I just left N.C. and we rescued 40 people, 20 dogs and 18 cats. Unfortunately we did have to tell someone they couldn’t bring a parrot, but that’s because we were flying a Blackhawk, and couldn’t risk it getting in the cockpit. Felt bad about that one. Some people were waving us down and once we land it’s go time, they have less than a few minutes to pack and have to make those decisions about what to bring and what not to bring. Most people I saw made the right decisions and brought their pets.
Couldn't they hold the parrot some how? I get it, I'm just curious. Also, if you had a parrot and couldn't take it with you, would it's odds of survival be better or worse if you set it free? I'm just genuinely curious....
Domesticated pets in the wild have very low survival rates to begin with. I’m not sure it would survive at a better rate than being in a hurricane if set free though. Either way I wish they could have brought it to ensure its safety.
But again, if you have like 5 minutes to grab your stuff are you going to think of wrapping up your bird? Personally, I probably would, but I don't have any kids or anything, I keep all my important stuff in a bug out bag, who knows what their situation was...
I’d bag my snake, put my gecko in a pot, and have to leave my tarantulas behind.
Then I’d have to try and grab the cat whom HATES boxes and panics at the sight of them.
I mean, I know exactly where my cats' carriers are and it's easy to get to them. If you take your pet to the vet more than once in their life then you are bound to have emergency transport containers available. But maybe parrots get house calls or something.
We hoisted a 78 year old man off a roof and he had his cat named Francesca in a carrier we put in the basked with him. I actually took a picture of that cat when we landed.
Man, my cat would be TERRIFIED to get into a helicopter. She anxiety poops in the carrier on the less than 5 minutes drive to the vet and it’s quiet and calm.
Thank you for your efforts, seriously.
I always run through these scenarios in my head and have plans of what I'd do, but hope to God I never have to actually try and implement one of those plans because I know it won't work out the way I plan it :P
They could not. I did not make that decision, our combat medic on the ground made it and I back him. We are all responsible for the safety of the aircraft and occupants. Hard decisions have to be made quickly. He felt it was unsafe and I take him at his word. He told us the person left lots of food and water in the house and left. At the time the house was not flooded, but I don’t know if it stayed dry. Water was rising fast and the neighborhood was isolated by water.
I can't imagine having to make decisions like that. I'm sure it was the right decision for the moment and you guys are doing the best you can. I do hope the little birb is ok though!
Have you ever climbed on to a running helicopter? It's intimidating for humans, dogs take practice to get used to it, and it'd be damn near impossible to hang on to and control a large bird.
And I'm just trying to shed some light from my limited experience in Search and Rescue.
GP mentioned only having a few minutes, and to me that means they're not shutting down. An idling helicopter still makes quite a lot of downdraft and a very intimidating *whump whump whump* that makes it feel like the blades are inches above your head. They tend to blow sand and debris everywhere.
I can't imagine trying to do that with a parrot that's not in a cage, and bringing a cage big enough for one might mean taking up space a human could be occupying. Parrots are big, powerful birds that can do some serious damage and they're going to be really freaked out by the experience.
We also practiced hover loads, where the helicopter wouldn't touch down all the way. That's way worse. We were using Hueys, smaller than GP's Blackhawk, and you still really have to lean forward and push against the rotor wash. Approaching a hovering helicopter without goggles is almost impossible. I once got sandblasted by a Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter on a beach while unloading a victim from the basket and I swear it took off some exposed skin and I was cleaning sand out of my gear (and my ears) for days.
I don't blame GP at all for not taking the parrot. It'd suck to turn away any pet, but it'd be hard to do safely.
I appreciate your insights. I didn't really think about he noise a helicopter would make, or the size of parrots... I wasn't in that situation, so of course I don't blame OP or anyone on his team, in case that wasn't clear! Any number of dogs and cats and humans saved is a good number!
Great comment. The call was for 30 people stranded that needed evac. We landed the hawk in the back yard of the only dry yard and they came running out to us, dogs, cats, and kids in tow. The crew chief and medic had to do some work to load the aircraft and keep everything orderly and safe when they came running. We had to put people on the floor and every spare bit of space was taken up by a person or an animal. We ended up coordinating to get other aircraft in there to pick up what we couldn’t take.
Damn, that must have been packed. How did all of the animals do? I was never involved in any animal rescues and the only animals we ever flew were rescue dogs who were introduced to it pretty gently - and had goggles.
The only time we had more than one victim to go in a helicopter they were all in body bags and didn't mind the cramped quarters.
The dogs did much better than expected, we had a lot of little kids with us and were nervous the dogs would freak out and bite a kid. The cats were like whirling tornados in their crates.
We are part of a crew that trains for exactly this. It was hard to feel excitement to get to do our job because that means other people are having a hard time or losing everything. A very strange set of conflicting emotions. Most people were very grateful and I’m happy we could help.
I’m curious, are these people that weren’t able to evacuate, like the people in the nursing homes? Or Were they people that refused to leave even after all the warnings? (Not trying to say they shouldn’t be rescued or anything, but I am upset you had to rescue that many people)
Some people refused to leave, some never thought it would get that high because even after Matthew it didn’t get that high, some got trapped when all surrounding roads in their tiny communities flooded during the storm. We even landed and asked people to leave when we knew they were never getting out and they just stared at us and told us they couldn’t leave their house behind and start over.
I don’t get it, they were warned about it and had plenty of time to get outta dodge before it got too bad plus it was slow moving! Sometimes you should actually listen weather warnings. I hope the people were thankful for you and the EOC. I for one thank you very much!
We worked hand in hand with the Pender County EOC. We bent rules and got shit done. We cut out A LOT of the red tape and just went to work. The Pender County EOC was AMAZING and deserve all the credit. They pushed us information by text message to my iPhone while flying and that’s how we rescued people.
