FALLBROOK: Animal doc heading to Ike-affected area

Veterinarian and her son will work, deliver donations

By TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, September 24, 2008 6:09 PM PDT ∞

FALLBROOK ---- When the Earle family saw images of Hurricane Ike's devastation along the Texas coast, they knew that in addition to the human losses, thousands upon thousands of animals were suffering.

Being a licensed veterinarian, Kathy Earle said she and her son Drew could not just sit by and watch. They'll fly to Houston on Thursday morning to assist relief workers and deliver more than $1,000 in donations.

"Whatever they need me to do, I'll do. As far as doing rescues and things like that, I'd love to, but we'll just have to see when we get there," said Earle, who lives in Fallbrook and occasionally practices at the Avocado Animal Hospital off East Mission Road. "I just don't know what to expect, and I'm keeping an open mind about it."

She said they plan to stay for three days, "But if they need me, I'll stay on."

Drew Earle, a 15-year-old sophomore at Fallbrook High School, has launched a fundraising effort via e-mail and collection buckets at several animal clinics around town, netting about $1,000 so far.

"We don't need any help paying for the trip, and 100 percent of what we collect will be given to the agencies that need it," Kathy Earle said Wednesday afternoon between phone calls to relief workers in Houston.

Earlier this month, Hurricane Ike tore through the Caribbean, killing more than 100 people in Haiti before making landfall along the Texas and Louisiana coastlines.

High winds and a large storm surge preceded the hurricane's arrival along the U.S. Gulf Coast, where Ike caused an estimated $27 billion in damage.

Galveston and Houston were among the hardest-hit communities, and that is where the Earles aim to help.

The situation at several animal shelters in Houston is dire, Kathy Earle said.

At the Houston Humane Society ---- one of the places Earle and her son will be working ---- she said staffers have told her the facility is completely full of animals separated from their owners.

"They said their average daily dog food amount is about 200 pounds, and right now they said they're using five times that amount, so that tells you how full they are," she said. "And they don't have any electricity or power."

Across town at the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, "The people there are working 20-hour shifts, and one woman said she hasn't had a day off in 12 days," she said.

Relieving those workers is a top goal, although Earle said she'd love to help by performing surgeries and rescues in the field.

"I'd love to and hope that I will, but I don't know if I'll be doing surgeries and that sort of stuff" because she's not licensed as a veterinarian in Texas, she said. "A lot of times they won't worry about whether you're licensed or not in a disaster situation."

Earle said she anticipates a lot of animals with injuries from fallen or floating debris, as well as illnesses related to not being taken care of for two weeks.

"I expect stress-related problems, upper-respiratory diseases, and I've heard there has been some water contamination, so there may be some gastrointestinal problems," she said. "We're two weeks into this, so ... they still might be rescuing animals that are facing malnutrition."

She said it was her son's idea to e-mail family and friends with the initial fundraising request.

"He's an honor student, and is a real animal lover. He put an e-mail out to practically everybody we know telling them what we're doing and asking for donations."

She said donations will still be accepted during and after their trip through the Avocado Animal Hospital, (760) 728-5771.

"I know people always like to donate and help, but sometimes you don't know where it should go," said Earle. "Going there and seeing things, I'll know where (the money) should go to help the animals that have been most affected by this."

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 740-3516 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.