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ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS
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OCTOBER 2005
Many more helped during the Hurricane Katrina/Rita disaster
These organizations, listed in semi-alphabetical order, also served with distinction. (Some are listed out of alpha where several collaborated on a single project.)
“Feral and stray cats have not yet been addressed on a large scale in this rescue effort,” Alley Cat Allies declared on September 16, initiating efforts “to help rebuild the caregiver network, remove feral cats from shelters, collect and provide food and water to known colonies, identify other colonies in need of help, and assess future needs such as spay/neuter services and ongoing support for caregivers.” The Alley Cat Allies team worked out of Bogalusa, Louisiana.
Houston rescue workers (Bureau of Animal Regulation & Control) |
The American Humane Association sent Dick Green to Lamar-Dixon. Like Lamar-Dixon coordinator Dave Pauli, Green was a veteran of the Indian Ocean tsunami recovery effort in Sri Lanka.
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The Animal Radio Net-work, whose weekly two-hour talk program already claimed more than two million listeners on 90 conventional stations, on September 10 debuted as part of the Live365 web lineup, and for the next month emphasized disaster relief reports.
Animal Aid for Vermil-ion Area, in Abbeville, 150 miles west of New Orleans, provided pet supplies to the animals of evacuees.
The Anti-Cruelty Soci-ety, of Chicago, offered free vet care to the pets of displaced families.
The Arizona Humane Society, in Phoenix, on September 17 accepted 190 animals from Lamar-Dixon.
“At least 20 members of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights joined the huge animal relief effort,” reported AVAR director of companion animal issues Pam Runquist.
The Bay Area SPCA, of San Leon, Texas, evacuated 40 cats, 20 dogs, and 19 other animals.
The Cat Adoption Team, of Sherwood, Oregon, flew 41 evacuated cats from Fort Worth to Portland for adoption, and tentatively planned to fly in 82 more from St. Bernard Parish.
The City of Columbia Animal Shelter and Animal Mission of the Midlands “sent a vet technician, supplies, medicine, a power generator and other donated tools to animal shelters in Mississippi,” Columbia State staff writer Shalama C. Jackson reported––and Pets Inc. Adopt A Pal became involved when flight attendant Karen Cranford brought 11 displaced puppies back after participating in clean-up efforts in Perdido Bay, Alabama.
“Longmont-based Code 3 Associates, the Colorado Humane Society and others sent trained search-and-rescue teams to the region,” reported Denver Post staff writer Electa Draper. “In mid-September, the Colorado State Animal Response Team, a program of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Foundation, took in more than 100 homeless animals and relocated them to shelters and foster homes in the Denver and Boulder areas. The Denver Dumb Friends League also provided shelter and health screenings.”
DELTA Rescue sent a truckload of food to the Lamar-Dixon rescue center.
Doris Day Animal League executive director Holly Hazard brought an inflatable boat to Lamar-Dixon from Washington D.C., arriving on September 9. DDAL deputy director Sara Amundson succeeded Hazard on rescue duty a week later.
“Food for Life, an Inter-national Vegetarian Union member society, was on site within hours, providing vegetarian food relief and other humanitarian aid,” said an IVU press release. Food for Life global director Paul Turner coordinated a team that cooked and served hot vegetarian meals to needy families, working from a Hare Krishna farm in Carriere, Mississippi, the release explained.
The Galveston Animal Shelter & Adoption Center teamed with Habitat for Horses to transport 79 cats ad 28 dogs to the Houston SPCA. The Houston SPCA also took in 300 cats and 100 dogs from the Whiskerville Animal Sanct-uary in Texas City, reported Brenda Shoss of Kinship Circle. In addition, the Houston SPCA evacuated the animals from the Humane Soc-iety of Southeast Texas in Beau-mont, and helped to operate a temporary shelter for 300 animals–– including 30 parrots––in Beaumont.
Rose Westover of Habitat for Horses/Lone Star Equine Rescue in Hitchcock, Texas, organized collections of donated supplies in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas, wrote Stephanie L. Church of The Horse. The Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi Horse Councils also pitched in. The Humane Society of Pulaski County, Arkansas, arranged foster placements for horses.
Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue delivered hay to evacuees’ horses, and offered temporary quarters to evacuees who wanted to camp close to their horses.
Hope Safehouse, of Racine, Wisconsin, participated with 38 other Wisconsin humane organizations in a coalition to receive and place as many as 250 New Orleans animals, reported David Steinkraus of the Racine Journal-Times.
The Humane Society/ SPCA of Bexar County “took in about 200 evacuee pets” as Hurricane Rita approached, reported San Antonio Express News staff writer Rose Mary Budge. “The ASPCA has pledged $50,000 to help cover the cost,” Budge added.
Humane Society of Broward County volunteers picked up 52 dogs and about 30 cats from an animal shelter in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, reported Kevin Deutsch of the Miami Herald.