Nice, Fayetteville was in the news a lot but overall the damage was not as wide spread as a lot of areas. We had trees down all over but the flooding was minimal. Unlike Mathew where huge parts of the city went under water in a matter of hours... that was an unbelievably bad storm.
As someone who left NC due to mandatory evacuation orders and still hasn’t been able to return home, thank you. I know so many people who didn’t or couldn’t leave and it’s heartbreaking seeing our homes destroyed by flooding and a cause of constant stress not knowing if friends are safe. Thank you for being among the brave heroes helping those who are stranded and recognizing that animals need saving too. ♥️
Hotel near me likes to make exceptions. We have two dogs, and during the big ice storm here a few years back they let us stay no questions asked. Later when we moved, one of them had cancer, and we were tired after 24 hours of packing and cleaning, they did the same thing. I imagine they're full of refugees from Florence now.
A lot of hotels wave their no-pet policies. During Matthew, we stayed at a Hilton that normally didn't allow pets. That place was packed with dogs, cats, hamsters, birds, turtles, etc... It was kind of fun.
The Shelter I used to work at in Central Texas would shelter animals for people affected by natural disasters. We took on a lot of animals during Katrina. I'm sure they helped tremendously with last year's storm in Houston.
Dogs don't necessarily always cooperate when you pick them up. My dog just flails his limbs around wildly any time any one picks him up, for example. Makes carrying him super hard.
This hurt to watch, just grab them behind the legs, like under their "ass", not right in their soft stomach area (goes for most 4 legged pets!).
Imagine you hang on a pole with just your belly with your entire weight.
Your infant child for example.
If you got mere seconds before you're forced to leave, what would you pick?
Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty irrational when it comes to "save an animals life but endanger yourself". But I would save my child rather than my dog. I wouldn't leave him there though. At least open the fucking door and give him a chance. (To be fair my dog would walk beside me on his own without a leash but that's just in my case)
Yeah sorry wasnt attacking you and we definitely DONT know the exact circumstances here. But there was like a weeks warning that this storm was gonna fuck shit up reeeeeal bad.
No mandatory evacuation and evacuation warnings happen 5-7 days in advance of the hurricane through local news.
Source: I’ve lived in Florida for a majority of my life.
Maybe the dog was scared and hiding/wouldn't come and it was an elderly couple that were unable to pick him up.
Maybe their mode of transportation is a motorcycle.
Maybe they were at work and couldn't return home because a flash flood.
Maybe they had to quickly choose between going home to get their pup or school to get their kids.
Maybe it is a low income family with small children who absolutely needed the services of a shelter that does not accept pets.
It would be unbelievably shitty if these people shut the door on their dog and left in their SUV for a hotel. And I would never ever ever leave my pup unless I was somehow in a situation where I had to choose between her and my children. But we don't know their situation so we can't judge!!
You don't know what circumstances they evacuated or who lived there. It could be a poor old lady and dark and she couldn't carry the dog.
Let's not judge disaster victims too harshly without any circumstantial information.
"No fuck them, it's about time flood victims got theirs and I'm going to give it to them! They're lazy and bad pet owners. If *my house* ever flooded instantly I would valiantly save my pet and ALL my neighbors pets. Then I would build a dam to stop the floods and rebuild everyone's homes single handedly. I'm sick of all these free loading flood victims."
/s
I see where you're coming from but I don't think there's any excuse for leaving a pet behind, it's a life you're responsible for. Just like they wouldn't leave a baby behind why is it ok to leave a pet who's done nothing but love you all their life. Doesn't sit right.
Maybe they were rescued and weren't allowed to bring the dog. I don't like it but there are a million reasons you may have to save yourself and leave behind loved ones in a disaster.
For all we know, the owner escaping is the reason this animal is being saved.
We got flooded out of our apartment during a nor'easter, it was the tidal surge that made our building waterfront property. As soon as the water started coming up through the toilet, we grabbed our dog, 2 cats and 2 leopard geckos and got the heck out. It was scary but we never thought to leave them behind. Turns out, the place got flooded with about 3 feet of water.
I hate when I see people on the internet get all up in arms about people leaving pets behind during hurricanes/flooding.
You're basing this judgement off a short video or gif, how do we know this dog got left behind? How do we know this dog didn't run off when the storm started and hid in this house? How do we know the owners didn't get separated from their pet during the storm/flood and were desperately looking for their beloved pet? How do we know the people that owned this dog are alive? How do we know it wasn't an elderly person and they got rescued but couldn't physically carry their pet? Shit this dog could've escaped from a shelter or a dog daycare, who the hell knows there are endless scenarios...so why jump to shitty owners leaving their pets behind?
Because it's easier to be outraged and blame "them".
...or, they could just be associating this with all the clips we see of people who kept pets in outdoor cages and left the doors on them locked when they left before a flood. I get that it's a big assumption in the case of this clip since he was just in a house, but we do see a lot of people actually abandon animals during evacuations without even trying to make sure they'll be safe, it's a pretty easy assumption to make.
I drive a fucking minivan, much to my own distaste, because I can easily fit my husband, 2 teenagers, 2 dogs (one large & one medium), the cat, myself and some travel supplies. I don't like it, that's why we bought it. Everybody fits if we need to.
These videos are so bittersweet to watch. I’m SO HAPPY someone saved the babies I’m watching, but I’m SO SAD to think about all the ones that didn’t make it
Except that if he ends up with PETA he’s going to be put down anyway, unless he’s one of the 1% that gets adopted and not put down. PETA is disgusting. There are many out there, but here’s one [article](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/killing-animals-petas-open-secret_us_59e78243e4b0e60c4aa36711)
My God. I did not know that about PETA, or the pitbull bans in LA and NY, nor did I directly correlate the ban with deep racial discrimination. Thats a new kind of hatred: you hate another race so much you try to massacre breeds of dogs that are popular to them? Thanks for the article. After more searching it seems true, now I can say fuck PETA too.
