One month has passed since two powerful back-to-back earthquakes shook Venezuela’s coastal region, leaving a trail of human tragedy and a less-discussed crisis: hundreds of companion animals left homeless, separated from their displaced or grieving owner families.
On June 24, a 7.2-magnitude tremor and a 7.5-magnitude aftershock struck just 60 seconds apart, devastating the northern coastal state of La Guaira, located just north of the capital Caracas. Official disaster tallies confirm the quakes killed more than 5,000 people, injured roughly 17,000 others, and displaced over 23,000 people from their destroyed homes. For desperate survivors already reeling from the loss of loved ones and livelihoods, the disappearance of beloved pets has added another layer of heartbreak to the disaster.
Like thousands of other residents, 42-year-old Raquel Ramos was caught off guard by the sudden tremors while in the coastal neighborhood of Tanaguarena with her young son. As the ground shook and buildings began to crumble, the pair fled for safety—but her white-and-orange domestic cat Mia stayed behind. “When the earthquake happened, we ran out and she stayed behind. I haven’t been able to find her since that day,” Ramos told Agence France-Presse during a search of local emergency animal shelters. Today, Tanaguarena, like many coastal communities hit by the quakes, is reduced to nothing but piles of concrete rubble. Wiping away tears as she pulled up a photo of Mia on her mobile phone, Ramos said she would continue checking other emergency shelters across the region in hopes of bringing her cat home.
Across La Guaira, informal and official emergency shelters have popped up to house displaced pets, offering temporary care while workers connect animals with their owners or new adoptive homes. At one state-run facility, 326 displaced cats, dogs and other animals have been taken in, with roughly 50 already placed with new families. Among the visitors to the shelter was 17-year-old Astrid Ugas, who originally came looking to adopt one companion for her cat, whose original partner went missing during the quakes. She left with four orphaned kittens instead. “I want to help everyone who needs it,” Ugas explained of her decision.
In one remarkable moment that has renewed hope for separated owners, a rescue team pulled a live black cat from the rubble of a collapsed residential complex nearly four weeks after the disaster. The six 12-to-17-story housing developments in the area were completely leveled by the quakes, making the survival all the more extraordinary. Vets provided emergency care on site before moving the cat to an improvised shelter set up inside a closed local McDonald’s, which has also doubled as a community outpatient medical clinic in the disaster’s aftermath.
Yanier Veliz, a 20-year-old veterinary student who has volunteered at the shelter since the quakes hit, says the facility treats around 50 animals every day. The roster of patients ranges from common dogs and cats to unexpected survivors: “including dogs, cats, turtles and someone even brought a goat,” Veliz said.
Back at the state-run main shelter, the new temporary home has even seen litters of kittens born to displaced mother cats, who are now raising their young in the facility’s safety. Amanda Gonzalez, a 25-year-old veterinary student working at the shelter, says most visitors who come looking for lost pets leave with their furry companions. “The reunions have been very emotional. Everyone ends up crying,” she said. “These are animals they might have considered gone, and when they see that they’re here, they’re happy and so are we.”