October 5, 2024 • 11 mins
The heartbreak and destruction in the Southeast in the wake of Hurricane Helene is overwhelming. Hundreds are dead and the damage is nothing short of catastrophic. An untold number of people will have to find a way to start all over again, and that also includes animal rescuers. The MSPCA has been working since the storm hit to offer whatever help they can to keep animals safe. Mike Keiley, the Vice President of Animal Protection at the MSPCA, talks with Nichole about their efforts and what you can do to assist.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend,
where each and every week we come together right here
we talk about all the topics important to you and
the place where you live. It is so good to
be back with you again this week. I'm Nicole Davis. Truly,
there are a few words to describe the heartbreak that
we've all been witnessing in the Southeast playing out after
Hurricane Helene. Dozens of people are dead, hundreds are still missing,
(00:32):
an untold number of people suddenly have to somehow find
the strength and resources to start life all over again.
Aid groups and rescue crews, all sorts of people are
pouring into that region. They're just trying to assist in
whatever way they can when entire towns have been washed away.
That includes the crews at the MSPCA from here in Massachusetts.
(00:52):
Over the past few days, animals have been making their
way up to the shelters here in Massachusetts. These animals
have been through so much and they're getting check up
and much needed rest and hopefully at the end of
all this, a new forever home. Mike Kylie from the
MSPCA has been here on the show before. He's back
with us now to talk with us about this.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Mike.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
It's great to have you back here, so please tell
us about what you all at the MSPCA you have
been up to as you just try to help.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah. Absolutely. I think whenever there is an impending storm
that we think could have an impact, we do start
connecting in with various different organizations and shelters that are
in the path of the storm. Our first step is
always to try to see what we can evacuate out
ahead of the storm, and then secondarily turn our attention
to any relief efforts. This storm in particular was a
(01:40):
little bit challenging because it really picked up steam very
quickly and developed very quickly into a much more significant
hurricane than anticipated. As a result, evacuation was really not successful,
and so we turned our attention to relief efforts. So
I think we were all surprised by how significant the
(02:04):
damage was. Just unbelievable and really in unexpected areas that
I think has really rocked all of us in the country,
and definitely within animal welfare.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It's really devastating to watch not just the people who
are without homes, but so many who had to leave
their animals behind or felt like they couldn't bring their
animals to shelters. It's got to be a really just
heartbreaking decision for anybody in harm's way to try to
figure out what do you do with your friend?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Absolutely, I mean I think that's been an area of
attention since Katrina, and we know that the Red Cross
has made adjustments since then to include animals in the
evacuation process and temporary housing solutions because people will not
leave in some cases when their animal, they had to
make a choice to leave their animal behind, and then
it puts people in harm's way, So it becomes even
(02:54):
more tragic if both the animal and person are impacted
by staying behind. And in some of these cases, I
think no one could have predicted. I mean, who would
have thought that in Asheville, North Carolina, that in the
mountains Inland North Carolina would get flooded to the degree
that it happened. And we are incredibly devastated because Brother
(03:16):
Wolf Animal Rescue in Ashville, North Carolina was completely destroyed
in the storm there. They lost all of their shelter buildings,
all of their vehicles, and at some point they weren't
even sure if their staff were safe and couldn't contact
them because communications were down. So this is a you know,
this is probably the worst storm I've seen since Katrina.
(03:39):
I think we probably a lot of us feel that way.
But the devastation has impacting both people in animals in
a way that is just completely tragic.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
And what is it like trying to then negotiate and
trying to essentially put together plans to bring these animals
up here and save as many as possible. Communications are
so difficult down there right now? How are you getting
this done?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah? I mean, I think what we realized pretty quickly
is that there was no way to contact some of
these shelters that were in the paths of the storm.
So and once even there was an understanding and communication
was established, there was no way to access them. All
the roads were closed. There was no way in and
no way out, and I think that just makes it
incredibly scary for everybody. So you know, what we did
(04:24):
on our end, just you know, this is a time
where I think when disaster strikes, the animal welfare all
really buns together to try to help out those that
are impacted, both the shelters that are impacted, the animals
that are impacted, and the people that are impacted. So
we started our process of assistance by relocating animals from
shelters that were outside of the storm's pathway but would
(04:46):
be relied on for intaking of animals, either through surrender
or transfer or temporary housing. So we started, you know,
arranging transports from Chattanooga, Tennessee for dogs, knowing that they
kind of you know, kind of see was impacted South
Carolina for cats, in Florida for cats. We started that
process and then once communications were established, we really found
(05:11):
out some of the tragedy that befell Brother Wolf and
other organizations, and you know, one of the things that
was really we were happy to hear is that they
were able to get all of their animals out to
foster homes prior to their shelter being destroyed, which was great.
