As Hurricane Isaias spins toward landfall on the Gulf Coast, BISSELL Pet Foundation’s Animal Incident Management® team is already hard at work. On the surface, it may look like not much is happening, just a few transports. But pull back the curtain, and the last 48 hours have been packed with the twists, turns and rapid decisions that accompany almost every natural disaster. AIM has prearranged agreements with states, cities and counties across the country to provide support when disaster strikes. From animal transport to boots-on-the-ground deployment, AIM does it all!

Tracking a hurricane is anything but precise. Its impact footprint can change in a matter of hours, turning even the best-laid plans upside down. On Monday, the AIM team was focused on the Gulfport area. Working with our National Shelter Alliance partner, Greater Birmingham Humane Society, the team developed a plan to transport pets out of Greater Birmingham, move pets from Gulfport to Birmingham and create much-needed space in Mobile. Shelters in the path of a storm need as much capacity as possible before it hits. Even if Isaias arrives as a Category 1 hurricane, local pets will be displaced and temporary sheltering will be necessary. The goal is always to keep pets in their communities whenever possible. Open space in local shelters helps families find their pets and ensures a local resource is ready for evacuees.

The AIM team immediately reached out to transport destination partners. The reality is stark: our nation’s shelters are full, and finding placement for larger dogs is incredibly complicated. The Greater Birmingham team loaded pets onto the BPF transport website, and their profiles were shared far and wide. Soon, it became clear that moving enough pets out of Greater Birmingham, so the shelter could help Gulfport and Mobile, would require a plane and destination partners farther from Alabama. By Wednesday morning, a flight was booked to carry pets to BPF destination partners early Friday.

By Wednesday afternoon, Isaias had begun shifting east. AIM Executive Director Eric Thompson became increasingly concerned about the Florida Panhandle. After coordinating with other national organizations, he confirmed that the Panhandle would be covered and shifted AIM’s focus back to Alabama. The storm’s movement was favorable for Gulfport, but Mobile quickly became urgent. In partnership with Greater Birmingham, the focus moved to Alabama’s coast. An additional ground transport was scheduled to leave Mobile County, while pets from the City of Mobile would fill the newly opened spaces at Greater Birmingham.

Today, less than 24 hours remain before the Gulf Coast begins to feel the impact. In Mobile and Birmingham, more than 100 pets are receiving health certificates to travel by ground and air. Kentucky Humane has stepped into the partnership to fill a transportation gap that BPF’s regular contractors could not cover. From Ohio to Massachusetts, destination partners are preparing to receive pets, and Mobile is bracing for the storm.

AIM’s work does not stop with transport. This morning, a nationwide call went out to National Shelter Alliance partners asking for teams ready to deploy in support of impacted communities. As volunteers step forward, AIM will build a roster detailing each team’s location and capabilities. Isaias will eventually weaken into a tropical storm, but the danger will not end there. AIM is already planning for the storm’s next threat: massive rainfall across inland communities.

The cost of disaster response is increasingly exorbitant. With shelters at capacity, pets must travel farther than ever to reach safety. For Isaias, BISSELL Pet Foundation’s AIM will fund a large flight and multiple ground transports. Flight crates had to be moved from our Tennessee hub to Birmingham, and we will also likely fund travel, veterinary supplies, and lodging for teams assisting on the ground after the storm passes. Whatever is needed, AIM will be there, helping families stay with their pets and keeping pets out of danger.

Until every pet has a home,