A recent investment by an Oklahoma foundation is helping animals displaced by devastating flooding in Louisiana.
The Kirkpatrick Foundation helped fund a 50-foot, 15-ton rescue truck for American Humane’s rescue team. Randall Collins with American Humane said they’re mainly working in Livingston Parish, where three in four homes have been destroyed.
"What we've been doing is search and rescue to find those animals, bring them back, get them veterinary care that they need and try to reunify them with their owners, their loved ones, their families," Collins said.
The rescue truck has been part of American Humane’s cache of emergency equipment based in Oklahoma City for three months and has already been deployed twice. Its first trip was to West Virginia.
"When the flood happened and once we got the invite to come down, the request for help to come down, that was the first resource out the door and headed this way, and 10 hours later it was in Livingston Parish helping out," Collins said.
Kirkpatrick Foundation Director Louisa McCune said the grant aligns with their goal of making Oklahoma the safest state for animals.
"That vision doesn't just sit within our panhandle-shaped state," McCune said. "If it can be extended to our fellow brethren around the country, well, that just helps the vision. And to be a part of people's lives and animals' lives when they're in such need, it's a great feeling."
Collins estimated American Humane has helped around 200 animals so far.
