As the death toll rises from the storm and people assess damage, others search for their animals. It’s a sad note to many of these storms. Sometimes people have to make very difficult decisions and often times pets are left behind or housed in structures that end up in harm’s way.

In Panama City some people thought they were doing what’s best, leaving their pets with a local groomer who had a reinforced building, but Michael proved too strong. The Miami Herald reports on Charles Burgess:

Burgess holed up with 12 dogs, two cats and several employees in the squat concrete building building on East Sixth Street, figuring it was strong enough to endure whatever was coming. But Michael, whipping to the top of the Category 4 scale just before landfall near the Panhandle city, proved too powerful.

As the winds howled, much of the building collapsed around them. Burgess and his employees whisked the dogs into a small, stronger inner room holding the wash tub for dogs. Two of the animals escaped as sheets of driving rain lashed the building.

The other dogs were found, but one cat drowned.

ABC’s Rob Marciano helped rescue some kittens who fell out of the ceiling of a home during the storm.


Humane societies and animal shelters around Florida also took in shelter pets before the storm.  The Naples Humane Society was among those taking in dozens of animals.

In Georgia, farms housing animals were also hit hard. US News and World reports:

84 chicken houses, estimated to have held more than 2 million chickens, were destroyed. The farms, dairies and processing plants affected were in Appling, Colquitt, Coffee, Decatur, Evans, Houston, Mitchell, Randolph, Lee and Wilcox counties.