After the tornadoes in Arkansas, volunteers are utilizing social media to assist displaced pets

Little Rock, Arkansas – Animal rescuers report that over a hundred pets are also looking for a way back home after a deadly tornado in central Arkansas left many humans without a place to live.

Following a tornado that hit Arkansas on March 31, organizations and volunteers are banding together to assist displaced pets by utilizing the power of social media.

Volunteer with Southern Hearts Rescue Brenda Guillet claimed that the day the tornado struck, they created the Facebook page Tornado 3/31 Central Arkansas Lost and Found Pets. As a result of the displaced animals, there was a significant desire for individuals to join shortly after.

“We have a Facebook group page that’s trending showing somewhere around 150 that have been reunited,” Guillet said.

Even though many animals have been reunited, Guillet said that hundreds haven’t. Some of the cats at the Community Cats of Central Arkansas group are among the people who are still displaced, according to Sarah Richardson.

“We have taken around 40 over the last week,” Richardson said.

According to Richardson, it has proven challenging to track down the owners of the pets who were uprooted by the tornado.

“I don’t know if it’s because people aren’t paying attention,” Richardson said. “Then we have a couple of pets that were housing for people who are trying to rebuild their homes.”

According to Richardson, several of their displaced cats arrive at the shelter with wounds.

“It’s severe dehydration or just laceration to the head or the back,” Richardson said.

She added that one cat had extensive facial damage.

“He is the one that everyone has seen that has the eye debris and the jaw out of place. He had emergency surgery last night on the eye,” Richardson said.

Despite being at capacity, Little Rock Animal Village manager Tracy Roark said they are still accepting animals that were displaced by the hurricane.

“We had about eight, seven of them dogs, one of them a cat but we were doing tracking in the area,” Roark said.

In an effort to track down the owners of the displaced pets they have in their care, Roark and Richardson are both using the Tornado 3/31 Central Arkansas Lost and Found Pets page.

“We’re going to do what’s right and caring for these animals is what we have been asked to do,” Roark said.

Guillet advises pet owners to physically visit the shelters rather than just look at their social media pages because their animals might not appear the same as when they were last seen.