PUHI-Kaua’i pets now have a place to take their owners when a hurricane is headed our way.
That’s how Kaua’i Red Cross manager, Alfred Darling, describes the island’s newest disaster shelter.
Until now, only “owners” were allowed to take refuge at Kaua’i’s public shelters in times of disaster. Pets had to be left at home.
But with the help of the Contractors Association of Kaua’i and a “Builders Care” grant from the National Association of Home Builders, the Kaua’i Humane Society’s Puhi facility has just become the first shelter in the state and one of the few in the nation where pets and their owners can wait out a storm or other disaster under the same roof.
“People are reluctant to leave pets behind,” said Kaua’i’s Civil Defense Administrator, Mark Marshall, “They put themselves in harm’s way to shelter their pets at home.”
Marshall and others involved with the project are hoping the newly retrofitted shelter will help change that.
Although the actual work to bring the facility into compliance started earlier this month and is expected to be completed today, according to CAK’s Karen Taketa, the idea has been around for a while.
Marshall said he felt the building would make a perfect shelter the first time he saw it back in January 2000.
Dr. Becky Rhoades, director of the Kaua’i Humane Society also recognized last year that the building would be ideal to shelter pets as well as their owners.
Taketa said she became aware of the need for more shelters through her work with Kaua’i County Project Impact, which also seeks funds to “harden” or retrofit public facilities that can be used as public shelters.
Kaua’i 13 public shelters have a total of 19,343 spaces, Marshall said, barely enough to shelter the island’s average daily visitor count of 15,000 to 18,000 much less its 58,000 residents.
“We’re desperate to find more shelter spaces,” he said.
State and local Civil Defense and Red Cross officials surveyed the Puhi facility earlier this year and compiled a list of “mitigating suggestions” that needed to be made before the building could be approved for occupancy in time of disaster.
CAK’s board of directors volunteered to provide labor if funds could be secured for materials. The association applied for a grant to purchase hardware, which was approved, and Hal Martin, immediate past president of the association, agreed to spearhead the project.
CAK volunteers retrofitted all of the exterior doors on the ground floor kennel area so pets can be sheltered. Windows and doors in the basement also needed to be “hardened.”
The county has also been working on ADA compliance needs, Marshall said, adding that the Humane Society project is just one of several county engineer Doug Haigh has been involved with.
As the lead agency for management of the shelter when it is actually occupied, the American Red Cross also had to give its blessing. Kaua’i Humane Society signed a memorandum of understanding with the Red Cross, which will do a final walk through once everything is completed.
When the shelter is opened during disasters, people will be housed downstairs in the basement, which can hold 300, according to federal guidelines. Pets brought to the shelter must be confined to crates and will be cared for upstairs in the kennel area during the disaster.
Rhoades said the facility has one more major need to fill and that is the purchase of a diesel fuel tank to run the generator which will provide electricity. The Puhi facility has its own water source, which runs by an electric pump.
The fuel tank is being ordered from the mainland but Rhoades said they would appreciate the help of “any kind angel who would like to help” by investing in the equipment which will benefit the community in times of disaster.
Rhoades suggested people familiarize themselves with the requirements (see sidebar) to bring pets to the shelter before it’s too late.
“Kids from Kaua’i High School have helped us set up a display of things in the lobby on how to prepare pets crate and the items needed such as ID, medication and other things,” she said inviting the public to stop by and take a look.
Darling said the Red Cross also needs more shelter managers.
“For every shelter, we need 10 to 12 managers,” he said estimating that 300 trained shelter managers are needed to run all of the island’s shelters. Training programs are scheduled to be held this month.
Darling said there is a lot of interest this year in hurricanes, not because it is the tenth anniversary of Iniki but because of the environmental conditions.
“It looks like a year to be more ready than ever,” he said.
TGI Special Sections Editor Rita De Silva can be reached at 245-3681, EXT 241, e-mail ginews@aloha.net