But then when trying to arrange transport of those animals
out so they could get their remaining staff to safe areas,
(05:34):
they discovered a new challenge, which is they can't reach
all the people who fostered these animals because communications were down,
so you know, trying to stage relocation became incredibly challenging,
and it got to a point where they could they
sent out emails and voicemails and texts just saying if
you get this message, bring your animal here on this date,
(05:58):
and the ASPCA set up a staging area to receive
those animals and then transporting those animals out. So it's
a coordination like we've never experienced in recent years, probably
since Katrina, and that chaos and confusion just makes it
incredibly hard to operate, even when there are resources to
(06:19):
be able to help end the worry that everybody felt
when they can't reach a foster home. Are they safe?
We just can't reach them because the cell service is
down or were they impacted or are they a cell
service down and they're running out of food and water
and gas. No one could really tell which. Just I
(06:40):
think that lack of information in an age where we
rely on information so much, just makes this even more
scary for all of us.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, and the mental toll that that can take as well.
I mean, obviously the people right in the thick of it,
the tragedy and devastation, I mean, that's just impossible for
us to understand. But for those of you who are
just desperately trying to help these people, talk to me
about the mental toll this is taking on you and
others that obviously are pushing through it to make this happen.
(07:08):
But this has got to be really tough to juggle.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah. Absolutely, I think in the work that we do
and investigating neglect and cruelty and dealing with all these
different things that are traumatic in nature, I think that
unknown is even more traumatic in some ways because we
just don't know what's happening and we want to desperately help.
And you know, when I finally was able to connect
with with colleagues in those areas, there was a sense
(07:34):
of relief, but the first question was how are you doing?
What can we do to help you? Because they are
the most important part to make sure that animals are protected,
and if they are dealing with all this stress and
emotion and their own families and houses and all of
the things that are impacting their life, not even just
(07:56):
their work, are also in jeopardy, you know, just you know,
person to person, just recognizing how hard it is for them,
my heart bleeds for them, and someone who has experienced
so many traumatic situations, I don't get emotional very often,
but this one really rocked me. And you know, in
that moment, I knew in what our conversations with our
(08:16):
staff were. Okay, this is a really difficult situation and
we're not in a great position to take animals right
now because there's so many animals in our shelters already.
But there wasn't a single person on our team that
hesitated to find creative ways to say, we will do
whatever is needed to help you. It doesn't matter what
animals need to come. Just if you can get them here,
we'll take them and we'll figure it out. So it's hard,
(08:39):
it's hard, for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Yeah, but you know what, You've got great groups of
animals coming up. You've got all sorts of dogs coming
in from Tennessee. Tell us about your new friends that
you are working to find homes for that are coming
in from these impacted areas.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, I mean, I think you know say this every
single time during disaster or situations and neglect or abuse.
It just reinforces to me what is unexpected and so
heart you know, heartwarming in some ways that animals are
so resilient. So we see them come from these really
scary situations that all their life all of a sudden,
(09:14):
is turned upside down and they're coming into a new place,
another stressful environment and new shelter system, something that they
you know, the day before was a normal day for
them and now it's completely turned upside down. But they
just managed through it. They still lead with joy and
trust in a way that we wouldn't anticipate. But everyone
that's coming through our doors is you know, absorbing that
(09:37):
love and attention and giving it back and you know,
ready to move on to the next chapter into a
home where they're going to be loved and cared for
and safe going forward.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Yeah, I'm looking at all your adorable cats and dogs
on the website right now, and I'm thinking so many.
I hope these just fly out of the shelters because
they are all so cute, and I swear if I
wasn't in a small apartment, i'd probably take half them myself.
But you know, if people want to help, but maybe
they don't have room for a dog or a cat
or any other pet, maybe from Nevin's farm, to move
(10:07):
up some space, how can they assist you in this
effort specifically to help get these animals out of the Southeast.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Well, again, I think you know, adoption is great if
someone's in that position. Foster is great. If someone has
temporary time to help, even if it's for a weekend,
that helps tremendously, especially for the animals that are stressed.
But you know, we rely on volunteer help to be
able to provide this labor, So if people have the
ability to volunteer, would appreciate that. And obviously we're a
(10:34):
charitable organization. All of the efforts that we're doing to
help support disaster relief and in general I'll come from
charitable donation, so some people can donate supplies or money
to be able to help support our activity. And some
of the time, the simplest thing is just spreading the word.
