Texas residents save their beloved pets from Harvey's wrath

Animal evacuations 

A rescue helicopter hovers in the background as an elderly woman and her poodle use an air mattress to float above floodwaters from tropical storm Harvey while waiting to be rescued in Houston on Sunday. 

Residents, animal shelters and rescue groups are scrambling to protect thousands of pets and livestock threatened by flooding from the storm.

'Most terrifying event'

Steve Culver cries with his dog Otis as he talks about what he described as the "most terrifying event in his life," when Harvey blew in and destroyed most of his home in Rockport, Texas, while he and his wife took shelter there on Saturday.

Houston-area animal shelters filling fast

In Houston, groups were poised to bring animal carriers and pet food to Red Cross shelters for people arriving with pets, while many local residents were offering to board animals, said Julie Kuenstle, a spokesperson for the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Treating injured animals 

The Houston Humane Society has been preparing to treat animals injured by debris or drinking contaminated groundwater, said spokesperson Monica Schmidt.

Improving animal awareness 

Awareness of the plight of animals in the path of devastating storms has greatly improved since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when an estimated 250,000 dogs and cats were displaced or died as a result of the storm, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Many people in New Orleans also opted out of evacuating because they did not want to leave their pets behind as animals were then barred from shelters.

Relaxing restrictions on pets

Many hotels and some public transport systems now relax pet restrictions during such emergencies, while officials have stressed in public messaging the importance of evacuating with animals instead of leaving them behind.

Waiting out the storm

Pets belonging to evacuees sit in a crate at the Delco Center in Austin, Texas. As of Sunday afternoon, a total of 24 dogs, 20 cats, and five birds have been registered and volunteers from the Austin Animal Center say they can handle approximately 20 more animals depending on size.