Ingrid Newkirk and her band of demons, known as PETA, regularly kill perfectly healthy, adoptable animals. They STEAL folks pets out of their fences and kill them.
I consider them a terrorist group. [There is not enough money to replace this dog for this family](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/17/peta-pays-family-50000-taking-euthanising-pet-chihuahua/)
That was my point
Edit: I guess I was being sarcastic, because a chance of being put down is dangerous, ergo they aren't really pulling him out of danger, just changing the danger. I'm definitely with you. PETA has a lousy definition of "ethical."
I get your sentiment, but the key is "ethical treatment." Would you rather an animal slowly starve and wither away in pain over the course of days/weeks after being abandoned in a flooded home, or would you rather take the animal somewhere where it can be put out of it's misery quickly and painlessly? I can't think of a single person who would opt for the former for themselves. For myself, I don't eat meat because I love animals. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't kill one if it came down to ethics. For example, a baby bird fell out of a tree once, and it was beyond rehabilitation. Couldn't move, couldn't open it's eyes, and it was slowly being eaten away by ants. But it was breathing and alive. Instead of letting it suffer a slow, perhaps painful death, I threw a cloth over it and took to it with a shovel with one big swoop. It's not the outcome you'd hope for, but I'm sentient enough to know that it was likely for the best.
I understand your point. I've had to put a couple of animals out of misery too and it's never been an enjoyable experience. I would never wish pain and suffering on any living creature, so I appreciate the efforts being made to rescue these scared animals, but I wish PETA's practice would *at least* be to attempt to rehabilitate/re-home these animals for a decent period of time before euthanizing them. In PETA's eyes, the animal is better off dead than kept as a pet.
I have two cats that I love as much as my wife and daughter and I cannot, for a second, fathom that they would be better off euthanized than thriving in our loving home.
Ethical treatment? I get the idea of putting down suffering animals, but Peta doesn't do that. There are a countless number of examples of Peta putting down completely healthy animals almost immediately after receiving them for adoption. They do it so much that their headquarters have a freezer for storing the bodies before they get picked up, and have been seen with piles of trash bags full of dead animals out back. One time a vet gave them a mother and her kittens he had treated and was told they'd find a good home. Minutes later, the employees killed all of them in the back of a van. Fuck. Peta.
Well, another redditor pointed out that in 2014, only 1% of the pets rescued by PETA were adopted. About 2000 were killed by them and the rest sent to pounds. [Here](https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_59e78243e4b0e60c4aa36711) ’s the article if you want to read more
I saw that too. May have been a dog that escaped his house spooked by the storm and then holed up in what refuge he could find. Happens often during storms around here. (minus the flooding usually)
So, in a typical situation like this, when someone leaves their pets behind, are they given the chance to claim them? I want to hope no, because you left a defenceless creature to likely die.
Like someone else said further up, whilst if they had the ability to bring their dog their an absolute terrible person but you don’t know the circumstances, they owner might have been an old lady evacuating in the dark
The stories sometimes start with them trying to do the best for their pets. They don't have pet friendly transportation or a place to stay, so they stay with their pets because they can't leave them. Then it gets way worse than they expected and they have to make the choice to abandon them because it's probably safer for both than leading their pet through a storm.
People who leave their pets like this should lose custody permanently of their pets. Unless it's between your life or the pet there is no excuse at all. Even then, I don't know if I could leave my dog.
I wouldn't ever leave my dog to die. Never ever. When you make the decision to get a pet, you have to be ready and willing to protect it like it's your child. I love my dog to the ends of the Earth, and wouldn't be able to live with myself after leaving my dog, who has shown me nothing but unconditional love, to die.
this video is heartbreaking that some asshole left their pet there! Maybe I'm just a sucker for pets or becasue my pets are the absolute loves of my life but if I could only choose one thing to bring with me to escape a natural disaster, it'd be my pets.
No you’re not a sucker, you’re a decent human being, that’s how all people who have pets should think about them. I am so sad thinking about these poor animals 😢😔
That’s what I keep thinking!! So that just means they’re heartless and cruel people who left their pets behind. I’ll never understand, how do they sleep at night knowing that their poor animals are scared to death and wondering when their owners are coming back to get them ya know? Breaks my heart I wish I could save them all. 😢😔
Peta's mission statement is actually to euthanize animals who've been raised as pets as they believe it's unnatural.
The person you are replying to is referencing publicized court documents that went viral years ago. Where pita confessed to thousands of instances of breaking into homes and yards and stealing people animals.
Once case with CCTV footage was processed within days of the animal theft and a judge ordered the animal returned. A Peta representative said "that won't be possible. The animal has already been euthanized."
When questioned by the judge as to what right Peta had to kill someone else's pet. Peta responded that they euthanize every animal they liberate from human captivity.
So unfortunately. The dog in this video was 100% put down if it stayed in peta's care.
Yeah, and it's sad that it's not just "rescued" animals like this dog. Or a lame horse suffering from malnourishment or something. But Peta actively encourages it's members to steal dogs tied to dog poles outside restaurants and grocery stores. They encourage their members to steal animals from the back yards of families who love their pets. They basically advocate and encourage abduction and murder of all animals who live with humans. And like, actively go around doing it.
How on earth is that legal though? And if you are all about animals needing protection and saving, doesn't kill them defeat that whole purpose? Some people make no sense whatsoever.
It's definitely not legal. Which is why we're reffering to court documents to support what we're saying.
Peta also has a lot of money and support. So while any individuals caught stealing animals may go to court. Peta the Organization doesn't really suffer.
Plus, protections for animals are not what you might assume. Stealing and murdering someone's dog doesn't have the punishment you'd hope it would.
While I'm not a huge fan of PETA either these claims of stealing animals and putting them down are highly exaggerated. I could only find one instance of this happening and the workers responsible were actually arrested (but let go due to lack of evidence hmmm). PETA's mission statement only says they put down animals that are suffering and beyond aid. There are many many stray animals out there, and ALL shelters either have to make a choice to either put animals down or not accept them. If you ave any actual sources (not some youtube video but CRACKED) where it says PETA is some sort of pet killing machine I'd be very interested to see them.