The Humane Society of Central Oregon and Humane Society of Redmond also sent personnel. Three staff members from the Portland office of the Animal Legal Defense Fund assisted at Lamar-Dixon.
The Humane Society of the Nature Coast, in Brookville, Florida, assisted by Hernando County Animal Services and Brenda Haynes and Carmen Sunden of People for Pets, in Silverthorn, evacuated 38 dogs and eight cats from the Hattiesburg and Waynes-boro rescue centers.
Humane Society of the Treasure Coast operations director Candice Veach brought 15 dogs back with her after a volunteer stint at Lamar-Dixon.
Resha Dykes, 20, represented the Geauga County, Ohio dog warden’s office in New Orleans.
Humane Society of West Louisiana volunteer Ruby Smith reported “fielding thousands of calls about Hurricane Katrina because we are the closest humane society with a working phone.”
The Iberia Humane Society, of New Iberia, Louisiana, established a temporary shelter at the Sugar Arena. Dogs and cats were admitted to the regular humane society shelter. The temporary shelter handled mostly livestock and horses.
Indianapolis Animal Care & Control sent a four-vehicle, five-staff convoy to New Orleans to help for nine days beginning on September 16, headed by operations manager, Gary Throgmorten.
International Animal Rescue, best known for projects in India, sent IFAW $9,000 toward the $13,573 cost of 50 cooling vests for staff and volunteers who had difficulty with the Louisiana heat.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare and Code 3 Associates sent a 78-foot self-sufficient mobile unit to New Orleans. “The unit provides sleeping quarters for up to 12 rescue workers, a veterinary triage and exam center, and 125 cages to hold rescued animals,” said a press release. “Over the past two days, IFAW has rescued 43 dogs, 41 cats, a snake, a bird, an iguana, a hamster, and a 300-pound potbelly pig,” reported Matthew Davis of the BBC on September 10.
Kittico Cat Rescue, in Dallas, took 101 cats the same day: 100 for adoption, and one to reunite with an evacuee who came to Dallas.
Lafayette Parish Animal Control circa September 1 opened a temporary shelter for the pets of evacuees at the Blackham Coliseum, beside the Cajundome.
Liberty Humane Society of New Jersey shelter manager Nicole Dawson and People for Animals executive director Diane Guillaume took donated supplies south and returned with about 20 animals, reported John Lowell Smith of the Newark Star-Ledger.
The Little Shelter on Long Island sent a rescue team led by kennel manager Linda Klampf.
Memphis Humane Soc-iety operations director Michael Swan, 31, may have had the best name for a water rescuer.
The Michigan Humane Society sent a three-vehicle rescue team to the Lamar-Dixon center on September 5.
The Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Com-mission sent rescuers Len Selkurt and Steve Hayden, plus a van. People & Paws Search & Rescue of Milwaukee also sent volunteers.
The Misha May Found-ation of Denver reportedly made two separate trips to bring animals back from Louisiana for adoption.
National Humane Society founder Carol Childs, of Tampa, and veterinarian Raul Figarola, of Pasco County Animal Control, gathered supplies for 10 days, then worked in Waveland, Mississippi.
The North Shore Animal League America prepared after Katrina to house far more animals than were actually available for transport outside Louisiana during the first weeks afterward. The extra capacity proved useful when, as Rita approached, North Shore took in 55 dogs and 38 cats from Lamar-Dixon plus 100 from the Humane Society/SPCA of Bexar County, Texas. Evacuating the San Antonio animals to the North Shore facilities in Port Washington, New York, opened up cage space for animals moved north during the evacuations of Galveston and Houston.
Two of the volunteers who traveled the farthest but arrived among the first were John Maretti and Lezlie Morrow of the North Valley Animal Disaster Group in Butte County, California. Arriving on September 1 and September 4, respectively, they worked with the American Humane Association team, reported Chico Enterprise-Record staff writer Greg Welter.
The Oregon Humane Society on September 1 sent humane officers Randy Covey, Kerri Tyler, Jay Hutchison, and Rene Pizzo to Louisiana to help. On October 5, Oregon Humane received 78 dogs and 15 cats from New Orleans, vetted on arrival by students and faculty from the Oregon State University School of Veterinary Medicine.
Pasado’s Safe Haven, of Sultan, Washington, was also among the longest-traveling rescuers, and set up one of the largest rescue centers, on a 150-acre farm in Raceland, Louisiana. “There, over 700 animals have been treated for dehydration and emaciation,” the PasadoRescuers web site summarized on September 30. “As of yesterday, PasadoRescuers were still finding miracle animals alive in New Orleans homes who had not had food or water for a month.”
Paws Away Rescue of Eaton, Indiana, took in 118 animals left by evacuees at the Save A Pet shelter in Dothan, Alabama.
