As climate change rages across the US and the world, fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity. SAINT (Saving Animals in Need Together) was designed by and for animal welfare professionals to enable all of us to work together and save more lives, faster–both during crises AND anytime we need to transport animals to less crowded areas of the country. SAINT is OUR collective solution! By treating pets in harm’s way as individuals, we provide real-time communication and the easy transfer of their medical records to quickly move animals to safety.
It has been 16 years since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, yet despite the progress initiated by the Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act or (“PETS Act”)–and the many lessons the animal community has learned about getting animals out ahead of, or after, natural disasters–the process continues to be logistically challenging, as any of you who have ever coordinated a large-scale evacuation knows all too well…
As a case in point, in 2019, Hinsdale Humane Society and several sister organizations in Chicago reached out to the Louisiana SPCA and their partner networks to help transport close to one hundred animals to safety before tropical storm Barry hit the Gulf Coast. As Chicagoland prepared to take these pets into their care, everyone on both sides of the disaster desperately attempted to keep track of which animals would go where, when they would leave, who would take them, how they would be transported, and how each would get to and from specific locations once they arrived halfway across the country.
Countless conversations via seemingly endless chain of emails, phone calls and voicemails, texts. and facebook messages–many of which never reached their intended recipients or appeared to undo or negate one another–caused confusion and wasted precious time that, had the storm been worse, could have cost lives.
In total, there were at least 138 transmissions of communication just move 100 animals. That was a lot of effort and created unnecessary anxiety! Luckily, Barry mellowed into a heavy rain, and all the animals found their way to safety–whew! But what about next time?
What if there were an easier way?
Now there is! With SAINT by your side–working for you and making it possible to communicate with anyone else on our platform anywhere in the United States–you can IMMEDIATELY:
- See which animals need help anywhere in the US.
- Communicate with and give direction to partner organizations, even if they are unknown to you.
- Request and organize transport.
- Instantly transfer all animal records with the pets so their medical records and other paperwork go with them whenever they are transferred.
- See one shared-animal record across all SAINT users=all the information for any animal is contained in a single record, regardless of which agencies are involved in their care.
SAINT (Saving Animals in Need Together) is named after a real husky who is a Hurricane Harvey survivor. He is alive and thriving right now because a community of compassionate animal welfare professionals just like you worked tirelessly to give him a second chance at a meaningful life. Now SAINT–the technology platform–is here to help you save more amazing animals just like him, everyday AND when disaster strikes. Become a SAINT today.