When floodwaters receded, Kerrville Pets Alive found itself doing work that continues after the visible emergency clears: helping animals stay safe and helping people keep the pets they love.
During and after last year’s flood, the organization connected families with pet food, supplies, medical support, foster care and other resources while working alongside animal control, veterinarians, emergency responders and volunteers. Those experiences now shape its plans for disaster preparedness and a more coordinated animal response system for Kerr County.
Karen Guerriero, executive director of Kerrville Pets Alive, says the organization was “living what we were becoming.”
Although Kerrville Pets Alive is sometimes mistaken for a traditional shelter, its role is different. The organization works with animal services, private shelters, veterinarians and pet owners to help families keep their animals whenever possible. Its programs include free or low-cost spay and neuter services, a pet food pantry, foster coordination and Pet Emergency Medical Assistance, or PEMA, which helps owners access veterinary care when the cost is beyond their immediate reach.
“All the programs are meant to help people keep their pets,” Guerriero says.
As the flood response unfolded, Kerrville Pets Alive received calls from pet owners, animal control and community members offering help. Search-and-rescue teams, veterinarians and partner organizations worked from the property, making it a gathering place for animal support, coordination and care.
The need did not end when the floodwaters receded. In Hunt and Ingram, changes to camps, seasonal work and local businesses affected some residents’ income. Kerrville Pets Alive continues to help families manage pet care through medical assistance, supplies and fence repairs.
For Guerriero, animals belong in disaster planning from the beginning. In rural communities, animal response and human response often overlap, especially when families care for livestock, show animals and hobby farm animals in addition to household pets. During the flood, Kerrville Pets Alive worked outside the formal structure of the Emergency Operations Center. Guerriero says the organization has since been invited into planning conversations. Its new campus is designed to support that work. The first phase, the SAFE Campus, will serve animals from animal control, animals recovering from medical procedures and others needing rehabilitation or temporary care. A later phase will include an animal emergency response center where supplies, veterinary support, temporary care and community partners can come together during floods, fires and other emergencies.
“From that disaster, unfortunately, blossomed our new endeavor, which is the disaster recovery center for our area,” Guerriero says. Texas A&M AgriLife is helping the organization plan for household pets, hooved animals, show animals and hobby farm animals, each with different housing, handling and health needs. Guerriero says the framework could become a blueprint neighboring communities adapt for their own needs. For Kerrville Pets Alive, recovery now points toward preparation: a stronger network, a clearer plan and a community working to care for people and animals together. As the organization helps shape that future, Guerriero wants animal welfare included from the beginning–with a seat at the table whenever disaster planning begins.
Kerrville Pets Alive relies on volunteers, foster families, donations and community partnerships to help pets and the people who love them. Whether you have time to volunteer, can open your home to a foster animal or would like to support financially, every contribution makes a difference.
https://kerrvillepetsalive.org/
(844) 572-7387