One Onslow county shelter provides safe haven for humans and pets

Pet owners are not stranded during hurricane season.

If they have to go to a shelter, there is one at which their furry friends can accompany them.

"As soon as the Red Cross shelters are activated by the Emergency Management Center, we go to Jacksonville Commons Middle School and set up a shelter there," said Melissa Evans, co-coordinator of the County Animal Response Team.

Domestic animals, when accompanied by their owners, are welcome there.

"No boa constrictors, no pythons, only domestic pets. Cats, dogs and parakeets, parrots - birds in a cage. No falcons on the arm, but birds in a cage will do," said Mark Goodman, Onslow County Emergency Services and Homeland Security director.

The animals must arrive in a cage, and the owners are responsible for their well-being.

"They are required to take care of their animals. They have to be staying at that shelter. A lot of times in our county, I know myself as a pet owner, I would not want to leave my pet alone, so this kind of gives them an option to bring them with them," Evans said.

Owners are encouraged to bring food, bowls, leash, collar and - for cats - cat litter in a pan, Evans said.

Owners should also bring about two weeks' worth their animal's medication "just in case we get transported to somewhere else in case it was a Category 4 or 5 hurricane coming our way," Evans said.

The owner will be responsible for their pet's food them and exercise.

"It's not a pet-care facility," Goodman said. "It's a pet shelter for a storm."

The pets are housed in one wing of the middle school, while humans are housed in another section, to coincide with public health guidelines, said Joy Branham, executive director of the Onslow County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

"Jacksonville Commons Middle School works very well, because the wings are separated, so it's easy to keep the Red Cross clients separated from the CART clients," she said.

Upon arrival at the shelter, the owners will sign in at the Red Cross table then proceed to the CART table to register their pet.

CART is a cooperative group among N.C. Cooperative Extension, Onslow County Animal Control, Onslow County Schools and Emergency Management, Evans said.

For more information about CART, contact Evans at the N.C. Cooperative Extension at 910-455-5873.