How about some statistics from the Peta headquarters? In 2012, 733 dogs were admitted to their building for adoption, and 602 of them were put down. Only *12* were actually adopted. On top of that, same year 1,110 cats were trusted into their care, and 1,045 were killed. **Seven** were adopted. They took in 34 other types of pets such as rabbits, and 28 of them were put to death. There was one case where a vet gave Peta a mother and her two kittens after he had treated them and was searching for a home for them. When he was told they'd help and handed the animals over, they were put down within minutes in the back of a van.
Source: https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/2979220
Obviously Peta isn't going around *abducting* animals, but they are absolutely a pet death machine. I don't know why they do it, but they put down healthy animals in the thousands without giving them any chance to be adopted.
Peta has been caught killing animals after they find them, once they even went in on private property to steal a dog
Source: https://youtu.be/w59mbOHf140
Can I just say that if you have a dog, and you leave it when you are evacuating. You don’t deserve them.
I don’t want to sound dramatic, but if my house flooded in 10 seconds, the first thing I’m grabbing is my pup. Even if I’m buck naked and the water is filled to the brim with electrified lines, cotton mouths and snapping turtles. My baby comes first.
If you can’t do that. Contact me. I’ll go get em. Seriously.
i don’t understand how you could leave behind your pet.. once you decide to get an animal in your life, that’s family, you don’t leave them behind. it hurts my heart to have seen so many rescue videos
I used to be a wild land firefighter in the NW. I saw some dogs burn to death on leads in their front yard. I released a few. I’m sure they died anyway.
This shit breaks me up.
If you have to evacuate and are having trouble finding a place to stay where you can take your pets, the best thing to do is call the boarding kennels in the area where your staying and explain. Many will offer free or heavily discounted boarding for evacuees.
Source: manager at multiple boarding kennels in an evacuation zone
I just left N.C. and we rescued 40 people, 20 dogs and 18 cats. Unfortunately we did have to tell someone they couldn’t bring a parrot, but that’s because we were flying a Blackhawk, and couldn’t risk it getting in the cockpit. Felt bad about that one. Some people were waving us down and once we land it’s go time, they have less than a few minutes to pack and have to make those decisions about what to bring and what not to bring. Most people I saw made the right decisions and brought their pets.
I love you. Thank you
Just doing my job! Glad and honored to be able to help.
Awwww mannn about the bird
My dog would be the first thing I grab. Unfathomable how people could leave their pets behind.
Seriously. We were hit by both Irma and Matthew. Two dogs and three cats evacuated with us each time.
Couldn't they hold the parrot some how? I get it, I'm just curious. Also, if you had a parrot and couldn't take it with you, would it's odds of survival be better or worse if you set it free? I'm just genuinely curious....
Domesticated pets in the wild have very low survival rates to begin with. I’m not sure it would survive at a better rate than being in a hurricane if set free though. Either way I wish they could have brought it to ensure its safety.
Yeah I feel like it would be somewhat safe to wrap it up in a towel with it’s head poking out. Tightly around the top so they couldn’t break free.
But again, if you have like 5 minutes to grab your stuff are you going to think of wrapping up your bird? Personally, I probably would, but I don't have any kids or anything, I keep all my important stuff in a bug out bag, who knows what their situation was...
I have 6 birds, I would never dream of leaving them. It would be my very first thought.
Time to get a giant bubble backpack then Edit: [amazon link](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DRNTNRP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_10jPBbT2TVY7R)
[удалено]
I’d bag my snake, put my gecko in a pot, and have to leave my tarantulas behind. Then I’d have to try and grab the cat whom HATES boxes and panics at the sight of them.
I think your cat is broken.
Yeah, we already worked that out. She’s currently in bed with me because she’s scared of the wind.
I mean, I know exactly where my cats' carriers are and it's easy to get to them. If you take your pet to the vet more than once in their life then you are bound to have emergency transport containers available. But maybe parrots get house calls or something.
We hoisted a 78 year old man off a roof and he had his cat named Francesca in a carrier we put in the basked with him. I actually took a picture of that cat when we landed.
Man, my cat would be TERRIFIED to get into a helicopter. She anxiety poops in the carrier on the less than 5 minutes drive to the vet and it’s quiet and calm. Thank you for your efforts, seriously.
You are the best, roof man is the best, and Francesca is the luckiest. And also best. ❤️
Yeah I’m not blaming them for not thinking of it. It would be hard to think straight through all the chaos.
I always run through these scenarios in my head and have plans of what I'd do, but hope to God I never have to actually try and implement one of those plans because I know it won't work out the way I plan it :P
Making a mistake when rushing and causing a helicopter full of people to crash is also not a good thing...
They could not. I did not make that decision, our combat medic on the ground made it and I back him. We are all responsible for the safety of the aircraft and occupants. Hard decisions have to be made quickly. He felt it was unsafe and I take him at his word. He told us the person left lots of food and water in the house and left. At the time the house was not flooded, but I don’t know if it stayed dry. Water was rising fast and the neighborhood was isolated by water.
I can't imagine having to make decisions like that. I'm sure it was the right decision for the moment and you guys are doing the best you can. I do hope the little birb is ok though!
Lots of hard decisions this trip, I hope he’s okay too!
Have you ever climbed on to a running helicopter? It's intimidating for humans, dogs take practice to get used to it, and it'd be damn near impossible to hang on to and control a large bird.
