Hurricane Harvey

Last week we discovered we had water dripping in our utility closet. And Chris and I were both IRATE.

“Our wall has drips of water on it!” We shouted to no one but each other. “What on earth will we do????”

We soon learned it was because we left the rooftop hose running. The water stopped leaking shortly after we shut it off… But now we had a hole in our utility closet from where we had to punch in the drywall. What a travesty.

I keep thinking about this “incident” where I was soooo annoyed about a hole (in a closet no one sees but us) when I see clips of Texas and the damage Hurricane Harvey has done. And I feel disgustingly foolish.

Like a lot of people, I can’t stop thinking about Texas.

I grasp onto every post, article, photo and video I come across. And yet I still can’t wrap my mind around the devastation. I just can’t fathom it, my brain or my heart won’t let me. Everything is under water. How does a city even begin to recover from this?

I’ve seen photos of children sleeping on counters, clutching their stuffed animals. People trapped in their attics or on their roofs. Dogs left on chains in front yards as the water rose around them…

It’s heartbreaking.

I think about the families that fled, many with babies and small children, and wonder what they’re going to return to. What will their home be like? What happens if they don’t have insurance? How do they rebuild what was taken from them so quickly? Thoughts like these have me writing blog posts at 11 p.m.

But then there’s also the posts about everyday people stepping up from all over the country to help one another. The lines of trucks, trailers, and boats backed up on the highway for as long as the eye can see, heading straight into the floodwaters to provide assistance.

The people spending countless hours and putting their own lives at risk to save dogs, cats, birds, baby deer, horses (the list goes on) that are stuck in flood water, unable to save themselves.

There was a specific shelter in Hankamer where dogs were trapped in their kennels as the water continued to rise around them and they had no way out and no one to save them. The shelter owner put out a call for help on social media and within minutes people from all over the country were doing whatever they could to help. And eventually rescuers pulled up in airboats to save the dogs. They weren’t able to get them all that night, but they did return the next day to get the others that weren’t in immediate danger.

I could go on and on with these stories but I’m sure you already know most of them.

If you want to help but don’t know where to start, click here, NPR has a great list of foundations. A lot of people need a lot of assistance right now, so rather than just thinking about doing something, take a few minutes and give whatever you can. Every little bit is needed right now!

And if you want to give to animals, Har and I started a fundraiser that gives funds back to Austin Pets Alive. Thanks to people like you, we’ve surpassed our goal of $1,000 and are currently at $3,600, our new goal is $5000.

The shelters need everything right now. Food, towels, medical care, everything you can think of really. In the past few days, already over-crowded shelters have taken in thousands of dogs trying to save every animal that was left behind when their owners fled. So if you’re in the position to give, please do.

And if you know of any other good foundations that you’d like to mention let me know below.

Sending funds, prayers, and good vibes to all of the people in Texas.