Rescued animals being brought to Brazoria County Fairgrounds

In Harvey's wake, crews are working to save stranded animals and reunite owners with lost pets.

The lines didn't stop Friday at a parking location at the Katy Mills Mall. People weren't there to buy goods, instead, help animals left stranded by Harvey.

"I think that these dogs and animals need help and I thought it would be fun to help," volunteer Jack Herberig said.

Volunteers walked, fed and clean animal cages.

"It doesn't make me sad," Herberig said. "It just makes me want to help."

An Austin based group, Austin Pets Alive, is running the parking lot shelter. An area originally meant to help nearby agencies, but that quickly changed.

"We also are running into an extreme need for stray animals to go," Austin Pets Alive Executive Director Ellen Jefferson said. "So we've also become a little bit of a hub for stray animal intake."

The displaced animals are crated and packed into cars. They'll be moved to nearby shelters. The goal now is to get pets reunited with owners.

"We are rapidly working with the city of Austin, city of Houston, and Best Friends," Jefferson said. "They are working on a lost and found database that people would have access to."

It might take some time because animal organizations say this is not like anything they've seen before.

"We were involved with the 2011 Bastrop fires that were really terrible for animals," Jefferson said. "We did search and rescue that was nothing compared to this. This is just massive."

Katy isn't the only place where animals are being saved. As the water rises in Brazoria County, crews are racing to help stranded animals.

"We've been working for seven days," Brazoria County emergency management lead Jesse Leija said. "We've got about a hundred plus horses, cattle. We've got about 200 to 300 heavy cattle that we've been working with."

And with the levels continuing to rise, responders aren't sure when they'll be able to retire their street boats.

"God created creatures," Leija said. "We're here to save them."

If you're looking to help animals, check with the shelters and see if they need volunteers. The groups certainly need supplies, including plastic spoons, kennels and poop bags. You can also donate online.

Animal advocacy groups press on to save pets affected by Harvey

People who work with pets and animals might soon notice a boom in the number of little creatures named Harvey.

At least two animal advocacy organizations are telling stories of animals saved in the wake of the former hurricane who rescuers named after the storm that battered Texas.

Those two animals - a baby sheep and a hawk - are among thousands of animals needing help after Harvey, which has left a death toll in the double digits. An army of organizations and workers are finding that the efforts to rescue and transport dogs, cats and other creatures is nearly as intense as that to help humans affected by Harvey.

 "We are actually ramping things up," Katie Jarl, Texas state director of the Humane Society of the United States, told USA TODAY Friday.

"When you have a population of that many thousands upon thousands of people who have lost homes and people are using the news to just find their family members – can you imagine if it's that difficult to find your mom and dad how difficult it is to find your cat?" Jarl said.

The rescue effort for thousands of pets affected by the storm will take years, said Jarl, adding that her long days and nights getting animals flown to other parts of the country, returned to owners, treated by veterinarians and rescued from danger have been "powered by coffee."

Jarl's organization is one of many that have coalesced to make sure people's furry companions get to safety and health after the storm that pounded Texas. Every organization and private company that deals with animals seems to be involved: the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Best Friends Animal Society, GreaterGood.org, Wings of Rescue, PetSmart and many more.

The furry -- and not so furry creatures -- are often rattled by what has happened and sopping wet when they arrive to safety. Some have gotten sick while waiting for help. Some are found clinging to furniture, while others have been saved from drowning.

The efforts are massive:

— Best Friends Animal Society has taken over the 15-acre Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Conroe, Texas, and made it into Rescue and Reunite Center where animals are being reunited with owners or triaged.

— People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, was in hard-hit Port Arthur rescuing stranded animals by boat in scenes reminiscent of Noah's Ark.

— On Thursday, a team representing the Humane Society went to hard-hit Rockport, Texas. The workers are sleeping in the local jailhouse because it is the only place still standing with enough beds for them and they are people who have lost everything, Jarl said.

At the Montgomery County Fairgrounds site, 30 employees with Best Friends Animal Society from all over the country were handling veterinary care, animal transportation and other duties, Eric Rayvid, director of public relations and content marketing for Best Friends, told USA TODAY.

"We're bringing all animals rescued from the flood waters here and letting people know they can come here to find their pets," said Rayvid, the sounds of barking at the fairgrounds site in the background.

Organizations and companies have donated money, goods and services too, animal advocates said. Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper Real Estate in San Antonio is inviting the public to a pet adoption event planned in conjunction with shelters.