PETA on September 4 sent an open letter from actress Rue McClanahan to U.S. President George W. Bush, urging him to allow animal rescue groups into New Orleans. But “By the time the letter was posted,” Best Friends News noted, “rescue groups had already been allowed into the city for two days.” McClanahan and PETA also asked that New Orleans evacuees be allowed to take their animals with them––24 hours after Jefferson Parish animal control chief Bert Smith told Best Friends News that this had belatedly become policy. A PETA boat team operated from the Lamar-Dixon rescue center for seven days in mid-September. The team returned to Norfolk, Virginia, with 32 dogs. A second team worked into October.
Pets Are Worth Saving, of Chicago, accepted about 80 dogs and cats who were transferred from a shelter near Little Rock, Arkansas, in anticipation of receiving animals from New Orleans.
PetSmart Charities gave more than $750,000 worth of pet supplies, transportion, and funding to more than 98 animal welfare agencies during the first month after Katrina, while raising $2.8 million from customers, employees, and the public. “PetSmart Charities anticipates that grant disbursements will increase,” said the PetSmart Charities web site.
The Pinellas County SPCA, in Florida, accepted 10 cats and 15 dogs from Gulfport evacuees in mid-September, some the animals relayed from the Humane Society of Pinellas County, and expected more, executive director Beth Lockwood told Sherri Day of the St. Petersburg Times.
Project Pet Airlift on September 21 flew 125 animals from Lamar-Dixon to Fort Lauderdale, to be held for three weeks by the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League, in case their families saw their photos on Petfinder.com.
Richmond Animal League kennel manager Pam Bridgmon and two friends spent six days helping at the St. Francis Animal Sanctuary.
The Sacramento SPCA “welcomed 14 hurricane-battered dogs” on September 11, said Sacra-mento Bee staff writer Brien Joseph.
The Safe Harbor Animal Sanctuary & Hospital, of Jupiter, Florida, brought 14 dogs and seven cats from New Orleans.
Saving Animals, formed just two months earlier by Spay/ Neuter Assistance Project founder Sean Hawkins, arranged an emergency airlift to Denver of 64 animals from the Houston Bureau of Animal Regulation & Control, plus 30 animals from Citizens for Animal Protection. Received in Denver by the Colorado State Animal Response Team, the animals were relayed to the Denver Dumb Friends League and the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, where they were vetted and offered for adoption. “The entire rescue project was generously underwritten by the Petco Foundation and HSUS,” Hawkins said. “The BARC facility has a history of flooding; the animals were in danger.”
The San Marcos Animal Shelter housed more than 160 animals for evacuated humans who camped temporarily at two schools and the San Marcos Activity Center.
The SPCA/Los Angeles Disaster Animal Relief Team had just returned to Los Angeles, after heading to Baton Rouge on September 7, but redeployed a four-vehicle convoy to Beaumont, Texas, to help after Rita. “During our previous response, vital equipment was damaged, including a vehicle and an RV,” SPCA/LA announced. “The loss of the RV was significant, as the RV allows DART to set up mobile staging areas. SPCA/LA has rented an RV, but needs its own for future operations.
Suncoast Humane Soci-ety shelter administrator Donna Kolakowski, animal care coordinator Judy Pell, and her daughter Candice Skaggs, of Englewood, Florida, “drove 668.8 miles to Hattisburg, Mississippi, spent eight hours unloading emergency medical supplies,” at the Forrest County Multi-Purpose Center, where HSUS temporarily housed more than 1,300 animals, “loaded eight displaced dogs into their rented pickup truck, and drove them back to Englewood. Thirty hours without sleep,” reported the Venice Gondolier.
The Sunflower Humane Society and Wayside Waifs transported New Orleans animals to Kansas City for adoption. The Sunflower Humane Society reportedly had 200 applications for the first 18 dogs made available.
The Texas Animal Con-trol Association, mobilized after Katrina, took in more than 300 horses, 200 dogs, 100 cats, and various other animals at an emergency shelter opened in Nacog-doches as Hurricane Rita hit.
Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, of Walnut Creek, California, on August 25 donated all proceeds from the ARF’s 2006 Celebrity Pet Calendar to “help save the abandoned and injured dogs and cats left orphaned as a result of Hurricane Katrina,” executive director Brenda Barnette announced.
Lisa Mason and Madeline Mature of Triangle Beagle Rescue of North Carolina brought 10 beagles back to Durham from the disaster zone, reported Anne Blythe of the Raleigh News & Observer.
The Tri-County Humane Society of Boca Raton took 25 dogs for fostering.
An emergency shelter at the Monroe Civic Center Equestrian Pavilion, staffed by United Animal Nations, held as up to 300 animals per night, reported Dennsi Camire of Gannett News Service.
Win Animal Rights, of New York City, took a truckload of dogs north on September 30.