Petville

HSUS deploys team after deadly tornadoes

MACON COUNTY, Tenn. — At the request of local authorities, The Humane Society of the United States has deployed its disaster services strike team, including experienced animal handlers and emergency shelter managers and its shelter and operations trailers from Florida and Maryland, to assist in the aftermath of the deadliest tornadoes in the United States in more than two decades. The storms hit Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Already, The HSUS has picked up dozens of injured and frightened animals and is housing them in its shelter transport vehicle at the Macon County Fairgrounds. And many more displaced animals are known to be wandering around in Tennessee, where The HSUS is supplementing overtaxed local resources.

"We have been working under the direction of Tennessee DART (Disaster Animal Response Team), to perform field rescue, and provide emergency sheltering and medical help," said Scotlund Haisley, senior director of disaster services at The HSUS. "We've been assigned to handle the needs of pets."

In 2006 and 2007, The HSUS saved more than 16,000 animals from abusive or neglectful situations, fighting rings or natural disasters.

Since the storm as subsided, more and more animals are coming out of hiding and need attention. One of those is "Toto," a Jack Russell Terrier who "fell from the sky," according to the Tennessee citizen who brought him to the HSUS' mobile shelter.

Katrina victim wins case, gets dog back

It's now a year and a half after Hurricane Katrina devastated the US.

On the pet rescue front, we've heard happy reunion stories as well as sad stories of pets who still remain missing.

Many pets have found a happy home with a foster family. Some of these families still have hope of reuniting their foster pet with its owner.

Situations like Pablo's, described below, have now been sparks of heated debate - the foster family's protection over a pet's identity and the length of time a pet has now been away from its owner.

Pablo, a dog rescued during Hurricane Katrina, had his custody dispute come to an end this month, with a Superior Court Judge ruling that the dog should be returned to its owner, who now lives in Lafayette, La.

Paula Duming's dog, Pablo, had been adopted by a family who claimed that Duming was trying to claim a dog who was not hers. Duming found the dog she believed to be hers with the aid of a volunteer, who was helping hurricane victims find their pets.

The dog, which Duming photographed on the roof of her mobile home when she was being evacuated, was picked up after the storm and eventually transferred to a shelter in Phoenix.

That shelter, Animals Benefit Club, placed the dog with Wendy Shieh and Dustin Jones, and paid for the couple's legal counsel. Duming said Dee Kotinas of the Animals Benefit Club told her during a phone call that she had the wrong dog. But Duming persisted. Best Friends filed suit six months ago.

Dark Water Rising: Hurricane Katrina Animal Rescues

This DVD was just brought to our attention and looks amazing:
Dark Water Rising:  Hurricane Katrina Animal Rescues is a newly released 75-minute documentary film by Mike Shiley

Over 50,000 dogs and cats were left behind in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as FEMA required that all animals be left behind in the mandatory evacuation. This forced separation created America’s first-ever major animal rescue.

A dedicated and compassionate group of volunteer rescuers and animal welfare groups from around the world risked their lives to sledgehammer down doors and brave toxic floodwaters in a truly heroic effort to save nearly 10,000 animals.

Rescuers came from all walks of life and backgrounds to help out.  From passionate animal activists to prison inmates, an entire cross section of America interrupted their daily routines to do the right thing in face of incredible odds.

This film tells many uplifting stories of hope and survival as animal companions (pets) are reunited with their owners while other lucky animals find loving new homes. Dark Water Rising is a film about hope and survival in the face of the one of the worst natural disasters in American history.

If disaster strikes: people will not be forced to abandon pets

The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a Senate substitute to H.R. 3858, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act.

The PETS Act, introduced in the House by U.S. Reps. Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Chris Shays (R-CT) and in the Senate by U.S. Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), will "require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure that state and local emergency preparedness operational plans address the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals following a major disaster or emergency."

Many activists and rescue groups lobbied Congress, including the HSUS national advertising campaign to pass this legislation quickly to keep people and pets together next time disaster strikes.

Katrina survivor and lost cat reunited at last

When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Tristan Carter thought she had lost everything — her home, a grandfather, two dogs, a cat and a rabbit.

But Cupcake the cat was alive and well after six months of living as a stray in her hurricane-ravaged neighborhood. On Wednesday, animal rescue volunteers reunited the lithe, 7-pound black cat with Carter, who now lives in Atlanta. “I lost a grandfather in the hurricane. To find a little kitty survived six months, that’s great,” said Carter, holding Cupcake close and thanking the rescuers who found her. Read the full story here.

