by Allan Detrich

OKLAHOMA CITY - They save animals. The Latin words on the hood of their truck translates to, "No Glory, Just Deeds." They are the Pegasus Project's Essential Animal Services Team. And they have converged in Oklahoma to help after one of the most devastating tornadoes in the city's history.

The Pegasus people respond to natural disasters alongside the governments and aid agencies who rescue humans. They have a mobile command center -- a semitrailer equipped with a surgery center, generators and enough food storage to be self-sufficient for seven days.

They are: Shirley Minshew, senior field agent from Macon, Ga; Field Commander Connor Michael from rural Maryland; and retired Army Lt. Col. Pam DelaBar from San Antonio, Texas. All are volunteers. and dedicated to rescuing the forgotten victims of the May 1st tornado which struck central Oklahoma.

As the search begins, the team is joined by a local volunteer and splits in two, with one group canvassing each side of a street that looks like it runs through a war zone. "Fortunately, this is not a flood," says DelaBar. "You can't get that smell out of your nose; the stench of sewage, decaying flesh and death. One day you finally wake up and realize the smell is gone."

Team members have been all over the world, lending a hand at disaster after disaster, from the floods in Grand Forks, S.D., to hurricanes Andrew in Florida and Mitch in Central America, to the earthquake in Kobe, Japan. "Next to Hurricane Andrew, this is the worst I have seen," Minshew says. "It makes me feel guilty, when I thank God my family and animals are safe."

As the day wears on, the number of animals discovered rises quickly: two fish, one snake, five rabbits, four chickens, one cat, five live dogs, three dead dogs. The day before the Pegasus people had saved Garth, a catfish, from a water-filled overturned container 30 yards from his owners' demolished home. He and his aquarium had been missing for two days. "Tornadoes are weird things, you can't believe some of the things you find in the aftermath," Minshew observes.

A yelp for help comes from across the rubble in the hardest hit section of Del City. A dog in the back seat of a demolished car is covered with debris. Minshew crawls into the car and comforts the frightened spaniel as she checks him (or her?) for injuries. After a thorough check of all limbs and abdomen, she offers the shaking dog a drink of water from her finger tips. A few licks later, the dog is muzzled and gently lifted from the car.

From across the street John Cook sees the commotion from the scattered remains of his home. He sees a dog being pulled from a car. And it is his dog, Mousey.

Cook is overwhelmed with emotion. Barbara Cook, John's mother, joins the tearful reunion. "I thought I lost everything, but now I found one of the most important things in my life, it all does not seem so bad," Cook says. Mousey was severely dehydrated, but otherwise unhurt. As the members of the search and rescue team move on, one of them says in a low voice, "That is what makes this all worthwhile."