Animals also caught in tornado’s destruction. How you can help, protect pets

Volunteers who “treat each other like family” were coordinating animal relief efforts almost immediately following the powerful tornadoes that hit Kentucky Friday killing 19 and destroying more than 1,500 homes.

Kentucky Mutts, a nonprofit transitional rescue organization and other similar groups provide services to pet owners, shelters and rescue operations.

Vikki Crook, rescue director for Kentucky Mutts, said she and others who operate animal services are providing critical help to parts of a ravaged community sometimes forgotten.

Donations can be made to Kentucky Mutts online. The organization also has a portal to sign up and become a foster family. Most of the items on an Amazon wishlist to support London and Corbin animal shelters have been purchased, but supplies will be needed again soon.

Operating about 90 minutes outside London, Kentucky, the Country Hills Vet Hospital has made connections with service providers throughout the East Coast up to Canada for help with local pet owners, said practice manager Ashleigh Goff.

“Immediately we go into action trying to get resources. Unfortunately, the animals don’t have as many resources readily available as a human would,” Goff said. “So, oftentimes, they are kind of left to the side.”

Crook from Kentucky Mutts said in the aftermath of a natural disaster, it takes a hands-on approach to get pet owners the help they need. That can range from rescue and transport to soliciting donations and distributing pet-specific goods.

“And then we did our regularly scheduled transport Saturday morning and then we were on the ground in (the tornado-stricken) Sunshine Hills (subdivision) with emergency management handing out crates and dog food, asking the community if they needed anything,” Crook said.

Facebook groups and pages run by animal service providers based in Central and Southeastern Kentucky are chock full of Amazon wish lists and asks for donations to pay for vaccines and other medical expenses.

“Animals are part of our families, they are part of us, oftentimes just like children,” Goff said.

“.Although we can’t go down and give a hand or physically do those things [like an in-person rescue], being able to provide some of those necessities that an animal needs to keep the animal and their family together, that’s what’s really important.”

Before bad weather hits

Being prepared is one of the best things pet owners can do for their furry friends.

Crook said microchipping, or inserting a permanent identification device into your pet, is crucial, but so is knowing where safe places are in your home to hunker down if a tornado or other severe weather event hits.

Preparedness measures as simple as keeping a crate for a dog or cat in a bathroom can be a good step toward being ready, said Forgotten Felines owner Ashley Osborne.

Crating a pet during a storm, especially a tornado, creates a secure environment similar to the way an enclosed space or basement does for people.

A crate can shield an animal from debris, makes it easier to move if an evacuation is necessary and can give pets a feeling of safety, Osborne said.

After bad weather

Corbin Animal Clinic practice manager Jennifer Cobb said after bad weather hits, animals can get caught by, under or on debris, making a collar or other external identifiers null.

Microchipping, experts says, is one of the best ways to ensure if your pet gets lost, it can find its way back to you with the help of volunteers from a shelter or vet hospital.

“I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ve never seen this bad destruction from a weather event,” Cobb said.

“So, this is kind of a first for me, but my biggest thing is I now see how important microchipping your pet is because there would be so many pets found and reunited much quicker if they’d been microchipped.”

Cobb said the majority of messages she’s received are from families offering to temporarily house lost pets and other animals while their owners are contacted and while the community continues to sift through debris.

Shelters, animal clinics and vet hospitals often take on that responsibility, Goff said, but extra help is always needed.

Goff also said as animals get rescued from rubble and debris, they’re often treated for broken pelvises, hips and legs. That’s where donations come in to cover expenses. And pulling animals out from debris is always a community effort.

“There was a lady there [in Sunshine Hills] and there were her two dogs,” Crook said. The homeowners were in Florida when the tornado hit the neighborhood and drove through the night to get home to family.

“The house was completely destroyed, but you could hear her two dogs under the debris, crying.

“Everyone pitched in,” she said. “They came in, had to move the top of the debris, but then the little dogs came out. ... That was uplifting to see those babies survive.”

If you see a stray right after a disaster, Crook said the best thing to do is take it to a local shelter where they’re likely to keep a database of lost and found animals and have the tools to check if the animal has a microchip.

Getting an animal to a shelter is also the best option, especially since it may be injured or disoriented.

“We have had so many animals that we saw reunited after the flooding, and we’re seeing it right now down in London,” Goff said. “So many animals are being reunited because people are communicating their need.

“Kentucky is very prideful, they don’t want to ask for help unless they truly, truly need it,” Goff said. “... People don’t want to take things, don’t want to take the help unless they are in dire need.

“But the help is there for a reason so, we want to make sure that as many that can be helped, will be helped.”

This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 10:59 AM.