“Had I failed Scarlett, all those years
ago, I probably never would have gained an interest or the confidence to help other animals.” Back then, his associates laughed at him, calling it a waste of time. “Now they call me for advice on how to make a living from it,” he says, smiling. It wouldn’t be the last time Ronnie would be criticized by his friends and peers. In 2004, Hurricane Charley, origi-
nally forecast to hit Tampa Bay, made a hard right into Charlotte Harbor, devas- tating the Gulf Coast community of Charlotte County. Winds of up to 145 miles an hour ripped into the coast leav- ing a half million people without power, ripping roofs off houses, blowing out hospital windows. A 15 foot storm surge followed. All government offices in the county were damaged including animal services.
Linda Graves was a board member
with the Humane Society/SPCA of Sumter County and had heard about the devastation to animal services in Charlotte County. She and Ronnie had been fixtures at Humane Society/SPCA of Sumter County, donating their time, money and some land. Everyone at the shelter knew of Ronnie’s racing equip- ment, especially the big rigs that carried his cars. They were also aware that his Bradenton racing plans for the weekend had been scrapped due to the race track sustaining storm damage. They asked Ronnie if they could use his rigs and trucks to haul supplies to Charlotte County. Ronnie went one step further, placing calls to friends and family to see if they’d be willing to help as well. “We had a convoy of trucks, rigs, you
name it, full of supplies, all headed to Punta Gorda within hours. Five of our own vehicles and a rig, other people brought equipment. At least 12 trucks and trailers with seven or eight personal vehicles including three motorhomes.” said Ronnie. “When we showed up, the county didn't have a place for us. We’re non-government and you can’t just show up with all this stuff and say we’re taking over.”
A county official asked the team if
they would mind cleaning up a city park in exchange for a place to set up base camp. “We set up our compound in a “U” shape and just started cleaning the
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place up.” When word around the com- munity got out that the park had been cleaned of debris, folks visited with their dogs. It was a small perk after the devas- tation they were enduring. Getting the power back on was
another priority. Through his buying power with Grainger, Ronnie secured
horse trailers, stacked them with airline crates and began moving animals,” said Ronnie. “We kept paperwork and photo- graphs of every animal transported in case someone from Charlotte County claimed a lost animal. We knew exactly where each animal had been transported.” On the 12th day, Ronnie and a cou-
The day Ronnie put his MACH 1 up for sale. He would sell most of his cars and equipment to help underwrite rescuing animals.
ple of volunteers watched as a beat up old pick-up truck drove up to the makeshift shelter. Two women got out of the truck, and carried an injured Beagle inside. They said their home had been destroyed by Charley, and now their dog had been run over by a car. “It was the end of the day, and the shelter’s staff veterinarian had already gone home. I looked the dog over, and it appeared there were no bro- ken bones. But he definitely needed immediate care,” said Ronnie. He put a call into the local emergency veterinary hospital and was told it would cost $100 just to walk through the door. Ronnie held the phone and closed his eyes for a moment. “How can people be so heart- less?” he thought to himself. He asked the women if they had a hundred dollars on them. “One of them said that she thought she could round up a hundred or so in a few hours.” Ronnie pulled two one hun- dred dollar bills from his wallet and hand- ed it to them. As he walked away, Ronnie put the
Kenworth Toterhome when Graves took it down to Hurricane Charley. “After that, I never drag raced again,” said Ronnie.
the immediate delivery of 10 generators. “It was all they had in stock. I said we needed all of them.” With no facility to operate out of, Ronnie set up one of his trailers for Animal Control, specifically dedicated to communications and opera- tions staff. Sometime in between all of this, he met with Laura Bevan, Director of the Eastern Regional Office of the Humane Society of the United States, who told him exactly what would be needed to be effective. They sketched out a rough plan for a triage site and with the volunteers, went to work constructing it. After day seven, the damaged county
and local shelters were at capacity with found animals. County officials asked Ronnie if his crew would transport all of the found animals to other Florida shel- ters. “We took my 44 foot trailer and two
phone back up to his ear and told the person on the other end that two women were on their way with an injured Beagle. “Anything above the $200, you put it on my credit card,” he told the receptionist. “No questions asked.” The women were speechless. One of them started after Ronnie to thank him, when someone else in the group gently stopped her. “He doesn't want thanks. He doesn’t want any attention. He wants you to go take care of your dog.” After Hurricane Charley, Ronnie
never raced a car again. When Linda dis- covered him putting his cars up for sale, she exclaimed, “Oh my God, what are you going to buy now?” Ronnie answered, “Linda, we’re going to spend our disposable income rescuing animals.” Breaking the news to his crew and
racing team was difficult. “My racing team was pretty distraught. We had a race coming up in a week, and I told them, we’re done, right now.
Continued.g Spring 2017 THE NEW BARKER 31
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