Leslie's First Blog Posting
This is my first ever blog (guess I need to welcome myself to the 21st century). I haven’t yet left but am in preparation mode. My friend Cathy A., also a Kitten Rescue volunteer, started this blog when she went to Louisiana in September to help the Katrina animal victims and I am continuing it as I leave tomorrow, 10/22, for New Orleans. I know this will be an adventure and yet I’m hoping the situation is not as dire as what I’ve been hearing.
Since the Hurricane struck, almost 7 weeks ago, more than 7,000 pets have been rescued from the streets of New Orleans alone. Countless others perished, some drowning with their owners or succumbing to stifling heat, trapped in their attics. It is difficult to estimate how many animals remain in New Orleans. The American Veterinary Association estimates the number between 50,000 and 70,000. The question is, how many were able to be rescued or evacuated by their owners before the storm? New Orleans has alternately been described as a “third world country”, a “war zone” and it is definitely “Ground Zero” for the largest humane rescue effort ever attempted.”
Ever since Katrina hit I have been mesmerized by what I have seen and heard and I knew I had to personally go and do something, rather than just send a check to an organization. I have been corresponding via e-mail with a number of groups and it looks like I will be working with Alley Cat Allies (www.alleycat.org) and also Jane Garrison and David Meyer’s grassroots effort, information on which can be found at this website (www.animalrescueneworleans.com) and it includes a link to David Meyer’s blog, which is extremely information. Some other good places to find Katrina related information has been on Eric Rice’s blog (www.ericsdogblog.com) and at Pasado’s Safe Haven (www.pasadosafehaven.org). This group has single handedly set the protocol that the national groups should (and hopefully) will follow with future disasters. After my return, I will be able to post photos from my trip, but the above websites have quite a number of photos but one website has the best I have seen but BEWARE many are quite graphic. No beings should have to suffer this way! - http://justthinkingaboutit.blogspot.com
The other animal rescuer I am going to be traveling with, Jim Y, has preceded me by a week and has called me daily with updates. Here are a few from the past few days.
Yesterday’s (10/20) update was sad but hopeful. He told me the night before they had rescued a dog that had been wedged in a bathtub inside a house for 6 weeks. It was a sack of bones but was still alive!. It had no energy to crawl out of the mud and muck that entombed it alive.
On 10/19 he said they received a call from a guy who had seen his neighbor return home to his house and start emptying all the trash out of his house (appliances, moldy beds, etc.) and he saw him throw his dog onto the trash pile too. He thought the dog was dead until he went to investigate and could see it breathing. It was a female Doberman who literally was down to nothing, full of sores, couldn't stand. So Jim and the group raced and took it to a vet. They don’t know if it’ll survive, it may be too far gone.
He also found a 4# yorkipoo puppy. He said there was a notice spray painted on the dog that some dogs had been found inside and there may be more. That is what saved this puppy. Because the HSUS thought there might be more dogs inside, they left food and water in buckets in the house. When Jim and his crew entered they heard rustling but thought it might be a rat. They followed the sound and then inside a kitchen cabinet (in a little pan) was a yorkipoo puppy. The food and water had saved its life. I believe Jim is planning on bringing this little dog back with him and has name it "Meshuganah".
I know I’ll end up bringing back a cat or two to foster since my vet's office has a directive (they are part of VCA - a national vet chain) that they will board all Katrina animals for free so the cats will be able to stay there and be taken care of.
This is what we’re up against. There are still animals alive in houses and alive on the streets because people have started to leave pans of food and water outside. I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing down there but at this point anything would help and they desperately need people. The big agencies like the HSUS and ASPCA have since left and it is the small groups and individuals who are making a difference now. As everyone always tells me, no I cannot save every animal but I believe in karma and one person can make a difference.
