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Livonia Animal Rescue Clinic Saving Lives After Hurricane Harvey

HOUSTON, Texas (WWJ) - Volunteers with a metro Detroit animal rescue clinic have hands full of furry friends as they continue to help in areas hard-hit by Hurricane Harvey.

Laura Zain, founder of Tail Waggers in Livonia, said the number of pets in their care down in Houston, Texas is growing as they continue to welcome some new additions.

Tail Waggers in TX
Photo: Tail Waggers

"I had a mother cat deliver her fifth kitten and now we just had a dog deliver its ninth puppy under a tree," she told WWJ's Lauren Barthold on Tuesday. "Neither one of those animals would've made it if we didn't have the technicians and the doctors on hand right here."

Tail Waggers in TX
Photo: Tail Waggers

Zain said while her team of seven volunteers are still out rescuing stranded animals, they're also thinking about how they'll reunite the pets with their owners.

"Animals will come in; as an intake they have a collar put on them with their number, their paperwork gets a number, their cage gets a number," Zain said. "There is a mandatory 30 day hold that's fair to give people a chance to make the calls and the contacts to bring in proof that that's their dog."

How are the rescued pets holding up?

"The stress levels on them are so high that they're not eating correctly; we're getting them to start drinking," Zain said.
"They're getting used to us approaching their cages, their tails are coming out."

"It's sad. You sit here driving hard and then all of a sudden you look at  it and you can bust out crying in a minute because they're just so confused, like where their owners are at. They're in a truck and a boat and a trailer being transported and now they're in a cage...and we're doing the best we can to make them comfortable."

The group has been been in Texas since last week and resources are scarce.

Zain said monitory donations are needed to buy necessities like generations, gas, tents, crates, extension cords and more.

Those who want to help can make a donation (via Paypal or Amazon) at this link. See more photos on the Taile Wagers Facebook page.

Tail Waggers 1990 is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.

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