Richmond Hill residents search for pets

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Many people left their pets behind when they evacuated Richmond Hill Saturday night following the deadly explosion.

Some victims who have returned to pick up their belongings are learning their pets may have died or are not there. Many of the homes in Richmond Hill were left open and abandoned.

Indianapolis Animal Care and Control officials said it's possible many pets escaped, and they are offering to board them.

Four year-old Marco is a buff domestic longhair kenneled at Animal Care and Control on South Harding Street. He and a 3-year-old gray domestic shorthair without a name arrived at the shelter Sunday morning. Both of them escaped the explosion in the Richmond Hill subdivision.

"The animals instinctively try to get away from the situation," said Care and Control Administrative Director Dan Shackle.

But now some families are returning and looking for their pets.

"I was in the neighborhood and a number of the houses have windows and doors that are no longer there," Shackle said. "We were out there all day yesterday."

Shackle said hours after the blast, Animal Care and Control officers came to the scene and picked up four animals. Aside from the two cats, officers also found two dogs that have been re-united with their owners.

Shackle said if any animals are recovered from the area, the shelter will board them for 10 days.

"That's standard procedure in a disaster situation. We understand some people might not be able to stay in their home or if they have to go to a hotel or something where they don't allow animals, we'll board the animals here for free," he said.

Although they have a warm place to rest, the 3-year-old tabby knows something is wrong. She hasn't eaten since arriving in the shelter.

"My hope is, and I think the owners' hope is, if there are missing animals, that those animals start to try to migrate back to the area," Shackle said.

Officers with the Animal Care and Control will come back out to the scene to Tuesday with IndyFeral.

IndyFeral will be putting out traps in and around the neighborhood hoping to catch some of the animals that ran away. They hope some of them will return back to the neighborhood.

Source: http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/marion_county/richmond-hill--residents-search-for-pets

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