across the United States.

Photo courtesy Miami-Dade Fire Rescue