Churches open their doors to people and pets fleeing Floyd

By Tita Parham

Date: September 15, 1999

LAKELAND -- When Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World and Kennedy Space Center shut down, it's a sure sign an impending storm will be bad. The three theme parks, the Space Center and Orlando International Airport did shut their doors Tuesday in preparation for the onslaught of Hurricane Floyd. Some United Methodist churches, on the other hand, kept their doors open, serving as shelters not only for people, but for pets, too.

Sanlando United Methodist Church in the Orlando District and Orange City United Methodist Church in the DeLand District began operating as shelters Tuesday morning and afternoon, respectively, to give people a safe place to go with their pets

The Sanlando shelter was full by about 3:30 p.m. with nearly 70 pet owners, 12 birds, three ferrets, one gerbil, two rabbits, at least 20 cats and approximately 40 dogs, according one shelter volunteer. "The EOC [emergency operations center] doesn't know what the extent of the damage will be here," shelter coordinator Debi Douglas said. "We'll be here Wednesday, plus maybe Thursday." The shelter had plenty of food for evacuees, according to Douglas. Local restaurants closing because of the storm sent food their way.

Bridgett Hughes was happy the shelter was there at all, with or without food. She and her husband, John, left their Palm Bay home at 6 a.m. that day not knowing where they would take their brood of four cats, four dogs, an Angora rabbit and two horses. The smaller animals were able to stay at the Sanlando shelter. The horses went to a ranch nearly an hour from the church.

"We came up here with nowhere to go," Bridgett Hughes said. "We were listening to the radio and found out about this [shelter]. This was the best thing; it really was." Hughes said they arrived about 3 p.m. in van packed full, just before the shelter closed to new arrivals. "We thank the church a lot," Hughes said. "A safe place is very important."

At around 5 p.m., shelter coordinators began referring people to the Orange City shelter, which already had about 70 people at that time, according to the Rev. David McGaffic, pastor of the Orange City church. "We had about 101 people [total], plus volunteers," he said. "...39 dogs, nine cats, one bird, a hamster, a rabbit, four representatives from the fire department and four guests in our education building."

McGaffic said the city did not want the church to accept evacuees after a certain point, despite the desire of church trustees to accept anyone needing a place to stay. Several people arrived late that evening after the maximum limit was reached and were put in the church's education building, McGaffic said.

"All in all, it went quite well," he said. " We had a story time for the children...Blockbuster offered eight family videos. It was a very strange situation, as you can imagine."

Janet Pagan and her two daughters, Rhianna, 3, and Leah, 12, arrived at the Sanlando shelter about 1:30 p.m. with a yellow Labrador puppy in tow. "I had never experienced anything like this before," Pagan said. "I called here and begged them to let me come." Pagan moved with her family to Orlando from England only 14 months ago. "I made the decision that I just didn't want to stay in the apartment," she said. "I'll stay until it's safe to leave."

This hurricane, however, was not the first for 70-year-old Patricia Mishowe, but she wasn't taking any chances with the storm. It reminded her of a 1928 storm, referred to as "The Big Wind," that plowed through the South Bay area of Okeechobee Sept. 16, killing nearly 2,000 people. Her grandfather went through town during that storm encouraging people to leave by boat, and only the 20 or 30 who took his advice survived, she said. Born on Riter Island in Okeechobee, Mishowe said she has seen her share of hurricanes and is "ready to run from hurricanes, especially this one."

Leonard Abelowitz, who stayed at the shelter with his wife, three children and the family's 1-year-old Yorkshire Terrier, summed up what most at the shelter were feeling: "We love our pets --- they're a member of our family. We're grateful that there's such a nice place to come."

Donations for Hurricane Floyd Relief may be sent to the United Methodist Committee on Relief and marked for Hurricanes '99 -- Advance #982460-1. Checks can be placed in church offering plates or sent directly to UMCOR at Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, N.Y. 10115. Credit-card donations may be made by calling 1-800-554-8583.

Photos

Top: Bridgett Hughes arrived at the Sanlando UMC, Orlando, pet-friendly shelter with her husband and their four dogs, four cats and one Angora rabbit after being told to evacuate their home in Palm Bay because of Hurricane Floyd . Hughes said her dogs and rabbit were adjusting to the new environment much better than her cats, including this one named B.J. Photo by Tita Parham

Middle: Rhianna Pagan, 3, visits her Labrador puppy in the room set aside for dogs at the Sanlando UMC, Orlando, pet-friendly shelter. Rhianna, her mother, Janet, and sister Leah, 12, chose to ride out Hurricane Floyd in the shelter, instead of their apartment. Newly arrived from England 14 months ago, Janet Pagan says she and her family have never experienced a storm like Floyd. Photo by Tita Parham