When news of the tragic July 4 Hill Country floods began to spread rapidly throughout Texas and beyond, Deyra Galvan, like so many others, contemplated what she could do to help.
Immediately following the flood and continuing today, rescue efforts focused on finding missing people. About 135 bodies were recovered in Kerr County and the surrounding area. The Texas Legislature took notice, with some lawmakers commenting that every heart in Texas was broken, and kicked off a special session this week to, among other things, pass laws that will improve communication and disaster response.
Galvan is a lifesaving program manager at Houston’s Best Friends Animal Society. The nonprofit partners with more than 5,000 organizations across the country, and when there’s a need, they respond. Galvan may not be an emergency medical technician or a firefighter, but she and her team responded to the crisis with a special skill set: saving animals.
“When our state is being impacted by something unexpected and very tragic, we are there to help,” she said.
In the midst of the chaos, Galvan learned that some Hill Country animal shelters were flooded or over capacity and needed assistance. Best Friends sent vaccines, transport crates, and medical supplies, and ultimately returned with 42 kittens. More than 1,000 animals were flown out of Texas. Sometimes a plane ride is more comfortable for vulnerable animals than a two-day bus or van trip, Galvan explained.
“We helped with some of the to-and-from the airport and sendoff, and of course, all hands were needed, as you can imagine,” Galvan said. “When you have 100-plus animals leaving at a time, it takes a lot of vehicles and it takes a lot of safety handling. We want pets to be as comfortable as possible because it can be really chaotic and a change of routine for them.”
Best Friends has already found foster homes for half of the kittens they delivered from the Hill Country and is looking for more temporary homes, even if it’s just for a weekend, Galvan said. The pets rescued from Kerr County will likely need special care. One kitten lost an eye and some have upper respiratory infections or appear to be malnourished.
“We took the ones that were the most vulnerable and had medical needs, that really were at risk of not even being able to make it out of the shelter because they were starting to have to make some really tough decisions,” Galvan said. “Everyone is doing well but a foster home is obviously the best place for them to get all the extra TLC and observation and cuddles that they deserve. Even two or three days [in a foster home] can be a game-changer for
a pet that’s vulnerable.”
Galvan took four kittens to her own home. Best Friends makes it easy for those who want to foster. A form can be filled out online, and the pets can be delivered to a home at no cost. The nonprofit pays for supplies, medical care, and mentorship to coach foster families on how to acclimate a new pet when there are other animals in the home.
The hope is that foster families will fall in love with their new family member and keep him or her permanently, Galvan said. She added that she was encouraged to see the unified response to getting animals into a safe and loving environment.
“Any time there are emergencies with humans or animals, Texas steps up to help our community,” she said. “Best Friends was able to collaborate with some amazing partners and impact a lot of change very quickly.”
Other organizations worked to rescue stray animals and those who had been separated from their owners, while Best Friends focused primarily on the needs of the shelters.
“There are some animals that don’t have families or a place to go home to anymore, so how can we give them the best chance we can?” she said. “With all the people missing and the numbers changing every day, I couldn’t even wrap my head around it. It was July 4 weekend with all the vacationers, and then there were the animals and all the farmland. It was like, how can we help relieve the staff in those communities so they can rebuild their community?”
Galvan said that 10 or 15 years ago, conversations about animal welfare would have been drastically different.
“How encouraging it is that animals are thought of as family members,” she said. “We see more and more shelters opening where you can bring your animals with you. You remember a few hurricanes ago, it was not an option to put the animal on the boat. Now you see rescues just for pets that have urgent needs.”
In a time of instability when Texans need hope — and also have an innate desire to care for another living being — having a pet in the home provides an indescribable level of comfort, Galvan said.
“That is one of the hardest things to put into words,” she said. “Nobody could ever have imagined this tragedy happening, and it becomes real when you see names and photos. I don’t think I can describe what animals do for us. You can literally walk into a room and if you were to sit down on a couch after a bad day, to know that something loves you unconditionally, there’s a mood booster. We really don’t deserve animals.
“Whether it’s relief from some of that pain of seeing what’s going on or you’re helping a pet in need, the connection of people and pets is very hard to put into words,” she added. “Of course, we understand that losing a human life is devastating and catastrophic but this is ultimately helping that community.”
