I'd like to welcome all my new subscribers this week! It's a pleasure to be able to share information about a subject we all hold very dear: Our Cats!
Last issue I talked about the plight of pets in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. It's heartwarming to know that they are finally getting the attention they need and deserve, and are being rescued. Sadly, many did not survive. But then, a lot of people lost the fight, too. We can only be grateful for those who made it, and for those brave ones who made it possible.
Now that things are more under control, I just want to bring you up to date on how some of the animal rescues are going.
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah made this report on Sept. 13:
RESCUE TEAMS: Best Friends currently has four rescue teams operating in New
Orleans, either in boats or trucks. Typically, we finish the field rescues at sundown, and then go to the Westbank Animal Shelter to pick up animals brought in by Jefferson Parish Animal
Control, and then head up to the St. Francis sanctuary, about 100 miles north
of the city, with a total of 50 to 80 dogs and cats at the end of each day.
The teams often don't get in until 1:00 or 2:00 a.m., and are back on the road
first thing.
ST FRANCIS SANCTUARY: The sanctuary out of town is now a fully functional
emergency shelter, with a Best Friends staff of 13, 3 vets and 3 vet techs,
and about 50 volunteers on any given day.
REUNIONS: The first reunions between pets and families have begun.
RELIEF FUND: We've collected more than $1 million for the Hurricane Relief
Fund so far, and are spending it mostly onsite in the rescue efforts and the
work at St. Francis. .
NEEDS & OFFERS: We're putting together a web-based system which will enable
you to indicate precisely how you'd like to participate.
[Note: This is an abbreviated version of the report, as I don't want to overload your email. The full reports are available at the website, http://www.bestfriends.org. Look for the Hurricane Relief Report, which is kept up to date on a daily basis.]
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And this report is from Pet Finder:
Petfinder.com has unveiled a comprehensive animal emergency response
system helping companion animal victims and their caretakers during
disasters. This is a collaborative database linking information from
the public and emergency response organizations and making it available
to rescuers, victims, and volunteers. The database features the
following:
*displaced hurricane victims post the locations of their pets so that
rescuers can go in and save them
*rescuers post the descriptions and photos of pets they find making them
available for distraught pet parents to find them
*volunteers post their offers of foster care which displaced hurricane
victims can search to find temporary care for their pets
Thanks to: American Humane Association, Humane
Society of the United States, ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, LSU
School of Veterinary Medicine, United Animal Nations (EARS), IFAW and
Code 3 Associates, Alley Cat Allies and everyone who has come together
to put the pets first.
Visit http://disaster.petfinder.com for the database.
Continue to visit http://katrina.petfinder.com for regular updates.
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I'm sure you have your own contacts and connections to keep up with this situation, but I wanted to fill in any gaps, just in case.
Next issue will come out the first week of October. Feel free to write with your questions, comments, suggestions, and contributions.
If you would like to review any past issues of this newsletter, they are available at:
https://www.ymlp.com/pubarchive.php?catsgalore
