BARC shelters nearly 100 animals during evacuation
The Bureau of Animals Regulation and Care (BARC) participated in an extraordinary mission on Wednesday, September 21, to remove nearly 100 adoptable sheltered animals from the Houston area to Denver, Colorado prior to Hurricane Rita’s arrival. Saving Animals, a non-profit animal welfare organization headed by Sean Hawkins, coordinated the effort which involved 68 BARC animals and 30 animals from Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP). Hawkins became aware of the need for assistance at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and by 10:30 pm, the Ameristar private charter DC-9 aircraft was in the air and safely on its way to Denver. The Colorado State Animal Response Team (CO SART), an official network for coordinating animal emergency issues in Colorado, was on hand with staff and volunteers from no less than a dozen agencies to safely receive the animal evacuees. The Denver Dumb Friends League and Humane Society of Boulder Valley agreed to assist animals with adoption into new homes. Many BARC staff who did not live in the flood surge area worked late into the evening to accomplish this before going home to attend to their own hurricane preparations. The evacuation allowed BARC to consolidate the remaining animals in its care into one of its two kennels for better protection and ease of care over the long weekend. The BARC management team is proud of the way BARC staff stepped up to meet this challenge and thanks all who were involved.