LOCAL Houston | The City Guide October 2017 | Page 53

FOOD | ARTS | COMMUNITY | STYLE+LEISURE
Monday, August 28, Anthony Rathbun heads to Rockport with the Humane Society.
CHAPTER TWO.
SAVING THE ANIMALS
By Anthony Rathbun | Photography by Anthony Rathbun
Hurricane Harvey had barely been in Houston for 24 hours when emails first came in from an associate at The Associated Press (AP). They
put me on standby to document a HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES (HSUS) Animal Rescue Team (ART) engaging in animal
rescue operations near Texas City.
With no distinct address ahead and no confirmed lodging, details came as I drove South Monday. The fury of the storm already hit Rockport
and Port Aransas. The Galveston and Houston areas’ consistent rain had many regions along my drive flooded or flooding. I had a full tank
of gas and an extra can, a non-perishable food stash, protective clothing, knee-high hunting boots, camera, computer and 6.9 inches of
vehicle ground clearance.
My drive was 4.5 hours from The Heights to a Kemah hotel. My main HSUS contact booked me in one of the last rooms available. I was
to rendezvous with the HSUS ART at 8am the next day. We’d be travelling to Dickinson Bayou Animal Services. What I thought would be
a one-three day job ended up spanning six days. What follows are some of the observations and experiences I had during that time. And to
be clear, these are just the animal rescues our HSUS team accomplished. There were countless more teams working throughout the Greater
Houston and East Texas region.
Everyone I met on the ART was unique. Their shared bond was a deep care for animal well-being. Clad in dry suits up to their necks, the
ART would work in rain, shin- to chest-deep water, in homes as well as trailers heavily dank with rotting items, mold, garage chemicals
and all the other things typically found
in flood water. As a team, we were able
to rescue many animals; the HSUS orga-
nization’s other teams rescued countless
more.
The first animal rescued was a gray,
black and white cat reported missing by
its owner, and found hiding just behind a
mattress which had floated off the frame
near a wall in a child’s room. Placed
safely in a carrier, the cat was taken out
to a local animal service truck that had
followed as close as open roads would let
them. The local service would ferry the
cat to the shelter to be fed and rehabili-
tated till reunited with its owner.
continued
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