Katrina Animal Rescue Trip

Never got back to adding much to this blog (but Ric kept you all updated on my whereabouts!). Thought I'd just add a post-note about some of the efforts still on-going with connecting animals to their owners. It's a tedious process but apparently the paperwork is being found, the data is being entered into the system, owners are being contacted and reunions are happening! There's also teams of folks sitting at their computers at home trying to make the connections based on sketchy details. And HSUS staffs a hotline with people to help. Although it is sad to know that some animals and owners will never be connected for various reasons, some innocent reasons like lost paperwork and inability to find people, but also some unfortunate reasons like rescuers who felt that owners should not have abandoned their pets and so they are "saving the animals" by adopting them out to "better" pet owners. This is unfortunate and it angers all of us who tried so hard to do the right thing but I can only hope it's a tiny percentage.

The stories of owners leaving their pets are all so sad and all the ones I heard were cases where the owners had NO choice or they really believed they'd be back the next day. Like the woman who was evacuated to Chalmette High School and was allowed to bring her two dogs. Then they were forced to evacuate from Chalmette High School and were not allowed to bring the animals. She was promised they would be taken care of. I never heard the end of that story but when I left Lamar-Dixon we could find no record of any animals rescued from that location.

Hopefully the animals made it somewhere safe with a responsible shelter that will post the animals photo on PetFinder.com and she'll recognize the pictures.

Here is one story below of a wonderful woman who spent more than 3 weeks frantically searching for her lost border collie, Oreo. And just today I was able to notify a woman that her two dogs, a shih tzu and a german shepherd have been located in California (and hopefully the "process" will work as promised and she will have her dogs shipped to her free of charge).

Every reunion story just thrills those of us who were down there whether we were physically rescuing the animals, feeding and walking them, or just trying to keep up with the paperwork.

OREO and Antoinette

Antoinette Williams stopped at the trailer about every day looking for her Border Collie OREO that was rescued from her home at 4210 Walmsley Ave in New Orleans. She knew the dog was rescued because she found a notice spray painted on her house that the LA SPCA had removed the dog on 9/1/2005. She had been searching on a daily basis for Oreo at both Lamar-Dixon and LSU and it wasn't until 9/25 that we were able to find Oreo's record in the Chameleon system by searching on her address. But of course by then Oreo was not at Lamar-Dixon and the record seemed to indicate that Oreo was taken to a shelter in San Antonio, Texas. Antoinette contacted Texas and they did not have Oreo but they said she may have gone to Florida with a lot of other dogs from that location.  She could not find any record of the animal in Florida and she was very distraught. It was at this point that she stopped by the computer trailer again with a lot of these details included in a handwritten four page letter.

Since then I have been checking PetHarbor continually looking for any transfer information entered about Oreo. And somewhere along the way, some wonderful dedicated computer volunteer at Lamar-Dixon must have dug up the transfer papers and entered the correct information into Oreo's record. It said that Oreo was in Sorrento, Louisiana at the Ascension Parish Animal Shelter. I tried calling Antoinette's number a few times and finally got her on the phone tonight. She said that her nephew had noticed the transfer information last Saturday and called her to let her know. She said she had to wait till Monday for the shelter to open (a LONG weekend) but she was at the door when they opened on Monday and (thank goodness) Oreo was there!

She was wonderful to talk to because she was so appreciative of all of our efforts at trying to help her. She repeatedly said how amazed she was at all the folks that cared so much about animals to come down and dedicate their free time to helping out. (I think she was even more appreciative of this because many of her friends and relatives - including her husband - were giving her a hard time about her persistent searches and inability to do anything productive until she found her companion). She was so grateful to know that some folks care about animals as much as she did and she said her faith is restored. And she said that when she gets back on her feet and they rebuild - their house is a total loss - she wants to do something to give back and help out like we helped her. She said that she and Oreo have been inseparable since Monday (and her husband isn't happy about the part where Oreo sleeps in their bed now!). She invited any of us down to New Orleans to visit her when she gets into a house again (and she says she makes a mean gumbo!)

[RB]  This just in.  Chris stopped to see Cousin Chris - just outside Atlanta - and he fed her, downloaded files from the camera and sent her on her way.  I talked with her a little while ago and she was in a motel somewhere in South Carolina.  She was hoping to get further but she got tired after only 650 miles and decided to stop for the night.

Cousin Chris uploaded the camera files to our server and I put one of them (Must Love Dogs) on the home page.  More to follow.

[RB]  Chris never got back to an internet connection at the Expo Center.  Mostly she was real busy with animals and computers.  And I felt the stories would be better coming from her even if they had to wait a little.

As of Sunday afternoon, Chris is somewhere on the road, on the way to North Carolina.

CB here.  Yes, it's Wednesday.  Yesterday (Tues) someone asked me when I arrived.  I thought a while and said Monday.  They said "you mean yesterday?"  I was amazed to find that indeed it was only yesterday!

