UAN Assisting Victims of Coffeyville, Kansas, Flood

EARS Ohio State Coordinator Bonnie Morrison hard at work in Coffeyville. Photo courtesy HSUS.

EARS volunteers Phil and Julie Castanada with Bruce Earnest of HSUS outside the Coffeyville shelter. Photo courtesy HSUS.

Coffeyville flooding. Photo courtesy City of Coffeyville.

On July 20, United Animal Nations (UAN) deployed several volunteers with its Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) to Coffeyville, Kansas to help The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) care for more than 80 pets who were displaced by a flood on June 30.

The flood displaced more than 3,000 residents of this small community. Though the floodwaters have receded, many people are still unable to return home because their houses were contaminated with oil when a nearby refinery was damaged in the flood.

EARS volunteers and HSUS personnel are caring for dogs, cats and even a fish at a temporary animal shelter located in a school gym, just down the street from a Red Cross shelter where many evacuees are living.

EARS volunteers are cleaning cages, walking dogs, feeding and watering animals, and working with pet owners, many of whom are visiting their animals regularly.

"The EARS volunteers who reported for duty Saturday morning are terrific!" said Randy Covey, HSUS Director of Disaster Services. "The first day was such a smooth integration we actually finished earlier than normal on both morning and evening shifts, which allowed us more time to work on some extra bathing and behavior issues using techniques shared by Julie and Phil [Castaneda] from EARS."

UAN recently completed a deployment to Pratt, Kansas , where 44 EARS volunteers helped a shelter that had become overwhelmed caring for victims of a tornado that destroyed the nearby town of Greensburg on May 4.

UAN and HSUS are two of nine members of the National Animal Rescue and Sheltering Coalition.