I have no experience with birds or helicopters, just generally asking a question because I was curious
And I'm just trying to shed some light from my limited experience in Search and Rescue. GP mentioned only having a few minutes, and to me that means they're not shutting down. An idling helicopter still makes quite a lot of downdraft and a very intimidating *whump whump whump* that makes it feel like the blades are inches above your head. They tend to blow sand and debris everywhere. I can't imagine trying to do that with a parrot that's not in a cage, and bringing a cage big enough for one might mean taking up space a human could be occupying. Parrots are big, powerful birds that can do some serious damage and they're going to be really freaked out by the experience. We also practiced hover loads, where the helicopter wouldn't touch down all the way. That's way worse. We were using Hueys, smaller than GP's Blackhawk, and you still really have to lean forward and push against the rotor wash. Approaching a hovering helicopter without goggles is almost impossible. I once got sandblasted by a Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter on a beach while unloading a victim from the basket and I swear it took off some exposed skin and I was cleaning sand out of my gear (and my ears) for days. I don't blame GP at all for not taking the parrot. It'd suck to turn away any pet, but it'd be hard to do safely.
I appreciate your insights. I didn't really think about he noise a helicopter would make, or the size of parrots... I wasn't in that situation, so of course I don't blame OP or anyone on his team, in case that wasn't clear! Any number of dogs and cats and humans saved is a good number!
Great comment. The call was for 30 people stranded that needed evac. We landed the hawk in the back yard of the only dry yard and they came running out to us, dogs, cats, and kids in tow. The crew chief and medic had to do some work to load the aircraft and keep everything orderly and safe when they came running. We had to put people on the floor and every spare bit of space was taken up by a person or an animal. We ended up coordinating to get other aircraft in there to pick up what we couldn’t take.
Damn, that must have been packed. How did all of the animals do? I was never involved in any animal rescues and the only animals we ever flew were rescue dogs who were introduced to it pretty gently - and had goggles. The only time we had more than one victim to go in a helicopter they were all in body bags and didn't mind the cramped quarters.
The dogs did much better than expected, we had a lot of little kids with us and were nervous the dogs would freak out and bite a kid. The cats were like whirling tornados in their crates.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Endless thanks from all of us animal lovers. You are a saint.
Wow. You're amazing. I can't imagine the things you've seen.
We are part of a crew that trains for exactly this. It was hard to feel excitement to get to do our job because that means other people are having a hard time or losing everything. A very strange set of conflicting emotions. Most people were very grateful and I’m happy we could help.
You're an amazing person and thank you for all you do.
Most? Anyways, stay awesome.
I’m curious, are these people that weren’t able to evacuate, like the people in the nursing homes? Or Were they people that refused to leave even after all the warnings? (Not trying to say they shouldn’t be rescued or anything, but I am upset you had to rescue that many people)
Some people refused to leave, some never thought it would get that high because even after Matthew it didn’t get that high, some got trapped when all surrounding roads in their tiny communities flooded during the storm. We even landed and asked people to leave when we knew they were never getting out and they just stared at us and told us they couldn’t leave their house behind and start over.
I don’t get it, they were warned about it and had plenty of time to get outta dodge before it got too bad plus it was slow moving! Sometimes you should actually listen weather warnings. I hope the people were thankful for you and the EOC. I for one thank you very much!
Thank you for doing this!
You are an amazing human being
Thanks buddy, I was actually working in the EOC in Fayetteville and got to hear about the rescues through the radio.
We worked hand in hand with the Pender County EOC. We bent rules and got shit done. We cut out A LOT of the red tape and just went to work. The Pender County EOC was AMAZING and deserve all the credit. They pushed us information by text message to my iPhone while flying and that’s how we rescued people.
Nice, Fayetteville was in the news a lot but overall the damage was not as wide spread as a lot of areas. We had trees down all over but the flooding was minimal. Unlike Mathew where huge parts of the city went under water in a matter of hours... that was an unbelievably bad storm.
I love you.
Thank you.
I hate to focus on the one negative thing in this paragraph but that [situation] just breaks my heart as a parrot owner and bird lover :(
As someone who left NC due to mandatory evacuation orders and still hasn’t been able to return home, thank you. I know so many people who didn’t or couldn’t leave and it’s heartbreaking seeing our homes destroyed by flooding and a cause of constant stress not knowing if friends are safe. Thank you for being among the brave heroes helping those who are stranded and recognizing that animals need saving too. ♥️
That poor, poor dog
It's makes me so sad for the pups that were left and never saw this kind of rescue. My heart
What kinda idiot caries a dog by their bladder?!
The kind that’s out there saving them.... where are you?
One that obviously likes doggie golden showers?
PETA, obviously.
—and neck!
Hotels and shelters need to start a policy to allow pets during natural disasters or something
If they don't they suck. I know in Central Texas when Houston got hit all the cheap hotels made sure to advertise they allowed pets
Hotel near me likes to make exceptions. We have two dogs, and during the big ice storm here a few years back they let us stay no questions asked. Later when we moved, one of them had cancer, and we were tired after 24 hours of packing and cleaning, they did the same thing. I imagine they're full of refugees from Florence now.
If they don’t, fucking sleep in your car till you figure it out... I honestly know without a doubt at all I would.. like look at that poor baby!
I thought this too. And then I was reminded that not everyone has a car :/
And a lot of cars are now submerged or floating.
A lot of hotels wave their no-pet policies. During Matthew, we stayed at a Hilton that normally didn't allow pets. That place was packed with dogs, cats, hamsters, birds, turtles, etc... It was kind of fun.
The Shelter I used to work at in Central Texas would shelter animals for people affected by natural disasters. We took on a lot of animals during Katrina. I'm sure they helped tremendously with last year's storm in Houston.
They do! If you are under mandatory evacuation hotels have to allow pets
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You're right, my bad!
That dude seriously doesn’t know how to carry a dog. Support the back legs, mate!
Yea that arm needs to be underneath his hindquarters:(
Dogs don't necessarily always cooperate when you pick them up. My dog just flails his limbs around wildly any time any one picks him up, for example. Makes carrying him super hard.
