Giving Animals Shelter—Greenwich Opts for Pet Intake at Emergency Shelters

Should a natural disaster strike Greenwich the way Hurricane Irene or Super Storm Sandy did during the last two years, residents will now be able to take their pet dogs, cats and hamsters with them to town-run emergency shelters.

Since November a pet evacuation committee—comprised of town health, emergency services and Board of Education personnel and the Red Cross—have been meeting to develop a plan acceptable to all parties involved.

During a town-wide emergency when shelters are open Eastern Middle School in Riverside and Western Middle School on the western end of Greenwich, pet owners will be able to bring their pets to the shelters, committee member Kerrin Coyle said Monday.

"God forbid we have another Sandy. But if we do, we will have shelter for pets and their owners," Coyle said.

"There will be designated rooms, one for dogs, the other for cats and small pets, where pets and their owners can stay," Coyle said. "The rooms that will be used have sinks so owners can get water." 

The pets must be caged and the owners must stay at the shelter to care for them. It is preferable that owners provide their own cages. "I have four (cats). After Sandy, I was very close to having to leave (her Cos Cob) home," said Coyle. But she had her cats and was helping to care for a neighbor and their cat.

Now, Coyle said, should the need arise, she would bring two crates to Eastern Middle School to house two cats apiece.

However, at the shelters, the owners will not be able to sleep with their pets, Coyle said. There also will be an outdoor area where owners will be able to exercise their animals.

Part of the arrangement will include the cleaning of the inside of the schools of any pet allergens that could impact students when the buildings are returned to post-disaster, classroom use, Coyle said.

According to First Selectman Peter Tesei, a pet will be allowed into the shelter only after the owner produces documentation the animal has current immunizations. "We will have volunteers to handle pet intake," Tesei said at the July 25 Board of Selectmen meeting.

The pet sheltering program grew out of residents' misunderstandings during Sandy, Tesei said. "People are willing to make this work. Greenwich has always had provisions to evacuate pets. There is the (town-run) animal shelter on North Street. The town can only do so much … " The town also allows for pets to be sheltered at The Nathaniel Witherell nursing home and at Adopt-a-Dog's shelter in Armonk, NY, Coyle said.

During Super Storm Sandy, many residents in mandatory evacuation neighborhoods of Old Greenwich, Riverside and Byram refused to leave their homes because pets were not allowed in the shelters. At the time, only service dogs were allowed in shelters.