I have been told that I need to go completely self-sufficient as if I am going camping in the wilderness. I have been packing up nonperishable food items, picking up medicines, and animal supplies. The information I received almost looked like an ad for the army (Be all that you can be). “There’s nothing glamorous or fun or easy about this work but you are guaranteed to go to bed at night knowing that YOU ARE MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THEIR WORLD!"
Here is what I should expect:
- Hard work and long hours.
- The heat and humidity will be unbearable but you need to wear long pants and shirts to protect yourself, and also gloves.
- Camping style accommodations.
- Changing priorities and many varied tasks. (The willingness to be flexible is essential).
- If you would like to do rescue work, you will need to have emotional strength and stamina. The field rescue work can be stressful and sometimes heart-wrenching.
I have current tetanus and the Hepatitis A and B series of shots. I was advised to buy a gas mask for $29 at Home Depot because the mold and bacteria is severe in the houses and it can get into your lungs, even as houses start drying up. And of course only drink bottled water (but no one in New Orleans drank the water before the hurricane).
I opted not to camp because I know that for me to work most efficiently I would need to have a decent night’s sleep. This was easier said than done. It took me 2 hours to find a place to stay as there was nothing within a 4 hour radius of the New Orleans area because every hotel is taken up by FEMA, utility workers or it the hotel was not in working condition. One woman, whose bed and breakfast is full, had started renting out other rooms in the house. She was down to the laundry room which she offered me (no joke). She said it would have a single bed and she could put a mat on the floor for my travel partner. She asked how tall he was, I said 6’2” and she said that might be a problem because the room was only 6”0” long and so he would have to wedge himself into it. With a straight face (I’m assuming that since this conversation took place on the phone) she told me the price per night would be $125. Talk about price gouging! Luckily I found another B&B close to New Orleans for $80 a night for 2 single beds with a shared bath. Phew, problem averted.
Coincidentally my brother’s sister-in-law will be flying into Baton Rouge (from France) the same day as I am but on a completely different mission. She and her family have been living abroad but her home is in midtown New Orleans and her house was one of thousands that was flooded and she is trying to salvage what she can and work with her tenants to try to make it habitable again. Photos of her house can be seen here: http://www.barefootphotography.com/clear_household. She said under different circumstances she would have offered me hospitality but both of us will be busy with our own projects.
The next update should be sometime after I arrive.
Since the Hurricane struck, almost 7 weeks ago, more than 7,000 pets have been rescued from the streets of New Orleans alone. Countless others perished, some drowning with their owners or succumbing to stifling heat, trapped in their attics. It is difficult to estimate how many animals remain in New Orleans. The American Veterinary Association estimates the number between 50,000 and 70,000. The question is, how many were able to be rescued or evacuated by their owners before the storm? New Orleans has alternately been described as a “third world country”, a “war zone” and it is definitely “Ground Zero” for the largest humane rescue effort ever attempted.”
Ever since Katrina hit I have been mesmerized by what I have seen and heard and I knew I had to personally go and do something, rather than just send a check to an organization. I have been corresponding via e-mail with a number of groups and it looks like I will be working with Alley Cat Allies (www.alleycat.org) and also Jane Garrison and David Meyer’s grassroots effort, information on which can be found at this website (www.animalrescueneworleans.com) and it includes a link to David Meyer’s blog, which is extremely information. Some other good places to find Katrina related information has been on Eric Rice’s blog (www.ericsdogblog.com) and at Pasado’s Safe Haven (www.pasadosafehaven.org). This group has single handedly set the protocol that the national groups should (and hopefully) will follow with future disasters. After my return, I will be able to post photos from my trip, but the above websites have quite a number of photos but one website has the best I have seen but BEWARE many are quite graphic. No beings should have to suffer this way! - http://justthinkingaboutit.blogspot.com
The other animal rescuer I am going to be traveling with, Jim Y, has preceded me by a week and has called me daily with updates. Here are a few from the past few days.
Yesterday’s (10/20) update was sad but hopeful. He told me the night before they had rescued a dog that had been wedged in a bathtub inside a house for 6 weeks. It was a sack of bones but was still alive!. It had no energy to crawl out of the mud and muck that entombed it alive.