The American Kennel Club Humane Fund has donated $10,000 and a trailer to help with the pet rescue to the city of Houston. GreaterGood.org paid for about 120 dogs and cats from a shelter in Louisiana to be flown by the humanitarian animal organization Wings of Rescue to Manassas, Va., on Saturday so they would have a safe place to live until they can be reunited with their families.

PetSmart Charities is giving upwards of $1 million in emergency aid and several truckloads  of pet food and supplies to help the animal advocacy groups working on the ground.

The animals that are the recipients of all this help are not always dogs and cats.

There was the baby sheep found drowning in a ditch in San Antonio now named Harvey. There was the hawk that set up shop in the back seat of a Houston taxi and would not leave, forcing the driver to take him home (now safely recuperating at a wildlife facility). There was the shaggy 80-pound mutt named Sandy who was waiting to be adopted out of a San Antonio shelter near January and who now has people waiting to adopt him at his new shelter home in Seattle.

There was the little pig found wandering in an abandoned area, and a waterlogged armadillo who just needed a boost to dry land.

Some of the animals are injured or sick because of the storm, Jarl said.

"When animals experience high levels of stress they make themselves sick," Jarl said. "They've spent days on top of boxes sometimes. Their immune systems will shut down."

Many cats are coming down with upper respiratory infections, she said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals was asking people to tweet the locations of animals in need in Harvey's wake to @PETA. Its team was in Port Arthur, rescuing animals by boat. On Thursday, the team saved four stranded kittens, three dogs and an ailing chicken.  The team found one of the kittens clinging to a patio umbrella and the others huddled nearby. They found three dogs left in a flooded backyard standing on part of a rotting wooden shelf and they came to the rescue of an armadillo stranded on a small patch of land, David Perle, PETA's assistant media manager, told USA TODAY.

The fairgrounds in Conroe was quickly reaching its 1,000-animal capacity, said Rayvid of Best Friends. The site was housing three distinct groups of animals, he said: evacuees staying at the nearby Lone Star Convention & Expo Center, where pets are not allowed, pets evacuated from flood zone shelters and pets rescued from the flood zone, he said.

Childhood dog-bite victim is happy with pet-free life

Dear Abby: I'm not a dog person. I'm not even an animal person. I am, however, surrounded by dog owners — my family, my husband's family, my neighbors. Back in middle school, I was bitten several times by dogs while delivering my paper route.

My husband has been without a dog for five years (since the beginning of our relationship). Over the last six months, he has begun to ask when he can get "us" a dog. I absolutely do not want one. They're not clean, they make "messes," and we will constantly have to find someone to care for it when we travel. I have told him this, yet he continues asking. We can't even agree on a hypothetical breed of dog.

I suppose I could say, "Go ahead," with the condition that my husband will have to shoulder all pet-related responsibilities. But we both know how well that will work out. What do you think?

— Wary in Wisconsin

Dear Wary: There's a saying, "Once bitten, twice shy." Because you have been bitten more than once, your reason for not wanting a dog seems logical. Frankly, I think it would be unfair to the animal to bring it into a household in which it wasn't unanimously welcomed. And if you think your husband would lay the responsibility for caring for the dog on you, you should not agree.

Dear Abby: My wife seems to only want to have sex with me when I'm supposed to be at work. It's really flattering, but I am at risk of losing my job. We don't have enough savings to last more than a couple of months if I'm out of work. She wanted me to call in sick today, but I didn't know how to say no without offending her. Help!

— John in Canada

Dear John: Try this. Ask your wife, "Which is more important to you — me in your bed or food on the table and a roof over our heads? I'll be home by 6 o'clock. Be ready!"

Safari West giraffe marks 20th birthday by giving birth

The 37th giraffe born at Safari West was a bit more exciting than the typical birth at the 400-acre African animal preserve near Santa Rosa.

Keepers knew Jamala, an expectant mother who turned 20 years old Wednesday, was ready to give birth to her seventh calf. But when two front hooves appeared early in the morning they cleared out other giraffes from her enclosure to give her privacy.

After a couple of hours, the keepers became worried the calf was twisted in the womb when the nose and face were not appearing. "At that point we called our vet and we decided she needed assistance," said keeper Erika Mittleman.

While keeper Katie Toole distracted Jamala with some cottonwood leaves, Mittleman snuck up behind the 1,600-pound animal and slipped a piece of bailing twine over one of the exposed hooves. Toole slipped another over the other hoof so they could pull evenly.

Both keepers leaned back and pulled with all their strength but the calf didn't budge, and Jamala seemed not to notice or mind the commotion. They called in another keeper, Jen Bates, to lend help.

