MSPCA-Angell History: August, 1953

(The following article was originally published in MSPCA’s Our Dumb Animals, August 1953)

Following is the story told by our prosecuting officer of Worcester County, Harry C. Smith, of how our Society came to the rescue of animals in the tornado area:

Officer Harry C. Smith rescues a lamb whose leg was broken when hit by flying timber.

I started checking the farms in the tornado disaster district about two hours after the storm struck. Proceeding into the Westboro district, I got as far as the Ward farm by chopping and removing tree limbs from the road. There I found a barn flattened, but no trace of cattle. At the Aronson farm, nearby, the barn and houses were leveled and three men killed. In the fields I found a hundred head of cattle, but on examination I discovered that none were harmed. At the Harvey farm, I found five cattle trapped under the barn, but uninjured and a goat with a broken leg which I had to destroy.

On the way, I notified Chief Higgins of the police department to contact me if he found any animals in need. From there I went to Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Holden and contacted the State Police inquiring about any animal injuries.

Early in the morning I called WTAG, Worcester, and asked them to broadcast at various times, that our Society would aid and assist people with their animals.

Left: Officer Smith (right) stands with a calf born just hours after the tornado. Right: Officer Smith treats an injured cow.

At another farm in Petersham, I found the barn demolished, but the cattle in a nearby field were uninjured. At the Stratton farm in Barre, 8 sheep and 10 cows were in good condition but 50 chickens with broken backs, legs, and feathers blown, all had to be destroyed.

It was at Barre, through the two-way radio in our cars, directed from Boston that I was able to team up with Officer Charles Marsh, from our Springfield office. Together we went to Rutland where we inspected 40 cattle at one farm; contacted a dairy in Shrewsbury via our two-way radio, asking them to pick up 500 quarts of milk to avoid spoilage, found, at another place, 13 cattle, two of which were injured, one dead calf, and 22 chickens; and sent a veterinarian to treat the injured animals.

Left: The remains of a barn that was flattened by the tornado. Right: Officer Smith rescuing a hen after it had been pinned down by a timber.

In Holden, we found two horses killed and three other horses cut and bruised which we made comfortable. The following day in Shrewsbury, I found a 40-pound lamb so badly hurt that I had to destroy it humanely. A check back on another farm brought to light a hen pinned under a timber and so crippled that I had to put it to sleep and not far away I found a dog with two legs injured. I made arrangements with a veterinarian to treat the animal. In all my travels I found 506 cattle, 4 horses, 1 goat, 1 lamb, 1,522 poultry dead and 8 cattle and 3 horses injured.

The accompanying pictures show an injured cow which I am treating, the wreckage of its barn, a calf born six hours after the tornado and a hen which I am rescuing after it had been pinned down by a timber.