9/29/08: We've come a long way, baby

Excited to say that on Monday, September 29, 2008, 16 days after Hurricane Ike, a lot of the storm debris was being removed from Kemah. The Mutt Hut was almost back to normal, albeit the floor looks like a flock of hens pecked it for hours on end. Still waiting for the concrete to dry so that we can scrape off the paint and redo it.

We have sewer service (yeah!), drinkable water (but still drinking bottled water and serving the dogs the same), and have returned to an unbelievable number of dogs. Last week, we had 127 dogs! WOW is all we could say.

My regular employees weren't returning due to the hurricane, so I scrambled to find some temporary and permanent fill-ins. With great success, I found Mandy. She's going to be our new full-time M-F dog wrangler. She comes with a lot of experience in animal rescue, and still actively participates in rescue. I'm so happy and lucky to have found her. Like they say, you never know what a storm will blow your way! In this case, it was a wonderful new employee!

9/22/08 One week after the hurricane

We are reopening today. Met with numerous emails asking if we were still here, let alone still open, we heard resonating signs of relief from customers. They returned with sad stories of losing their homes, having their homes horribly flooded, and the occasional happy story of no damage at all. Incredibly, none of the wonderful dogs that call The Mutt Hut their second home were injured or lost.

We opened without a sewer system, with a boil water notice in place, and with spotty -- if at all -- telephone and internet service.

It was going to be a long day, followed by a very long week.