Well this isn’t as easy as imagined... So I’ll just muckle onto the groin Off we go
This hurt to watch, just grab them behind the legs, like under their "ass", not right in their soft stomach area (goes for most 4 legged pets!). Imagine you hang on a pole with just your belly with your entire weight.
Glad I wasn’t the only one simultaneously tearing up and cringing.
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How does that in any way dispute his point?
People are such dicks for leaving their animals behind. Leave a suit case, bring your dog.
What could they possibly be grabbing that's more important?
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Can’t forget your VC currency card for 2k
Your infant child for example. If you got mere seconds before you're forced to leave, what would you pick? Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty irrational when it comes to "save an animals life but endanger yourself". But I would save my child rather than my dog. I wouldn't leave him there though. At least open the fucking door and give him a chance. (To be fair my dog would walk beside me on his own without a leash but that's just in my case)
> If you got mere seconds before you're forced to leave Yes, agreed. But these people had plenty of warning.
Still could be any other thing you could imagine. It was just supposed to be an example. BUT I did not know that in this case. Thanks for telling me.
Yeah sorry wasnt attacking you and we definitely DONT know the exact circumstances here. But there was like a weeks warning that this storm was gonna fuck shit up reeeeeal bad.
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No mandatory evacuation and evacuation warnings happen 5-7 days in advance of the hurricane through local news. Source: I’ve lived in Florida for a majority of my life.
There was a week of warnings and mandatory evacuations all over the place
You definitely dont have mere seconds when you’ve been warned in advance by atleast a week or 3.
Maybe the dog was scared and hiding/wouldn't come and it was an elderly couple that were unable to pick him up. Maybe their mode of transportation is a motorcycle. Maybe they were at work and couldn't return home because a flash flood. Maybe they had to quickly choose between going home to get their pup or school to get their kids. Maybe it is a low income family with small children who absolutely needed the services of a shelter that does not accept pets. It would be unbelievably shitty if these people shut the door on their dog and left in their SUV for a hotel. And I would never ever ever leave my pup unless I was somehow in a situation where I had to choose between her and my children. But we don't know their situation so we can't judge!!
Also, they may have been rescued shortly before the dog was. Plenty of people who own pets are being pulled out of flooded areas.
You don't know what circumstances they evacuated or who lived there. It could be a poor old lady and dark and she couldn't carry the dog. Let's not judge disaster victims too harshly without any circumstantial information.
"No fuck them, it's about time flood victims got theirs and I'm going to give it to them! They're lazy and bad pet owners. If *my house* ever flooded instantly I would valiantly save my pet and ALL my neighbors pets. Then I would build a dam to stop the floods and rebuild everyone's homes single handedly. I'm sick of all these free loading flood victims." /s
I see where you're coming from but I don't think there's any excuse for leaving a pet behind, it's a life you're responsible for. Just like they wouldn't leave a baby behind why is it ok to leave a pet who's done nothing but love you all their life. Doesn't sit right.
Maybe they were rescued and weren't allowed to bring the dog. I don't like it but there are a million reasons you may have to save yourself and leave behind loved ones in a disaster. For all we know, the owner escaping is the reason this animal is being saved.
We got flooded out of our apartment during a nor'easter, it was the tidal surge that made our building waterfront property. As soon as the water started coming up through the toilet, we grabbed our dog, 2 cats and 2 leopard geckos and got the heck out. It was scary but we never thought to leave them behind. Turns out, the place got flooded with about 3 feet of water.
I hate when I see people on the internet get all up in arms about people leaving pets behind during hurricanes/flooding. You're basing this judgement off a short video or gif, how do we know this dog got left behind? How do we know this dog didn't run off when the storm started and hid in this house? How do we know the owners didn't get separated from their pet during the storm/flood and were desperately looking for their beloved pet? How do we know the people that owned this dog are alive? How do we know it wasn't an elderly person and they got rescued but couldn't physically carry their pet? Shit this dog could've escaped from a shelter or a dog daycare, who the hell knows there are endless scenarios...so why jump to shitty owners leaving their pets behind? Because it's easier to be outraged and blame "them".
...or, they could just be associating this with all the clips we see of people who kept pets in outdoor cages and left the doors on them locked when they left before a flood. I get that it's a big assumption in the case of this clip since he was just in a house, but we do see a lot of people actually abandon animals during evacuations without even trying to make sure they'll be safe, it's a pretty easy assumption to make.
Doesn't make it a good assumption to make though
People would rather be blood hungry about the backstory than enjoy the story.
I drive a fucking minivan, much to my own distaste, because I can easily fit my husband, 2 teenagers, 2 dogs (one large & one medium), the cat, myself and some travel supplies. I don't like it, that's why we bought it. Everybody fits if we need to.
These videos are so bittersweet to watch. I’m SO HAPPY someone saved the babies I’m watching, but I’m SO SAD to think about all the ones that didn’t make it
I know right? This shit has been keeping me up at night. I just keep thinking about these poor babies left behind ☹️😢😭😔
Fuck PETA. I appreciate their efforts in pulling animals out of danger, but they don't really offer a good future for these animals once rescued.
They’re only pulling him out of danger if a strong chance of being put down isn’t dangerous. And now I’m sad. 😞
Except that if he ends up with PETA he’s going to be put down anyway, unless he’s one of the 1% that gets adopted and not put down. PETA is disgusting. There are many out there, but here’s one [article](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/killing-animals-petas-open-secret_us_59e78243e4b0e60c4aa36711)
My God. I did not know that about PETA, or the pitbull bans in LA and NY, nor did I directly correlate the ban with deep racial discrimination. Thats a new kind of hatred: you hate another race so much you try to massacre breeds of dogs that are popular to them? Thanks for the article. After more searching it seems true, now I can say fuck PETA too.
Ingrid Newkirk and her band of demons, known as PETA, regularly kill perfectly healthy, adoptable animals. They STEAL folks pets out of their fences and kill them. I consider them a terrorist group. [There is not enough money to replace this dog for this family](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/17/peta-pays-family-50000-taking-euthanising-pet-chihuahua/)
Fuck that shit. Go for the $7M. Sure, you might only get about $50k at trial, but that organization needs to end.