Finally, with four people tugging, the calf's head and then quickly the shoulders popped out and the 140-pound newborn dropped six feet to earth in a rude awakening that helped jump-start its life.

The calf, already standing 6 feet tall, made some wobbly, comedic attempts to stand before toppling, its long, skinny legs flailing.

"She's out walking around with mom. She's just great. The trouble comes tonight. It's always tricky trying to get a baby into the stall [in the giraffe barn] for the first night," said Mittleman.

In the wild, giraffes learn to walk quickly so they are not vulnerable to predators. In this case, the calf was up and suckling within 25 minutes. The rest of the herd leaned over the fence to inspect and meet the latest addition with snuggles and licks.

Safari West, a member of the American Zoological Association, trades and moves its animals to increase genetic diversity of their herd.

How residents can help wildlife survive the heat

The blazing dog days of summer are upon us, named not for the lazing about of overheated canines but for Sirius the Dog Star. Between July 3 and August 11 in the Northern hemisphere, Sirius rises with the sun. Greek and Roman people believed that the combined incandescence of the two stars brought on summer's stultifying temperatures. Now we know that the tilt of the earth's axis alone, which moves us closer to our Sun, is responsible for the so-called dog days of July and August. Sirius is too far away to blame for the heat.

Wild birds and animals are familiar with the dog days as well, and seek shelter to survive it. "Wildlife does a good job of taking care of itself," says Michelle Fowler, Education Outreach Manager for Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, "unless we provide shelter that we don't maintain. Then we just make things worse for the animals we're trying to help.

"For instance, a roof had blown off an unmaintained barn owl box during the winter," Fowler says. "No one was looking after the box, so when the heat wave hit, the babies were basically sitting in this little oven with no shade." Wildlife Rescue repaired the roof to provide better protection. "It's baby season right now. Young wildlife are at risk because they can't do anything to avoid the heat." In the wild, the owlets might have climbed onto a branch to cool, Fowler says, but "once they were in the box, they couldn't just up and leave."

Making sure our backyards are wildlife friendly in other ways promotes animal survival as well. "In our rural county," says Michelle Halbur, Preserve Ecologist at Pepperwood Preserve, "our backyards are part of a larger landscape. As temperatures continue to rise, animals move to cooler coastal and higher-elevation regions. Allowing them passage by protecting open space is a way to help them deal with extremes." Often a homeowner who builds or buys a new house immediately fences the perimeter, which blocks movement. "Wildlife friendly designs could be used, or fencing put up only around smaller spaces, leaving room for wildlife to pass."

Other aspects of our gardens can be checked for whether they hinder animals moving to water. "Night-lighting and noise should be minimized if it's keeping wildlife from moving to water sources like creeks, ponds, and fountains. Diverse native plant life can be encouraged, providing food sources and better water holding qualities in soil. Gardeners should also ask nurseries where their plants come from, what's the source of the seeds? Nursery stock treated with neonicotinoid pesticides may be harmful to bees and other pollinators."

With climate change and more days projected to climb above 90 degrees in coming years, wildlife will have to cope with additional heat-caused stresses. The same loss of habitat that limits animal movement in hot weather now also hurts them in terms of sheer living space and diversity. "We've seen huge declines in biodiversity," notes author and citizen scientist Mary Ellen Hannibal. "Over the last forty years, we've lost 28 percent of the world's vertebrates, 35 percent of butterflies and moths, and 1.5 billion birds. This is happening in our own backyards, not just Africa, not just Asia, but right here at home."

In addition to habitat loss, lack of precipitation in drought years contributes to wildlife decline. Even with normal or wet winters, however, extreme heat in the dry season increases evaporation at our reservoirs and raises demand for irrigation in fields and gardens. Modest, mindful use wastes less of the groundwater and surface water essential to native habitats like creeks and wetlands. The lovely natural landscape that attracts so many residents and visitors depends on the same sources we do.

Protecting open space for wildlife migration and preserving native habitat for food and water availability will remain critical strategies for stewarding our wild neighbors. "Simply having open space to move through is important to wild animals," Halbur says. "Some of the strategies we employ at Pepperwood Preserve to encourage wild nature can be scaled down to the individual garden."

"It's the old story of when you build it, they'll come," Hannibal adds. "There's no way to overstate this—we have to protect wild nature. It will take a group effort. It's a mob source thing. But the good news is, there's still a lot of wildlife left, there's plenty to save, and when you provide habitat, they come back."