ARF Provides Emergency Pet Evacuation Services for East Hampton Town

Pets, not just people, received shelter from Hurricane Irene last weekend. 

The  in Wainscott reported that it served six animals in its capacity as an for the Town of East Hampton on Saturday and Sunday.

ARF boarded two dogs from Montauk, two cats from East Hampton, as well as two stray animals (one cat and one dog) that were brought to the Adoption Center by concerned citizens in the midst of the storm.

The North Shore Animal League of Port Washington brought out one of their mobile units to help ARF provide additional housing for evacuated animals, if needed.

Sara Davison, the shelter director, said, “We’ve used the ARF facility for animal evacuations during Hurricane Frances in the Bahamas and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, but this is the first time we’ve had to use ARF for a local emergency."

"We are happy to work with East Hampton Town to provide these services and are glad to report that everything went smoothly," she said.

In addition, Hurricane Irene marked the first time town officials ran their own make-shift shelter for pets. About a had a haven at the . 

Michele Forrester, ARF’s Director of Operations, took the storm as an opportunity to remind pet owners . "So we took the opportunity during the storm to microchip each pet admitted to the shelter, free of charge," she said.