Anyone looking for a missing pet should contact the Pratt County Humane Society at (620) 672-6777 by July 15th.
After that time, animals will be made available for adoption.
"Many people assumed that their cats got blown away by the tornado," said Carman Simon, Program Consultant for the Animal Facility Inspection Program of the Kansas Animal Health Department. "But now that we are setting traps, they are coming out of the debris and they are hungry. It's obvious that many of them have families because they are so friendly."
More than 44 volunteers with UAN's Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) program are feeding and caring for the canine and feline tornado victims at the shelter and trying to match them with lost animal reports that pet owners filed after the tornadoes. One of the volunteers is Paige Klemetson-Grossman of Toddville, Iowa, a corrections officer who, with her husband took a week of vacation time to care for, feed and comfort the animal victims of the tornadoes.
"When people ask why we would spend a week of our vacation time cleaning dirty cages and cuddling with cats and dogs instead of taking a cruise, I have only one response," said Klemetson-Grossman. "The animals need us."
With more than 3,200 EARS volunteers in the United States and Canada, UAN can assist when natural or human-caused disasters put animals at risk and overwhelm local animal care agencies.
"UAN has an extensive volunteer network and 20 years of experience operating emergency shelters, and their assistance has been invaluable in keeping these animals, who have already been through so much, healthy and safe," said Simon.
The Pratt County Humane Society will also hold adoption days for their regular population of animals on June 15th and 16.th After this date, the Humane Society will close in order to move animals to another facility while the shelter begins plans to rebuild. People looking for pets lost in the tornado after June 16th should call (620) 672-6777 for more information.