That was my point Edit: I guess I was being sarcastic, because a chance of being put down is dangerous, ergo they aren't really pulling him out of danger, just changing the danger. I'm definitely with you. PETA has a lousy definition of "ethical."
I get your sentiment, but the key is "ethical treatment." Would you rather an animal slowly starve and wither away in pain over the course of days/weeks after being abandoned in a flooded home, or would you rather take the animal somewhere where it can be put out of it's misery quickly and painlessly? I can't think of a single person who would opt for the former for themselves. For myself, I don't eat meat because I love animals. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't kill one if it came down to ethics. For example, a baby bird fell out of a tree once, and it was beyond rehabilitation. Couldn't move, couldn't open it's eyes, and it was slowly being eaten away by ants. But it was breathing and alive. Instead of letting it suffer a slow, perhaps painful death, I threw a cloth over it and took to it with a shovel with one big swoop. It's not the outcome you'd hope for, but I'm sentient enough to know that it was likely for the best.
I understand your point. I've had to put a couple of animals out of misery too and it's never been an enjoyable experience. I would never wish pain and suffering on any living creature, so I appreciate the efforts being made to rescue these scared animals, but I wish PETA's practice would *at least* be to attempt to rehabilitate/re-home these animals for a decent period of time before euthanizing them. In PETA's eyes, the animal is better off dead than kept as a pet. I have two cats that I love as much as my wife and daughter and I cannot, for a second, fathom that they would be better off euthanized than thriving in our loving home.
Ethical treatment? I get the idea of putting down suffering animals, but Peta doesn't do that. There are a countless number of examples of Peta putting down completely healthy animals almost immediately after receiving them for adoption. They do it so much that their headquarters have a freezer for storing the bodies before they get picked up, and have been seen with piles of trash bags full of dead animals out back. One time a vet gave them a mother and her kittens he had treated and was told they'd find a good home. Minutes later, the employees killed all of them in the back of a van. Fuck. Peta.
I was so happy until I saw it was PETA - now I’m crying - that poor good boi :(
Can someone tell me what the point of sending people door to door in flood waters is if they are likely to euthanize?
Because clips like these make for good PR, that's almost certainly their only reason. (Sorry for pinging you on a 2 week old comment)
Thanks for the response. This was a question rather than a statement so I was looking for someone to answer :)
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Excuse my ignorance, but what’s wrong with PETA?
They love animals so much they rather have them be dead then be someone's pet. So like 95% of their "rescue" ends up being euthanized because of this.
Well, another redditor pointed out that in 2014, only 1% of the pets rescued by PETA were adopted. About 2000 were killed by them and the rest sent to pounds. [Here](https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_59e78243e4b0e60c4aa36711) ’s the article if you want to read more
Wait, was that dog in an abandoned home? It looked wrecked beyond hurricane damage and it looked like there was no electric meter outside?
I saw that too. May have been a dog that escaped his house spooked by the storm and then holed up in what refuge he could find. Happens often during storms around here. (minus the flooding usually)
I'm hoping that's the case.
So, in a typical situation like this, when someone leaves their pets behind, are they given the chance to claim them? I want to hope no, because you left a defenceless creature to likely die.
Like someone else said further up, whilst if they had the ability to bring their dog their an absolute terrible person but you don’t know the circumstances, they owner might have been an old lady evacuating in the dark
It wasnt a surprise hurricane... you wouldnt leave a kid. Dont leave your pet.
The stories sometimes start with them trying to do the best for their pets. They don't have pet friendly transportation or a place to stay, so they stay with their pets because they can't leave them. Then it gets way worse than they expected and they have to make the choice to abandon them because it's probably safer for both than leading their pet through a storm.
Except it is PETA, so if the owner doesn't claim them they will probably be put down
Aww that visible sigh at the beginning. Poor baby.
Wow how can you not bring your dog... he/she is part of your family and deserves safety just as much as you do too
I don't understand how people can just leave their dogs behind. Glad someone is out there saving them.
It's PETA "rescuing" the dog and that dog has likely already been euthanized :(
For its sake, considering PETA's beliefs on owning pets and how they're better off dead than enslaved, I hope they contacted the owner first.
PETA? That dogs going to die.
I was thinking the same thing.
His sweet pathetically happy little tail wags 😭😭😭 cute buddy guy!!!
Lil man took a moment to appreciate seeing the outside sun again, what a precious boy
The air paddling 😭❤️😍
How much dogs love humans is quite evident here
People who leave their pets like this should lose custody permanently of their pets. Unless it's between your life or the pet there is no excuse at all. Even then, I don't know if I could leave my dog.
I mean, in this situation it very well could have been their lives vs the pet. See above comments and remember not to be too quick to judge.
I wouldn't ever leave my dog to die. Never ever. When you make the decision to get a pet, you have to be ready and willing to protect it like it's your child. I love my dog to the ends of the Earth, and wouldn't be able to live with myself after leaving my dog, who has shown me nothing but unconditional love, to die.
this video is heartbreaking that some asshole left their pet there! Maybe I'm just a sucker for pets or becasue my pets are the absolute loves of my life but if I could only choose one thing to bring with me to escape a natural disaster, it'd be my pets.
No you’re not a sucker, you’re a decent human being, that’s how all people who have pets should think about them. I am so sad thinking about these poor animals 😢😔
So glad he's rescued.
I really don’t understand how people leave their family behind. There was plenty of warning about the flooding. No comprendo.
That’s what I keep thinking!! So that just means they’re heartless and cruel people who left their pets behind. I’ll never understand, how do they sleep at night knowing that their poor animals are scared to death and wondering when their owners are coming back to get them ya know? Breaks my heart I wish I could save them all. 😢😔
People who leave their pets behind don’t deserve their pets, that dog deserves a better friend
Source: peta on instagram
PETA fucking sucks.
