Community Corner

Coopersburg Woman Helps Pets Blown Away in Oklahoma Tornado

A Coopersburg woman was one of three members of the Lehigh Valley County Animal Response Team who helped rescue and shelter dogs and cats lost or buried in the rubble of an Oklahoma tornado.

Written by Mary Ellen Alu

When a monster tornado hit Moore, Okla., on May 20, killing 24 people and displacing scores more, three Lehigh Valley County Animal Response Team members answered a call to help rescue and shelter dogs and cats lost or buried in the rubble.

Maureen Keenan, of Coopersburg, Donna Lagomarsino, of Easton, and Anita Patterson, of Lower Macungie are American Humane and Red Rover national emergency animal responders.

They spent eight days each in Moore County, outside of Oklahoma City, putting their years of emergency training to use to tend to 125 animals at the shelter at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds.

The women helped to rescue pets as well as feed, walk and care for the animals being temporarily sheltered. It was a lot of physical work, and it included cleaning the pets' cages and rounding up strays.

"I've always had a big heart for animals," Patterson said. "The animals need help, and the people need help." And in helping the animals, she said, she felt she was helping the people too. 

She was there for an emotional reunion between owner and pet. "That was just heartbreaking for me—in a good way," she said.

When the pets were rescued, they would be taken to the shelter, treated and cared for around the clock. Another tornado struck while they were in Oklahoma so they followed protocol, dropping what they were doing to run to the nearest shelter. The rescued animals and responders were safe in a hospital shelter when the second tornado hit. 

Pets who were not claimed were adopted into new homes, Patterson said.

For more information on the Lehigh Valley Animal Response team, visit their website.


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