Oregon Humane Society Heads To Houston After Hurricane Harvey

PORTLAND, OR — Hurricane Harvey (now Tropical Storm Harvey) hit southeast Texas hard over the past several days, dropping an unprecedented amount of rain along the coast, causing major flooding, and killing at least 15 people. While National Guards and emergency responders from across the country are heading south to help with relief efforts for Texas residents, the Oregon Humane Society is sending teams to help with stranded, displaced, and/or abandoned pets.

The first of several teams expected to be sent is scheduled to depart Wednesday, Aug. 30, according to OHS officials. The four-person team of two OHS staff members and two volunteers will help care for animals at a shelter in the Houston-area, where Harvey has caused considerable problems. The first team, which is certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will work for seven days, officials said.

"Natural disasters of this scale can leave thousands of animals without homes and will easily overwhelm the ability of local shelters to care for pets," OHS President and CEO Sharon Harmon said in a statement, noting the OHS responders will work with the Houston .

The OHS team will reportedly work directly with the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in caring for recovered animals. Previously, during disaster events like hurricanes Sandy and Katrina as well as tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri, and Moore, Oklahoma, OHS team members and volunteers spent several weeks offering their assistance to local emergency agencies.

Oregon Humane Society team members and volunteers help with natural disasters across the nation

"There's a major need out there that we're able to help with and save the lives of animals," OHS spokesman David Lytle told Patch on Tuesday. "We have a large number of volunteers willing to head out, even over Labor Day weekend, and more than two dozen have completed the training necessary to help."

While some folks may want to sign up to help, certification can take time, Lytle explained; so anyone willing to help out now could take the training in order to help out during the next disaster event — which Lytle said could hit closer to home.

"This gives us a wealth of invaluable experience we can use right here in Oregon," Lytle said. "Eventually we're going to have a natural disaster in the Pacific Northwest — be it an earthquake or volcano — and we'll have a team of people who will come to help us."

While OHS teams have historically brought back hundreds of pets from disaster areas, there are no current plans to recover any animals from Houston — at least not with the first group, Lytle said.

Click here to donate in support of OHS helping animals affected by Hurricane Harvey.

Top Image: HOUSTON, TX - AUGUST 27: Andrew White (L) helps a neighbor down a street after rescuing her from her home in his boat in the upscale River Oaks neighborhood after it was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)