Lots to do here yet.  Rescue crews going out every day and returning to Lamar-Dixon for intake/drop off between 5 and 8.  133 animals brought in Sun, 240 Mon, over 350 Tuesday.  You'd think it would be getting smaller but it seems they are still out there.  Some are getting hungrier so are more willing to be caught, many (cats and dogs) are just roaming in packs and they can't catch them.  Amazingly alive, even the ones locked in houses.  Food crews go out to regularly to feed the animals both in homes and on the street.  Interesting note is that crews are supposed to stop at 6:00 pm to start bringing them in (curfew in New Orleans), but one rescuer noted that at dusk is when a lot of the animals roaming the streets actually come out to the feeding stations.  Rescue crews planning to go out thru Friday and then the rumor is Lamar-Dixon might stop taking them in.

Volunteers still needed and still coming every day.  Animals (dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, pigs, horses, goats, reptiles, hamsters, turtles, fish) are checked in, vetted (they see a vet), settled in, fed, bathed, watered, and then maybe moved to a better shelter (one where it's not so hot).  Animals have been shipped all over the country.

Don't get me started on the "tracking" nightmare.  I'm working with the computer folks entering data, trying to connect animals with owners and it's a huge problem.  Thousands of animals rescued and not all of them have come thru Lamar-Dixon to be recorded.  if they didn't, we hope whoever got them tracks them and posts them on PetFinder.com.  If they do come thru, we hope the records are done correctly (starting from the rescuer's notes for where they were found to the tracking of where they went).  Way too many animals just can't be found even when we know they've been into the system.  Very frustrating but a couple of happy animal/owner reunions make it worthwhile to keep trying. 

Lady, a black and white cat was rescued yesterday and her owners (who found out it was rescued) sat and watched last night as over 75 cats were unloaded.  I made it my mission to find the cat and I found it!  It was dehydrated, hungry, scared, but otherwise ready to go home.

I just left Office Depot to get supplies for filing, recording, labeling etc... it ain't glamorous but it's critical. (I did work the animal barns one morning - walked and cleaned out about a million pit bulls - OK, maybe 50 - talk about NOT glamorous!)

Hopefully more later... I'm at the library now but I think I can connect back at the computer trailer and hopefully send some photos.

Man it's hot here.

[RB] Morning of Day 2.  Lots of Pit Bulls.  Just cleaned a whole row of cages.  All Pit Bulls.  Some cute.  Not many of them leash trained.  One volunteer takes them for a walk while another volunteer cleans the crate and replenishes food and water.  Then they switch.

Animals still pouring into the shelter.  They were up until 1 AM this morning processing the more than 200 animals that were brought in yesterday.  The supplies arrive during the day and then at 5 PM the rescue trucks arrive.  Chris says it's all pretty well organized by now.

Last night Chris slept in the volunteer tent provided by FEMA.  Big generator and big air conditioning units provide enough white noise so you don't notice the other 150 people in the tent with you.  And the A/C kept it so that Chris was cold, even with a blanket.  And yes, there's a gas truck parked nearby to keep the generator running.

Still a lot of work to be done.  Lots of folks looking for pets.  And the stories from the rescue missions are increasingly gruesome.  They are now finding more of the pets and people that didn't make it.

[RB]  Talked to Chris last night at the DIxon-Lamar Center.  Lots going on.  She worked in the computer trailer for 3 hours entering animal information into the shelter database.  Matching up pets and owners is a huge problem.  They found one woman's dog - it had been evacuated to San Antonio - but that didn't matter, she was thrilled. 

[RB]  Just talked to Chris via cell phone.  She's heading south on route 55 from Jackson, Mississippi - about 150 miles from New Orleans.

Traffic has been slowed way down a couple of times by folks unable to pass the big convoys of trucks on their way South.   Chris saw a group of 20 Asplundh trucks (the tree folks) and a similar batch of Electrical utility trucks.   Lots of cars with Texas plates and gas cans strapped on the back - presumably heading home again.  So far gas has been in plentiful supply and no more expensive than it is here.

Last night Chris stayed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  Heavy rain and reports of 3 tornadoes that touched down in the county but none near Chris.  Fine weather so far today.

Chris sounded excited to be getting closer to New Orleans.  She talked last night to folks (friends of a friend) who are driving to the Lamar-Dixon Center on Tuesday from North Carolina.  They were there a couple of weeks ago and they're going back again to help.

[RB]  It's 10:45 AM on Saturday, September 24, 2005 and Chris is on her way to Louisiana.  She had applied to the Humane Society to be a volunteer and heard yesterday afternoon that she was needed.  So she bought some supplies, got a tetanus booster shot, packed up the van and she's on her way.

I don't know that she will be able to give us updates from down there.  The word is that cell phone service is unreliable.  If she works some in the processing center at the Lamar-Dixon Center she might have internet access, but then again, maybe not.  She might be able to get us some pictures.  Just in case, we're ready with this web page.