Katrina Cats Still Need Food

The storms have calmed, but the help is still needed for the hurricane pet survivors - Here's a post from one of our readers:
Hi -- the rescuers I have been working with have reported back to me that there are still many many homeless cats, who are starving to death. The grassroots New Orleans rescuer core is getting very stressed trying to find enough cat food to feed them -- many cats have become mal-nourished from eating dog food, which doesn't give them enough nutrients. I am located in Chicago, we are trying to find a pet-food donor of fill up a trailer truck with cat food to send down. Please forward this email to anyone who might be interested/experienced in trying to get food sent down. Thanks! Serena Saltzman 773-259-1143 brentserena1@aol.com

From Rescuer to Foster Parent

Read the personal story of Ronald C. Desnoyers, Jr., an HSUS search and rescue team member. He came across a 6-day-old pit bull puppy that stole his heart.

Here's an excerpt: "Animals were everywhere. Some were in relatively good condition, and others were extremely emaciated and weak. There were animals still trapped in homes. Approximately half way through our day, as we were walking, we heard loud cries coming from under a house. I looked under the structure, and could hear the cries, but could not see where they were coming from. It sounded as if they were coming from the rear of the home.

Tips on Reuniting with Your Pet

From The Humane Society of the United States: Right now The HSUS is working together with other groups to merge data from many organizations and agencies, and the process is time-consuming and complicated. Some of the records are good; some came from the field and have limited information or are dirty, wet, or otherwise hard to read. Rescuers used different methods to catalog the animals they took in, and some animals came into the staging areas before any cataloging system had been put in place.

The result is that there are now pets at shelters and rescue groups all over the country, and not all of them left an easy-to-follow paper trail as they moved through the rescue system. We are working to ensure that www.Petfinder.com's list is as complete as possible, and easy for families looking for pets to use. The system is improving daily. A team of people at The HSUS has been working every day since Katrina struck to develop a system for pet owners to reunite with the pets they lost. The central components of that system are the Animal Emergency Response Network at www.Petfinder.com and our Disaster Call Center number, 1-800-HUMANE-1.

How to Start Searching for Your Animal...

Local Rescue Groups Begin to Take Over

From HSUS: The gradual withdrawal of staff and volunteers deployed to Louisiana and Mississippi from national animal groups marks the beginning of the end to an unprecedented event: The rescuing, sheltering and transporting of nearly 8,000 animals from the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall (for a second time) on August 29, obliterating much of the U.S. Gulf Coast. Some believe it may have been the largest animal rescue operation in U.S. history.
Click here to read the story.

Kim's reports from down south

Kim, the author of a great blog on the Hurricane Katrina devastation, gives great information as well as a heart flet, first hand take on what's going on with the animals down south.

Here she describes: "We broke out an air conditioning unit to get to a Shih Tzu. That was a feat."

Click here to read her stories.

Man reunited with seeing-eye dog

This story brought a tear to my eye when I saw this video of a happy, tail-wagging reunion. James Mercadal was forced to be separated from Jake, his seeing-eye dog, when a neighbor came to his rescue during the floods caused by Hurricane Katrina. Mercadal told the Today Show about the efforts made to locate Jake, who was finally found over a week later - a bit dehydrated, but safe. Click here to view the heartwarming video.

International Fund for Animal Welfare

Another great group: IFAW rescued 50 animals on Friday Sept. 9th from flooded homes in the canal district of New Orleans. Click to view the IFAW photo gallery.

IFAW’s Emergency Relief Animal Rescue team is based in Gonzales, Louisiana, 50 miles outside of New Orleans. Working with state authorities, IFAW is conducting door-to-door search and animal rescue operations in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina where evacuees were forced to leave their pets behind.

IFAW’s hurricane relief efforts also include helping to coordinate the massive request for pet supplies and shelter assistance, as well as delivering multiple financial grants to help local animal organizations such as the LSPCA and LSU Vet School with the hurricane pet rescue.

IFAW has announced that 100% of all funds raised will go directly towards Hurricane Katrina response efforts, including immediate animal care and the rebuilding of animal shelters destroyed. To make a donation visit www.ifaw.org/us/katrina

Hurricane Relief Program: Donate Pet Supplies Online

On September 13th, 2005 PetFoodDirect and Molly's Country Kennels packed a truck with much needed supplies and over 1,000 pounds of cat and dog food. The truck, driven by a local veterinarian, then headed for the gulf coast. PetFoodDirect's goal is to fill a truck every week with supplies and pet food.


Here is how YOU can help...
1. Click here to place an order containing the products you wish to donate. (The donation promotion code for Gulf Cost delivery is automatically applied with this link - you'll save 20% off regualr cost)
2. PetFoodDirect is delivering your donation for free, so enter "00000" when asked for your zipcode.

Update: Animals Rescued Louisiana & Mississippi

Pictured: Animal control expert Alison Cardone of the LA/SPCA rescues a dog from a flooded home September 10 in New Orleans.
Update: Animals Rescued Louisiana & Mississippi reported from HSUS Updated: September 13, 5:00 p.m.

