Written by PETA
PETA is still fielding calls for help from tornado-stricken areas of North Carolina, and staffers are traveling to the state to rescue homeless and abandoned animals.
A pit bull's doghouse and his guardian's trailer (seen behind him in the photo below) were obliterated in the storm, but miraculously, the dog survived. He was hungry and terrified and had an injured leg, but he basked in the attention showered on him by PETA staffers.
PETA staffers discovered a sweet dog near the wreckage of a demolished building. He had likely been abandoned and was filthy and terrified. Christened "Bert" (after Bertie County!) by his rescuers, he's recovering nicely and has claimed a couch at PETA's Norfolk headquarters.
Residents have been very grateful for PETA's presence in the area. On one trip, our van became stuck in the mud, but helpful work-release inmates pushed us out so that we could get back to rescuing animals.
There is no time like the present to plan for potential disasters. Find a safe destination that you know how to get to, and plan to take your animals with you. Have them microchipped and make sure that their collars are equipped with legible, up-to-date ID tags. Watch for other animals in need and call the authorities if you aren't able to help them yourself.
And to help PETA's lifesaving rescue efforts, consider a donation to our Animal Emergency Fund.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Belle was abandoned after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan when her family fled because of the fear of radiation. PETA Asia-Pacific's Ashley Fruno flew her today—in the cabin, of course—to her adoptive family in Canada.
Ashley was the first member of a foreign animal group to enter the areas of Japan most devastated by the tsunami. Working alongside the Animal Friends Niigata shelter, she rescued animals who were left homeless or were abandoned by their families. After her second trip over, Ashley left with some VIP hand luggage—Belle—tucked safely under the seat in front of her on the plane.
It was donations from caring PETA supporters that got Belle placed with her new family. Thank you to everyone who helps animals otherwise devastated by emergencies by donating to our Animal Emergency Fund.
PETA Asia senior campaigner Ashley Fruno has been in Japan helping many homeless animals, and she lent a hand at an animal shelter run by Animal Friends Niigata. Before returning home, she instructed the many new friends she had made to contact her if they needed anything. The following is her account of her last few days in Sendai:
I have left Japan, but my heart is still there. Up until the end, the smell of decaying flesh was still strong and undeniable in the disaster-stricken areas. We saw bodies being pulled out of a primary school last Friday, more than a week after the tsunami. My plane was full of people who were evacuating, and children were crying. We have a wonderful group of helpers in Japan who care about the animals caught up in this horror. We are so happy to support Isabella Gallaon-Aoki of Animal Friends Niigata. Isabella is a strong soul, and while others were afraid of a second tsunami, radiation exposure, and earthquakes, Isabella drove with me into the worst-hit areas and stepped into the ruins with me, searching for animals. We spent day after day searching for animal survivors, taking in animals who couldn't evacuate with their guardians and delivering dog and cat food and medicines to the evacuation shelters that were allowing animals. We met a kind and wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Sasaki, who was desperate to go into the affected areas but didn't have any gas. He called us for help and now has visited several evacuation centers. He is going to each of them one by one to provide treatment to injured animals and deliver food. On the first night in his hard-hit area, Dr. Sasaki put us both up (which we were so grateful for because we would otherwise have been spending another freezing cold night in our car), and his wife made a lovely vegan meal for us from the scarce amount of food that they had. Isabella is continuing to bring Dr. Sasaki more fuel and veterinary supplies, and we are helping with that effort. There is still much work to be done in Japan, and a PETA Asia volunteer, Ulara Nakagawa, is helping in Tokyo. Ulara is updating the Facebook pages of the local animal rescue groups with important messages about animals and supplies, and she is following up on tips about homeless animals as they come in. Although I have left, I am staying in touch with my new friends in Sendai—and PETA is helping them with additional food and supplies as needed.
I have left Japan, but my heart is still there. Up until the end, the smell of decaying flesh was still strong and undeniable in the disaster-stricken areas. We saw bodies being pulled out of a primary school last Friday, more than a week after the tsunami. My plane was full of people who were evacuating, and children were crying.
We have a wonderful group of helpers in Japan who care about the animals caught up in this horror. We are so happy to support Isabella Gallaon-Aoki of Animal Friends Niigata. Isabella is a strong soul, and while others were afraid of a second tsunami, radiation exposure, and earthquakes, Isabella drove with me into the worst-hit areas and stepped into the ruins with me, searching for animals. We spent day after day searching for animal survivors, taking in animals who couldn't evacuate with their guardians and delivering dog and cat food and medicines to the evacuation shelters that were allowing animals.
We met a kind and wonderful veterinarian, Dr. Sasaki, who was desperate to go into the affected areas but didn't have any gas. He called us for help and now has visited several evacuation centers. He is going to each of them one by one to provide treatment to injured animals and deliver food.
On the first night in his hard-hit area, Dr. Sasaki put us both up (which we were so grateful for because we would otherwise have been spending another freezing cold night in our car), and his wife made a lovely vegan meal for us from the scarce amount of food that they had. Isabella is continuing to bring Dr. Sasaki more fuel and veterinary supplies, and we are helping with that effort.
There is still much work to be done in Japan, and a PETA Asia volunteer, Ulara Nakagawa, is helping in Tokyo. Ulara is updating the Facebook pages of the local animal rescue groups with important messages about animals and supplies, and she is following up on tips about homeless animals as they come in. Although I have left, I am staying in touch with my new friends in Sendai—and PETA is helping them with additional food and supplies as needed.
To support PETA and PETA Asia's lifesaving work in disaster-stricken areas, consider making a donation to PETA's Animal Emergency Fund.
This blog is a cross-post from PETA Asia-Pacific's blog, The Hot & Sour Scoop.
One of the first members of an international animal rights group to reach the disaster area, PETA Asia-Pacific senior campaigner Ashley Fruno has been in Japan with Isabella Gallaon-Aoki of Animal Friends Niigata since taking the first flight to Tokyo after the airport opened Saturday night. Ashley and Isabella are providing food, water, and care to animals abandoned when their guardians fled to evacuation centers, and are also providing food to animals whose guardians are having a hard time getting supplies of food because of long lines of hundreds of people waiting to get into stores. They've encountered many citizens who have stayed in their badly damaged homes for days because many evacuation centers are not allowing companion animals inside.
"The damage is absolutely horrific," Ashley says. "These dogs and cats need rescue for the sake of the anguished people who were forced to choose between seeking refuge in evacuation centers and taking their beloved animal companions with them."
Despite long waits at gas stations, Ashley and Isabella continue to visit the worst-affected areas in search of animals who need help, and their team remains in touch with the volunteer relief center, city office, and prefecture office, which plans to set up a temporary shelter for animals in the north of the city. Ashley is also talking to reporters and asking them to alert her if they spot animals in need.
You can help fund Ashley's work and other rescue work by donating to PETA's Animal Emergency Fund, which provides grants to organizations that do rescue work, including PETA Asia-Pacific.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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