October 13, 2018, Red Cross Shelter, Bozeman High School, Panama City, Florida. Shelter resident Rochelle Browe shares her experience of living in a shelter along with her three service dogs and hundreds of other shelter residents with American Red Cross volunteer Bob Wallace. Rochelle, along with Wicked (not shown), Snow (white), and Lucky (blond), found refuge in the shelter from Hurricane Michael. “I was scared, even in this shelter with its concrete block walls. You could hear the trees coming down all around.” Rochelle went on to describe how during the hurricane Red Cross workers were calmly walking around, talking to the shelter residents. “We are with you,” was the message she said they conveyed.

While in the shelter her service dog Wicked alerted her that her blood sugar was low and Red Cross medical personnel took care of her. “They still come around and check my blood sugar,” she said. Snow is a seizure dog who lays across Rochelle’s legs during her all too often seizures to help keep her from thrashing around and harming herself. Service dogs such as wicked and snow are always welcome in Red Cross shelters.

Rochelle’s home is a townhouse close to Tyndall Air Force Base. She does not yet know how it fared in the storm, but fears the worse because its known there was considerable damage to the Air Force base. When asked to summarize her time in the shelter she said “it’s been an excellent stay. The metal cots with extra padding are sturdy and more comfortable than my bed at home.”

Photo by Daniel Cima/American Red Cross