Confirmed Totals to Date: 4,843
Dogs & Cats: 2,783
Horses: 121
Other Animals: 1,939

First flight of rescued pets to California homes

An airlift flew several dogs and cats from Louisiana to temporary homes in California. KRON and CNN have a heartwarming video that gives us hope for these animals. Click here to watch the video.

CNN reports: The first major airlift of dogs from the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast left Louisiana on Sunday, carrying about 80 pets to new temporary homes in California. The Continental Airlines flight from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was chartered for about $50,000 by Texas oil tycoon Boone Pickens and his wife, Madeleine, in a movement dubbed "Operation Pet Lift."
Click here to read the full story

Quick Look at the Disaster Response

From The Humane Society of the United States:

• The HSUS and other groups have rescued nearly 4,000 animals to date from New Orleans and the hardest-hit areas of Mississippi.
  
• More than 200 people have been reunited with their pets as a result of these rescues.
  
• Temporary shelters are fully operational in Gonzales (Louisiana) and Hattiesburg (Mississippi), where rescued animals are examined by medical staff, cleaned, fed, watered, and cared for around the clock.
  
• Hundreds of HSUS disaster response team members, volunteers, and other animal groups are keeping operations running at both sites.
  
• The HSUS is deploying some 50 new people each day who have professional animal care and control expertise.
  
• To buy time for stranded animals who elude capture, our rescue teams are setting up "feeding stations" of large amounts of food and water to keep the animals sustained until another rescue attempt can be made.

Click here to read more about the pet rescue efforts

Volunteers needed for HSUS Disaster Response Teams

The Humane Society of the United States has an immediate need for highly committed volunteers (trained and untrained) to join The HSUS Disaster Animal Response Teams (DART) on the ground in Louisiana and Mississippi. Even if you do not have animal care or rescue training, they need help cleaning kennels, feeding and watering, walking dogs, and keeping our emergency shelters running. If you think you’d like to help, click here.

Another Happy Reunion story from Noah's Wish

Click here to view this video on MSNBC: Slidell, La., animal control officer Horace Troullier and Noah's Wish volunteer Donna Wackerbauer reunite Miss Kitty with her owner, Bill Harris, at a hospital in Hattiesburg, Miss., where Harris was being treated for internal bleeding. The videotape, shot Friday by free-lancer Joe Brunksac, was shot in Harris’ room at the Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Dog taken from sobbing boy located

Dog taken from a sobbing boy at the Superdome is now located...

USA Today reported yesterday that Snowball, a small white dog taken by police from a sobbing little boy as he and his family were boarding a bus at the Superdome, has been located.
Snowball is now at the Louisiana SPCA in Gonzalez, La., and will be reunited with his owner, U.S. Department of Agriculture veterinarian Terry Conger told the newspaper. The Humane Society of the United States and the Louisiana SPCA rescued 43 dogs and 16 cats from the Superdome and delivered them to a temporary shelter at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center.

The dog is reported to be among an estimated 3,000 animals brought into the Louisiana shelter system.

Displaced Horses: UPDATE

Petville recevied this email from the USEF on 9/9:

The United States Equestrian Federation wishes to express sincere thanks to all those who have so willingly opened their hearts to the human and equine victims of Hurricane Katrina. With more than enough volunteers to care for horses throughout the Southern states, we are no longer taking requests to add names to our Hurricane Katrina Equine Relief list.

If you would still like to help, monetary donations can be made online at www.usef.org, by clicking on the Hurricane Katrina link on the right side of the homepage. If you wish to pay by check, please make it out to the USEF Hurricane Equine Relief Fund and send it to:

The United States Equestrian Federation
4047 Iron Works Parkway
Lexington, KY 40511

To Donate by Fax: 859-231-6662

The United States Equestrian Federation has established the Hurricane Equine Relief Fund to assist those agencies working directly with the equine victims and refugees from Hurricane Katrina. The money will be used to support efforts to deliver food, veterinary services, and shelter for horses and ponies in the hurricane stricken areas. All donations are tax deductible, and gifts of any size are appreciated.

Warm regards,
Karen Adams

ACOs NEEDED

ACOs NEEDED TO RESCUE KATRINA'S ANIMAL VICTIMS!
5 September, 2005

We urgently need animal control officers from all over the state to report in to Louisiana Animal Control Association (LACA) as soon as possible if they can assist, even for a few days, in the animal rescue efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina...

Shelter Volunteers

Volunteers (minimum age: 16) are needed to work in the pet shelter at John M. Parker Coliseum. In Baton Rouge, please come directly to the Coliseum and ask for the Volunteer Coordinator to sign up. Or you may call toll-free (888) 773-6489 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm or e-mail Katrina@ldaf.louisiana.gov for more information. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes that you do not mind getting dirty!

