Typhoon Haiyan has had a disastrous effect on families’ dogs in the Philippines.

Humane Society International has been on the ground in some of the hardest-hit areas since shortly after the storm struck to provide basic survival and medical needs for animals as well as to reunite people with lost pets, Inga Gibson, Hawaii state director for the Humane Society of the United States, said Tuesday.

"A lot of the folks in Tac­loban had to evacuate and leave pets behind," she said. "There have been some amazing stories, and the people there have just been so appreciative of our efforts."

Gibson, who heads to the Philippines next week to assist with response efforts, said strategic feeding and watering stations as well as mobile veterinary clinics are set up throughout the island of Leyte to hopefully combat nuisance or public health issues.

A staff of about 14 veterinarians and veterinary assistants has been performing vaccinations, deworming and wound care and providing basic needs such as food and water, she added. The society has been holding abandoned animals in emergency shelters or trans- ferring them to the island of Cebu, where many families were forced to evacuate.

Another issue that’s come to light is the destruction of ranch and farm facilities. While immediate response and recovery comprise most of the society’s current focus, Gibson said it plans to expand its well-being assessments to farmers and ranchers who have lost animals or have many in need of food and veterinary care.

Dr. Rey del Napoles, HSI’s lead veterinarian in the Typhoon Hai­yan response, said in a post on the society’s website that many animals were left behind in cages or chained up in yards and are suffering from stress and skin diseases. In the first few days of deployment, doctors worked on animals on makeshift roadside tables, he said.

The society launched a hotline for people to report animals who needed escuing, and in the first 24 hours of operation received at least 30 calls.

"Sometimes pets are all the people have left," Gibson said. "They’ve lost their homes, business members, maybe family members. … (Getting their pets back) just means so much to them."

In one situation, del Napoles said a photographer shared a photo with Humane Society staff of a sign on top of a dog kennel that read "INT HUMANE SOCIETY PLEASE HELP ME, BUBBA." Del Napoles said the society miraculously located the man who wrote the sign and Bubba, his 6-month-old puppy, who was in need of food. The man told responders he read about the society during previous disasters and created the sign out of desperation without knowing whether it existed.

Gibson said it’s important to care for animals in times of despair not just for the sake of the animals, but for the sake of their owners.

"Human life and welfare is priority but we’ve learned in similar disasters that ‘animal issues are people issues,’" she said in an email. "By helping animals we are in fact helping people, especially when all one may have left is their pet — who provides so much comfort and companionship during such difficult times."

———

ON THE NET:

» To learn more and/or donate, visit humane­soci­ety.org.