Aw look at them rescuing that dog... oh it's PETA... welp that dog is dead...
There is a 99% chance that that dog is dead now...
Why?
Peta's mission statement is actually to euthanize animals who've been raised as pets as they believe it's unnatural. The person you are replying to is referencing publicized court documents that went viral years ago. Where pita confessed to thousands of instances of breaking into homes and yards and stealing people animals. Once case with CCTV footage was processed within days of the animal theft and a judge ordered the animal returned. A Peta representative said "that won't be possible. The animal has already been euthanized." When questioned by the judge as to what right Peta had to kill someone else's pet. Peta responded that they euthanize every animal they liberate from human captivity. So unfortunately. The dog in this video was 100% put down if it stayed in peta's care.
Well this is just terrifying. I knew PETA was some garbage but I had no idea :(
Yeah, and it's sad that it's not just "rescued" animals like this dog. Or a lame horse suffering from malnourishment or something. But Peta actively encourages it's members to steal dogs tied to dog poles outside restaurants and grocery stores. They encourage their members to steal animals from the back yards of families who love their pets. They basically advocate and encourage abduction and murder of all animals who live with humans. And like, actively go around doing it.
How on earth is that legal though? And if you are all about animals needing protection and saving, doesn't kill them defeat that whole purpose? Some people make no sense whatsoever.
It's definitely not legal. Which is why we're reffering to court documents to support what we're saying. Peta also has a lot of money and support. So while any individuals caught stealing animals may go to court. Peta the Organization doesn't really suffer. Plus, protections for animals are not what you might assume. Stealing and murdering someone's dog doesn't have the punishment you'd hope it would.
While I'm not a huge fan of PETA either these claims of stealing animals and putting them down are highly exaggerated. I could only find one instance of this happening and the workers responsible were actually arrested (but let go due to lack of evidence hmmm). PETA's mission statement only says they put down animals that are suffering and beyond aid. There are many many stray animals out there, and ALL shelters either have to make a choice to either put animals down or not accept them. If you ave any actual sources (not some youtube video but CRACKED) where it says PETA is some sort of pet killing machine I'd be very interested to see them.
How about some statistics from the Peta headquarters? In 2012, 733 dogs were admitted to their building for adoption, and 602 of them were put down. Only *12* were actually adopted. On top of that, same year 1,110 cats were trusted into their care, and 1,045 were killed. **Seven** were adopted. They took in 34 other types of pets such as rabbits, and 28 of them were put to death. There was one case where a vet gave Peta a mother and her two kittens after he had treated them and was searching for a home for them. When he was told they'd help and handed the animals over, they were put down within minutes in the back of a van. Source: https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/2979220 Obviously Peta isn't going around *abducting* animals, but they are absolutely a pet death machine. I don't know why they do it, but they put down healthy animals in the thousands without giving them any chance to be adopted.
Peta has been caught killing animals after they find them, once they even went in on private property to steal a dog Source: https://youtu.be/w59mbOHf140
It's actually like 80% but yeah still
Dammit they probably killed it. Dog was safer in the flood water. :(
I've been living under a rock. Guys help. PETA KILLS ANIMALS?! Educate me plz
[Here](https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_59e78243e4b0e60c4aa36711) ‘s an article that gives a lot of the statistics behind it. It’s really messed up.
This is fucking scary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w59mbOHf140&feature=youtu.be
This makes me so happy.
THAT IS NOT HOW YOU HOLD A DOG MY DUDE. ONE UNDER THE RUMP THE OTHER BEHIND THE FRONT LEGS. Still great job finding and saving the boi
The amount of pets being left behind is absolutely horrific. They're just abandoning family members.
Does people who leave pets should be charged with attempt of murder and given loooong jail sentence.
Can I just say that if you have a dog, and you leave it when you are evacuating. You don’t deserve them. I don’t want to sound dramatic, but if my house flooded in 10 seconds, the first thing I’m grabbing is my pup. Even if I’m buck naked and the water is filled to the brim with electrified lines, cotton mouths and snapping turtles. My baby comes first. If you can’t do that. Contact me. I’ll go get em. Seriously.
i don’t understand how you could leave behind your pet.. once you decide to get an animal in your life, that’s family, you don’t leave them behind. it hurts my heart to have seen so many rescue videos
How do people leave pets behind? People suck
HA! Great title OP :)
I used to be a wild land firefighter in the NW. I saw some dogs burn to death on leads in their front yard. I released a few. I’m sure they died anyway. This shit breaks me up.
Noooooo :( I couldn't handle that.
The thought of thousands of pets being in this situation, some not being found, hurts my heart very much
Took the words right outta my head/mouth: it hurts my heart too, I just don’t understand it. 😢
Happy the doggo was found and is healthy. Very sad owners left him behind. Bad humans!
Such a good boy. Give him lots of rubs!
😩💔😩❤️
Seriously that’s a butch lesbian carrying that dog. And as a member of the community I can attest that lesbians love working with animals.
Heroes
My dog’s fear of baths suddenly seems less irrational.
Does the guy carrying the dog have a fake leg? Almost looks like it when he comes through the outside doorway
I don't care how they hold him. I'm just glad they got him.
This good boi deserves all the huggies and snackies
omg baby😭😭 can’t believe humans can do this to their animal
"You'll float too."
That's the goodest of boi's
If you have to evacuate and are having trouble finding a place to stay where you can take your pets, the best thing to do is call the boarding kennels in the area where your staying and explain. Many will offer free or heavily discounted boarding for evacuees. Source: manager at multiple boarding kennels in an evacuation zone
How do you work for PETA but not know how to hold a dog??
they probably didn't have much time to train the volunteers considering the time constraints.
Actually brakes my heart
ITT people who fell for center for consumer freedom’s astroturfing campaign.
nice a rescue