Following us on social and sharing the adoption events that
(10:56):
we have or the stories that we're telling, or the
actions that we're having to your social network. Just helps
to get the word out about the need to a
greater audience.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
All Right, I love it, Mike. Thank you so much
for all the work you're doing to help these dogs
and cats and all the animals out there at the MSPCA,
and good luck to you should continue to do this
really important work.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Thanks so much for having us, Thanks for covering the story.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
From WBZ News Radio in Boston. This is New England Weekend,
where each and every week we come together right here
we talk about all the topics important to you and
the place where you live. It is so good to
be back with you again this week. I'm Nicole Davis. Truly,
there are a few words to describe the heartbreak that
we've all been witnessing in the Southeast playing out after
Hurricane Helene. Dozens of people are dead, hundreds are still missing,
(00:32):
an untold number of people suddenly have to somehow find
the strength and resources to start life all over again.
Aid groups and rescue crews, all sorts of people are
pouring into that region. They're just trying to assist in
whatever way they can when entire towns have been washed away.
That includes the crews at the MSPCA from here in Massachusetts.
(00:52):
Over the past few days, animals have been making their
way up to the shelters here in Massachusetts. These animals
have been through so much and they're getting check up
and much needed rest and hopefully at the end of
all this, a new forever home. Mike Kylie from the
MSPCA has been here on the show before. He's back
with us now to talk with us about this.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Mike.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
It's great to have you back here, so please tell
us about what you all at the MSPCA you have
been up to as you just try to help.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Yeah. Absolutely. I think whenever there is an impending storm
that we think could have an impact, we do start
connecting in with various different organizations and shelters that are
in the path of the storm. Our first step is
always to try to see what we can evacuate out
ahead of the storm, and then secondarily turn our attention
to any relief efforts. This storm in particular was a
(01:40):
little bit challenging because it really picked up steam very
quickly and developed very quickly into a much more significant
hurricane than anticipated. As a result, evacuation was really not successful,
and so we turned our attention to relief efforts. So
I think we were all surprised by how significant the
(02:04):
damage was. Just unbelievable and really in unexpected areas that
I think has really rocked all of us in the country,
and definitely within animal welfare.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
It's really devastating to watch not just the people who
are without homes, but so many who had to leave
their animals behind or felt like they couldn't bring their
animals to shelters. It's got to be a really just
heartbreaking decision for anybody in harm's way to try to
figure out what do you do with your friend?
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Absolutely, I mean I think that's been an area of
attention since Katrina, and we know that the Red Cross
has made adjustments since then to include animals in the
evacuation process and temporary housing solutions because people will not
leave in some cases when their animal, they had to
make a choice to leave their animal behind, and then
it puts people in harm's way, So it becomes even
(02:54):
more tragic if both the animal and person are impacted
by staying behind. And in some of these cases, I
think no one could have predicted. I mean, who would
have thought that in Asheville, North Carolina, that in the
mountains Inland North Carolina would get flooded to the degree
that it happened. And we are incredibly devastated because Brother
(03:16):
Wolf Animal Rescue in Ashville, North Carolina was completely destroyed
in the storm there. They lost all of their shelter buildings,
all of their vehicles, and at some point they weren't
even sure if their staff were safe and couldn't contact
them because communications were down. So this is a you know,
this is probably the worst storm I've seen since Katrina.
(03:39):
I think we probably a lot of us feel that way.
But the devastation has impacting both people in animals in
a way that is just completely tragic.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
And what is it like trying to then negotiate and
trying to essentially put together plans to bring these animals
up here and save as many as possible. Communications are
so difficult down there right now? How are you getting
this done?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Yeah? I mean, I think what we realized pretty quickly
is that there was no way to contact some of
these shelters that were in the paths of the storm.
So and once even there was an understanding and communication
was established, there was no way to access them. All
the roads were closed. There was no way in and
no way out, and I think that just makes it
incredibly scary for everybody. So you know, what we did
(04:24):
on our end, just you know, this is a time
where I think when disaster strikes, the animal welfare all
really buns together to try to help out those that
are impacted, both the shelters that are impacted, the animals
that are impacted, and the people that are impacted. So
we started our process of assistance by relocating animals from
shelters that were outside of the storm's pathway but would
(04:46):
be relied on for intaking of animals, either through surrender
or transfer or temporary housing. So we started, you know,
arranging transports from Chattanooga, Tennessee for dogs, knowing that they
kind of you know, kind of see was impacted South
Carolina for cats, in Florida for cats. We started that
process and then once communications were established, we really found
(05:11):
out some of the tragedy that befell Brother Wolf and
other organizations, and you know, one of the things that
was really we were happy to hear is that they
were able to get all of their animals out to
foster homes prior to their shelter being destroyed, which was great.