If you live outside the Baton Rouge area and would like to volunteer your time to work in one of the Emergency Animal Shelters, please call toll-free (888) 773-6489 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, or send an e-mail to Katrina@ldaf.louisiana.gov with your name and contact information, level of experience (e.g., veterinarian, veterinary assistant/technician, animal control worker, lay volunteer, etc., and please indicate any specialized skills you may have), your level of self-sufficiency, when you can travel to Baton Rouge, and how long you can stay.

Confined Pets in Need of Rescue from Disaster Areas

From LSU: Residents who left pets in their homes may call toll-free (888) 773-6489 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm or e-mail Katrina@ldaf.louisiana.gov to leave information about the number of animals that need rescuing, their species, and their confined location.

Residents are now being allowed back into certain parts of the Greater New Orleans areas. While we will do everything we can to rescue as many animals as possible, your pets will have a better chance if you can get in and rescue them yourselves. Please watch the news media for announcements of which areas residents may re-enter.

If you do rescue your pet yourself after requesting rescue through this shelter, please notify us so that we can remove your name from the waiting list.

If you need a place to leave your pets for housing and care after rescue, please bring them to us at the John M. Parker Coliseum on the LSU Campus. We will care for them until you can be permanently reunited.

CITY OF NEW ORLEANS ANIMAL RESCUE

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA), the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association (LVMA), the Louisiana Animal Control Association (LACA), the LSU AgCenter, and the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) are managing animal evacuations and recovery plans for New Orleans pets and displaced animals.

NOTE from LSU: "Rumors that we have run out of room are NOT TRUE. We have plenty of space and are still accepting animals. We will remain in operation as long as necessary to reunite as many people and pets as possible."

Noah's Wish Disaster Animal Shelter

Noah's Wish has setup a Disaster Animal Shelter in conjunction with Slidell Animal Control at the address below:

1325 Bayou Lane
Slidell, LA
(Located next to Heritage Park)

*** Please do not send anything (donations, care packages, etc.) to this address. There is no mail or package service (UPS, FedEx, etc) in the area. Individual supplies should go to our St. Louis Area supply staging at the address below:

Roger Smith
Noah's Wish
8762 Klondike Road
Worden, IL 62097

Questions regarding donation items should be addressed to supplies@noahswish.org with SUPPLY AND EQUIPMENT in the subject line.
Large truck shipment donors should email us at supplies@noahswish.org for special instructions.
Please be patient, our Logistics Department staff are processing donation offers as quickly as possible.

Displaced Horses

The United States Equestrian Federation Inc. is also seeking people who have the room to shelter horses which are rescued from hard hit areas and those who can volunteer veterinary services. Those who can help are encouraged to e-mail kcadams@usef.org or call (859)225-6993.

FEMA update from NSAL

North Shore Animal League America veterinarian, Dr. Eve Ognibene, has departed for Jackson, Mississippi where she will await the arrival of animals rescued out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

This is the first group of animals that FEMA has allowed to be transported out of the state by air since Hurricane Katrina hit.

In Jackson, a huge staging area has been set up to assess and treat the affected animals. Dr. Ognibene will be there to triage the rescued animals on our mobile unit as they are being transported to safety.

North Shore Animal League America Rescue Fund

From NSAL: Hurricane Katrina has forced many people to take cover at public evacuation centers. Unfortunately, most public evacuation centers do not allow individuals to take their pets. Many animal shelters have opened their doors to provide temporary shelter for pets that are not permitted with their families in the evacuation facilities. Previous to this hurricane, most animal shelters in this area were already at full capacity, and they need urgent help.

The North Shore Animal League America ERT (Emergency Response Team) knew immediately our help would be needed. Our goal will be to help alleviate the shelter overcrowding by transporting homeless animals to the League.

visit the site by clicking here

Help Pets Hurt by Katrina Disaster

From The Humane Society of the United States: As the fury of Hurricane Katrina dies down, relief and rescue teams mobilize to save lives. The HSUS’s Disaster Animal Response Teams provide vital aid to animals and pet-owners devastated by storm damage and flooding.

Please visit their site for more info.

Animals Evacuated: Noah's Wish Hurricane Help

"Caring for the number of animals that are anticipated to be displaced and injured in the weeks to come as a result of Hurricane Katrina is going to require an enormous quantity of equipment and supplies. You can watch for needed items on noahswish.org.

At this time we would like to please discourage people from sending pet food. Noah's Wish has contacts with numerous pet food manufacturers and we will be working with them to get the food we need.

Monetary donations are always the best way to help. That way we can purchase exactly what we need, in the quantities we need, when we need it. There is information provided below on how to make donations using PayPal as well as making donations by check.