MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – The historic Battle House Hotel became the unofficial headquarters for many of the people – and their pets – who evacuated Louisiana prior to Hurricane Ida.
The reason? It was one of the few pet friendly hotels along the evacuation route.
New Orleans-based Nikki Holley said she had just found one other hotel that would accommodate her and her Chihuahua. She said it even waived the normal pet fee.
“I think this is an awkward situation for a lot of people who didn’t want to leave,” she said, adding that a neighbor stayed behind out of concern for her cats.
On Monday, the Battle House lobby looked like the stage for the Westminster Dog Show. Owners and breeds of many different species hung around waiting for news from home.
Holley made it from her uptown home to Mobile in about six hours with Vilma – the dog named after former New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma. That is about twice as long as the trip would normally take.
The Yakelis family were in the same boat. Ray and his wife Lauren evacuated Metairie Friday with their two children, a niece, and their Pomeranian Shih-Tzu Sophie.
“Fortunately, the Battle House is accepting dogs, which has been a very, very blessing for us and many other families with dogs during these really busy times,” Ray Yakelis told FOX10 News.
Yakelis, who works for a food distribution company, said he heard from a neighbor that the damage to his property appears minimal.
“It looks like we’ve just lost a fence, and honestly, when I’m there I’ll be fine with that,” he said.
Not everyone in the Battle House had pets in tow. Metairie’s attorneys, Olivia and Beau Byers, said they left their dog with a relative. But they have a 1 year old boy named George. He seemed to take it calmly.
“This is our first major hurricane with the baby,” said Olivia Byers. “So normally we would stay, but we decided to leave Saturday night and come to Mobile. We didn’t really know what to expect. We still haven’t heard any reports about our house. We hope it’s okay. “
Beau Byers said he grew up in Houston, which is not immune to hurricanes. But he said he had never seen someone like Ida.
“I’ve never had someone like that – I mean, that’s, you know, like (Hurricane) Katrina, where it’s in the air right now that we don’t know exactly what’s going on,” he said.
Holley, who works as a pet sitter, said her house was spared. But she added that she was glad she didn’t take any chances.
“The closer it got, of course, the more stressful it was to see it with the anniversary of Katrina,” she said. “I made the decision on Friday to go on Saturday.”
The Louisiana people at the Battle House are safe. Now the challenge is deciding when to go home. It looks like they could be without power for weeks.
Ray Yakelis said his family plans to rent an Airbnb in Gulfport, Mississippi.
“I assume I’ll have to live without electricity for a while, but water is also absolutely tricky,” he said.
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