When fire ravages someone’s home or a disaster strikes, organized relief agencies respond to offer medical aid, shelter and comfort, but in many cases, the family pet can get lost or forgotten in the confusion.
One woman combined her emergency response smarts and her love for animals to help displaced pets and their people get a fresh start.
Jen Leary, a firefighter for seven years, responded to some of Philadelphia’s worst disasters.
Despite helping thousands of people, she became aware of what rescue squads weren’t able to do.
Leary, executive director of the Red Paw Emergency Relief Team says, “Every scene we went to where there was a pet we weren’t able to help, planted another seed in my head.”
Three years ago, Leary formed Red Paw Emergency Relief Team.
What the Red Cross does for people, Red Paw does for their pets, giving first aid or transportation to a vet.
Most important is that Leary coordinates foster care, finding temporary homes for every displaced animal.
“As long as it's legal and a family pet, we will assist,” she says.
Experts say Red Paw services close what was a critical gap in the emergency response safety net.
Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes, CEO of the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter says, “We had families refuse to go into shelters to accept Red Cross care because we couldn’t accommodate their pets.”
Now, when emergency calls come into the Red Cross, dispatchers automatically activate Red Paw for pets.
“In the three years since we’ve started, we’ve responded close to 700 times and assisted over 1200 animals,” says Leary.
She is helping countless people and pets through tough times, until they can be reunited again.
“They say it to us all the time: This is my family. This is my child. It means the world to them,” says Leary.
Red Paw has grown from Jen Leary and several volunteers to a 500-person team, with an operating budget of $300,000.
Leary says most of the expenses are incurred when pets need medical care, although Red Paw does have local veterinarians who volunteer their services.
She has been contacted by a number of Red Cross chapters across the country, who are interested in establishing Red Paw teams in their cities.
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