SOUTH MILWAUKEE - Donna Morris was having a difficult day.  At nine o’clock Monday morning she was forced to evacuate her family.  Her East Edgerton home is just a stone’s throw away from the Patrick Cudahy meat packing plant which was fully engulfed in flames and billowing thick, black smoke into her usually sleepy neighborhood.

"Very stressful," she said as she and her husband unloaded their two dogs and two cats at the shelter the Wisconsin Humane Society set up within the human shelter at South Milwaukee High School.  "I had to evacuate this morning with five children who have medical needs.  We didn’t have very much time to get out."

That being the case, Morris did a pretty good job of packing.  She had all of her children’s medications packed into coolers.  Blankets, snacks and other necessaries were folded into a pair of knapsacks.  The dogs and cats were inside traveling kennels that could be efficiently off-loaded at the school.

There were a lot of evacuees who arrived at the school with animals in tow.  There were dozens of dogs, cats and even one 25-year-old parrot.  Marjorie Schoemann was relieved to find her cats too would be welcomed at the shelter.  She praised the Wisconsin Humane Society for giving her that option.

"They do such a good job of making sure that people can handle a really stressful situation as comfortable as possible," she said as she cradled her cat, Titus. "I mean these are our babies."

The evacuees and their animals had a relatively short stay at the high school.  Shortly before 7 p.m., they were allowed to return to their homes.

Within an hour, Donna Morris was unpacking her entire clan back on East Edgerton.  Dogs, cats and kids all piled out of the family’s van and pickup truck.  It was exhausting just to watch.

"I’m really tired," she said with a laugh as the last of her clan entered the home. "Really tired. Glad to be home. Home has a different meaning now."