[ SHOWGSD-L ] Update on Activity at LSU

  • From: BJBuie@xxxxxxx
  • To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 16:08:05 EDT

Cross Posted with Permission from a friend on the Pembroke Welsh Corgi show 
list:


Deare Friends, For the last couple of days, I've spent some time at the LSU 
Katrina Hotline on campus. Most call were from stressed, displaced New Orleans 
college students who are trying to get into LSU. Many were calling from 
faraway states where they'd evacuated to figure out what to do next. The 
University's doing everything it can to accommodate these students and help 
them with the 
transition. (I hope the housing can be worked out.) Our city of Baton Rouge 
has had a population exploitation as you know. Housing is quite a commodity. We 
also received many calls from concerned, stressed parents. They watched the 
tv coverage, heard the rumours, and could not get through to their kid's cell 
phones. One parent was under the impression feral dogs were running on the 
campus, gunmen were shooting looters, car jacks were occurring, and criminal 
elements were being housed in dorms. We assured them none of this was the case. 
And 
there the whiners-those upset that the football game was cancelled, or the 
traffic was too difficult, or that that their favorite yogurt was sold out. I 
wanted to tell them to take the first two fingers of their right hand and press 
them on the inside of their left wrist. If they feel a pulse, that means they 
are luckier than several thousand other people. Use your hands and your heart 
and help somebody. Confined in the answering room, we watched too much 
hurricane coverage and debated over who was responsible for the morally 
reprehensible 
failure to protect our fellow citizens. I wanted to throttle Hiraldo, shoot 
Michael "Brownie" Brown, show Michael Chertoff a map of Louisiana (with New 
Orleans highlighted of course), and fire ALL our so-called leaders. The only 
one 
worth anything is Lt. General Honore who is having to make-up for all the 
massive bureaucratic incompetence. But don't get me started. And then CNN went 
from the dead in the city, the dying in Baton Rouge, and the morgue somewhere 
in 
between. I had no word if animals were allowed yet to be rescued, or when all 
the people would be evacuated. I consumed a bag of chocolate chip cookies and 
went to the barn and my therapy horse. 
This evening totally lifted my spirits. A friend and I drove out to the 
Lamar-Dixon shelter loaded down with dog, cat, and horse supplies shipped to me 
by 
Sarah Spalding of Reno, Nevada; Debbie Marheineke of Rogers, Arkansas; and 
Harriett Jeannette of Weatherford, Texas. THANK YOU!!! 
We were completely overwhelmed by the operation at this shelter (really a 
big, open horse barn) which had transformed since my last visit Saturday. 
Lamar-Dixon had had a population explosion of its own. The rescue operation is 
technically run by the Louisiana SPCA but the Humane Society of the U.S. was 
there 
in full force. The two heads of these organizations, Laura Malanoy (LA SPCA) 
and Lou Guiton (HSUS) actually "co-chair" so that one can be away and share 
what 
is an extremely big job. 

Four search and rescue volunteers were there from the Oregon Humane Society 
working under HSUS. LA SPCA, and other state agencies were also participating. 
I spoke with Randy Covey (OHS) who explained how these highly trained teams 
work. Most had arrived Monday evening and began rescuing animals Tuesday. 
Volunteers like Scott Wilson (HSUS) from Iowa, serve as "traffic managers" 
directing 
pairs of rescuers to locations in the city where people have left their pets. 
New pet information is constantly coming in so Scott must "triage" rescues. 
How does one go to a foreign city and figure this out? He even had trouble even 
pronouncing our unique street names..."Where did you guys get a name like 
Tchopitoulas?" The entire crew works as quickly as possible covering roughly 8 
square block sections per day. And the animals are being saved. Hundreds of 
them. Today alone the very exhausted and hoarse HSUS regional director, Lou 
Guiton, said about 300 dogs, cats, birds, iguanas, and hamsters were 
transported to 
the shelter. 
Lynn and Ginger Morvant, who I'm friends with in the "horse world," have 
remained in the disaster area, allowing their store, Jefferson Feeds, to be 
used 
as a staging area for the rescue work. This wonderful generosity allows the 
officers to remain in the Orleans Area longer before having to transport the 
found animals back to the temporary shelter in Gonzales. 
There are a few numbers and web sites out there for lost pets... If you or 
someone you know, has a pet that needs rescuing, call toll-free 888-773-6489 
between 8:00 am and 6:00pm; or e-mail Katrina@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to leave 
information about the number of animals, species, and their confined location. 