On 10/19 he said they received a call from a guy who had seen his neighbor return home to his house and start emptying all the trash out of his house (appliances, moldy beds, etc.) and he saw him throw his dog onto the trash pile too. He thought the dog was dead until he went to investigate and could see it breathing. It was a female Doberman who literally was down to nothing, full of sores, couldn't stand. So Jim and the group raced and took it to a vet. They don’t know if it’ll survive, it may be too far gone.
He also found a 4# yorkipoo puppy. He said there was a notice spray painted on the dog that some dogs had been found inside and there may be more. That is what saved this puppy. Because the HSUS thought there might be more dogs inside, they left food and water in buckets in the house. When Jim and his crew entered they heard rustling but thought it might be a rat. They followed the sound and then inside a kitchen cabinet (in a little pan) was a yorkipoo puppy. The food and water had saved its life. I believe Jim is planning on bringing this little dog back with him and has name it "Meshuganah".
I know I’ll end up bringing back a cat or two to foster since my vet's office has a directive (they are part of VCA - a national vet chain) that they will board all Katrina animals for free so the cats will be able to stay there and be taken care of.
This is what we’re up against. There are still animals alive in houses and alive on the streets because people have started to leave pans of food and water outside. I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing down there but at this point anything would help and they desperately need people. The big agencies like the HSUS and ASPCA have since left and it is the small groups and individuals who are making a difference now. As everyone always tells me, no I cannot save every animal but I believe in karma and one person can make a difference.
I have been told that I need to go completely self-sufficient as if I am going camping in the wilderness. I have been packing up nonperishable food items, picking up medicines, and animal supplies. The information I received almost looked like an ad for the army (Be all that you can be). “There’s nothing glamorous or fun or easy about this work but you are guaranteed to go to bed at night knowing that YOU ARE MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THEIR WORLD!"
Here is what I should expect:
- Hard work and long hours.
- The heat and humidity will be unbearable but you need to wear long pants and shirts to protect yourself, and also gloves.
- Camping style accommodations.
- Changing priorities and many varied tasks. (The willingness to be flexible is essential).
- If you would like to do rescue work, you will need to have emotional strength and stamina. The field rescue work can be stressful and sometimes heart-wrenching.
I have current tetanus and the Hepatitis A and B series of shots. I was advised to buy a gas mask for $29 at Home Depot because the mold and bacteria is severe in the houses and it can get into your lungs, even as houses start drying up. And of course only drink bottled water (but no one in New Orleans drank the water before the hurricane).
I opted not to camp because I know that for me to work most efficiently I would need to have a decent night’s sleep. This was easier said than done. It took me 2 hours to find a place to stay as there was nothing within a 4 hour radius of the New Orleans area because every hotel is taken up by FEMA, utility workers or it the hotel was not in working condition. One woman, whose bed and breakfast is full, had started renting out other rooms in the house. She was down to the laundry room which she offered me (no joke). She said it would have a single bed and she could put a mat on the floor for my travel partner. She asked how tall he was, I said 6’2” and she said that might be a problem because the room was only 6”0” long and so he would have to wedge himself into it. With a straight face (I’m assuming that since this conversation took place on the phone) she told me the price per night would be $125. Talk about price gouging! Luckily I found another B&B close to New Orleans for $80 a night for 2 single beds with a shared bath. Phew, problem averted.
Coincidentally my brother’s sister-in-law will be flying into Baton Rouge (from France) the same day as I am but on a completely different mission. She and her family have been living abroad but her home is in midtown New Orleans and her house was one of thousands that was flooded and she is trying to salvage what she can and work with her tenants to try to make it habitable again. Photos of her house can be seen here: http://www.barefootphotography.com/clear_household. She said under different circumstances she would have offered me hospitality but both of us will be busy with our own projects.
The next update should be sometime after I arrive.
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