But then when trying to arrange transport of those animals
out so they could get their remaining staff to safe areas,
(05:34):
they discovered a new challenge, which is they can't reach
all the people who fostered these animals because communications were down,
so you know, trying to stage relocation became incredibly challenging,
and it got to a point where they could they
sent out emails and voicemails and texts just saying if
you get this message, bring your animal here on this date,
(05:58):
and the ASPCA set up a staging area to receive
those animals and then transporting those animals out. So it's
a coordination like we've never experienced in recent years, probably
since Katrina, and that chaos and confusion just makes it
incredibly hard to operate, even when there are resources to
(06:19):
be able to help end the worry that everybody felt
when they can't reach a foster home. Are they safe?
We just can't reach them because the cell service is
down or were they impacted or are they a cell
service down and they're running out of food and water
and gas. No one could really tell which. Just I
(06:40):
think that lack of information in an age where we
rely on information so much, just makes this even more
scary for all of us.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Yeah, and the mental toll that that can take as well.
I mean, obviously the people right in the thick of it,
the tragedy and devastation, I mean, that's just impossible for
us to understand. But for those of you who are
just desperately trying to help these people, talk to me
about the mental toll this is taking on you and
others that obviously are pushing through it to make this happen.
(07:08):
But this has got to be really tough to juggle.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah. Absolutely, I think in the work that we do
and investigating neglect and cruelty and dealing with all these
different things that are traumatic in nature, I think that
unknown is even more traumatic in some ways because we
just don't know what's happening and we want to desperately help.
And you know, when I finally was able to connect
with with colleagues in those areas, there was a sense
(07:34):
of relief, but the first question was how are you doing?
What can we do to help you? Because they are
the most important part to make sure that animals are protected,
and if they are dealing with all this stress and
emotion and their own families and houses and all of
the things that are impacting their life, not even just
(07:56):
their work, are also in jeopardy, you know, just you know,
person to person, just recognizing how hard it is for them,
my heart bleeds for them, and someone who has experienced
so many traumatic situations, I don't get emotional very often,
but this one really rocked me. And you know, in
that moment, I knew in what our conversations with our
(08:16):
staff were. Okay, this is a really difficult situation and
we're not in a great position to take animals right
now because there's so many animals in our shelters already.
But there wasn't a single person on our team that
hesitated to find creative ways to say, we will do
whatever is needed to help you. It doesn't matter what
animals need to come. Just if you can get them here,
we'll take them and we'll figure it out. So it's hard,
(08:39):
it's hard, for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Yeah, but you know what, You've got great groups of
animals coming up. You've got all sorts of dogs coming
in from Tennessee. Tell us about your new friends that
you are working to find homes for that are coming
in from these impacted areas.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Yeah, I mean, I think you know say this every
single time during disaster or situations and neglect or abuse.
It just reinforces to me what is unexpected and so
heart you know, heartwarming in some ways that animals are
so resilient. So we see them come from these really
scary situations that all their life all of a sudden,
(09:14):
is turned upside down and they're coming into a new place,
another stressful environment and new shelter system, something that they
you know, the day before was a normal day for
them and now it's completely turned upside down. But they
just managed through it. They still lead with joy and
trust in a way that we wouldn't anticipate. But everyone
that's coming through our doors is you know, absorbing that
(09:37):
love and attention and giving it back and you know,
ready to move on to the next chapter into a
home where they're going to be loved and cared for
and safe going forward.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Yeah, I'm looking at all your adorable cats and dogs
on the website right now, and I'm thinking so many.
I hope these just fly out of the shelters because
they are all so cute, and I swear if I
wasn't in a small apartment, i'd probably take half them myself.
But you know, if people want to help, but maybe
they don't have room for a dog or a cat
or any other pet, maybe from Nevin's farm, to move
(10:07):
up some space, how can they assist you in this
effort specifically to help get these animals out of the Southeast.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Well, again, I think you know, adoption is great if
someone's in that position. Foster is great. If someone has
temporary time to help, even if it's for a weekend,
that helps tremendously, especially for the animals that are stressed.
But you know, we rely on volunteer help to be
able to provide this labor, So if people have the
ability to volunteer, would appreciate that. And obviously we're a
(10:34):
charitable organization. All of the efforts that we're doing to
help support disaster relief and in general I'll come from
charitable donation, so some people can donate supplies or money
to be able to help support our activity. And some
of the time, the simplest thing is just spreading the word.
Following us on social and sharing the adoption events that
(10:56):
we have or the stories that we're telling, or the
actions that we're having to your social network. Just helps
to get the word out about the need to a
greater audience.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
All Right, I love it, Mike. Thank you so much
for all the work you're doing to help these dogs
and cats and all the animals out there at the MSPCA,
and good luck to you should continue to do this
really important work.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Thanks so much for having us, Thanks for covering the story.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Have a safe and healthy weekend. Please join me again
next week for another edition of the show. I'm Nicole
Davis from WBZ News Radio on iHeartRadio
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