Every single animal is carefully handled, checked in, "papered," washed, 
examined by a Veterinary Medical Assistance Team member (VMAT), before being 
crated and fed. I was so impressed with how well the system worked considering 
the 
intense noise and chaotic activity. Each person knew their job and did it 
thoroughly. Dawn (last name?), who had come over with 5 other members of the 
Humane Society of Broward County, Ft. Lauderdale, washed dogs continuously. My 
back 
hurt just watching her. She didn't complain. When I asked if an egg crate to 
sit on would help, she said, "yeah sure, that'd be good." Jenney Mitchel (LA 
SPCA) had been up and at it since the wee hours. I asked her how it was going. 
"Crazy. Really crazy. But we're getting the animals out." 
Over at the exotics area there was a little excitement going on. A colorful 
hamster cage had been brought in but they couldn't find the hamster. Richard 
Farinato, a HSUS wildlife rehabilitation specialist was looking all over, 
thinking the little creature had escaped. "Go look in the truck." Twenty 
minutes 
Farinato and others looked for the hamster until someone realized it was curled 
inside a cage toy, dead. Probably in panic and certainly with good intentions, 
a neighbor had put all the animals in the back yard. The hamster did not 
survive but the dogs did. Laura Malany, an LA SPCA worker, brought over the 
hamster's paperwork and all details were precisely noted on the form. It's 
owner, no 
doubt a child, would want to know. 

The VMAT team members were extremely efficient. As I understood it, they were 
brought in by FEMA to triage and treat incoming animals. Normally one VMAT 
team works a disaster. But Katrina is far from a normal disaster. All 4 VMAT 
teams were deployed...2 in Louisiana, 1 in Mississippi, and 1 in Alabama- 
completely unprecedented. I spoke with Dr. Laura Rand who had high praise for 
the 
rescue organization and especially for LSU and the hospitality she and her team 
have received. Like many other experienced rescuers, Dr. Rand believes this 
work is important, not only to save the lives of innocent animals, but to help 
victims of catastrophic events. "For so many, their animals are all they have 
left. It's a comfort when your world has unravelled." When an evacuee and his 
Husky became separated, Rand walked all over to reunite the dog with his owner. 
The owner cried and the big dog just wagged his tail. It mattered. Actually, 
rescuing people AND their pets makes sense as many will return to their home, 
no matter how dangerous, to retrieve an animal, often causing complications for 
the rescue crews. I was told off the record that Lt. General Honore, 
commander of the National Guard, was working with the animal rescue crews. I 
wondered 
what happens when the animal rescuers find a person to rescue. "We call the 
Guard and it all works out. We're not equipped to take the people just as 
perhaps the Guard is not equipped to take the animals." 

Typically VMAT comes equipped with a hospital tent where surgeries may be 
performed. But FEMA is late with the tent so animals needing this kind of 
medical 
attention are sent to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. The "pharmacy" 
is set up in one of the metal horse stalls. Most of the animals coming in so 
far have been ok, especially if the owner left plenty of water and food-water 
being the most critical. 

One rescuer commented that the trees in New Orleans were filled with 
parrots...either released by their owners or escapees in the storm. My friend, 
a huge 
bird lover, began to cry. "Don't start! You're going make me cry too. Then 
we'll both be embarrassed." No one there was crying. They were working too hard 
for too many hours. They didn't have time. 

Like the New Orleans Police force, many of the city's SPCA workers had lost 
their homes and more. Their headquarters in New Orleans, including server, 
computers, and clinic supplies were all destroyed. (Thanks to the incredible 
generosity of the animal shelters in Houston, Baton Rouge, and Jackson, 
Mississippi, the animals in their care were able to be evacuated before the 
storm hit.) 
Like so many policeman, they continue to work. Since the beginning, Katrina, 
has made the clock a fearful thing, and no one knows this better than the 
rescuers. 

So what I want you all to know is that there are many remarkable, talented 
people, from all over the country, working together-under the most difficult 
conditions-to save animals. Finally! How many? By end of day Thursday, 
volunteers 
expect to house over a 1,000 rescued pets at the Lamar-Dixon center alone. 
Your generous contributions are helping. 
I still want to throttle bureaucrats but that's another email. 

veni 
* I will continue to follow the relief efforts and post info to the Katrina 
Animal Relief Yahoo list. To subscribe, send an email to: 
KatrinaAnimalReliefLA-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
* I will also continue to post to the Katrina Animals photo album as time 
allows. Visit http://veni.smugmug.com/gallery/780837. 
Yes, I'm plugging these organizations today! Support and THANK them... They 
deserve it. 
LSU SVM http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu 
LA SPCA http://www.la-spca.org 
HSUS http://www.hsus.org 
VMAT http://www.vmat.org 
Oregon Humane Society http://www.oregonhumane.org 
Humane Society of Brovard County http://www.browardhumane.com 
LVMA http://www.lvma.org

Joan Adams
Llys Draig Corgis
Downsville, Louisiana


Posted by Betty  Joanne Johnson
                Tintagel


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