Hurricane Katrina Rescue Diary cont.

Sunday, November 20, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations


The team made their way back to St. Louis on Sunday night and brought a few dogs back with them from New Orleans. One of the dogs already has a possible owner and may get to go back home.

Bailey escorts one of the rescued dogs from New Orleans to the Humane Society of Missouri.

 

Friday, November 18, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations
The rescue team split up for most of their last day in New Orleans. Bailey went out with a few officers from Nebraska while Rickey trained the staff at the shelter on how to handle an agressive animal. Bailey responded to a call from a woman who reported a stray cat in her bathroom. When Bailey arrived, she found a dead cat in the bathroom along with a badly wounded cat. She was unsure about the cause of death, but it appeared the cats may have been fighting. Bailey was able to recover the wounded cat and bring her to the shelter for medical care.

Then, Bailey and Rickey met up to go out on a call from a neighbor of dog owner who had abandoned the house. The neighbor had been leaving food for the two dogs, and realized that the owners were not coming back. One of the dogs, a chow, came out of the house willingly. But the other dog hid under the house and the team had to crawl under there and pull him out.

They depart tomorrow morning, and will bring three, possibly four, rescued dogs and possibly one rescued cat back to St. Louis.

Thursday, November 17, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations

The team pulled more traps today and ran calls in the morning. They were able to capture the last dog of a pack that they have been working on since they arrived. When they found the dog, a thin Sheppard mix, in the trap,  she was frightened at first. In order to calm her down and reassure her that she was safe, Tim crawled inside the trap with her. By the time they brought her out she was wagging her tail, and behaving in a friendly manner. The rest of the afternoon the team spent time in the shelter training staff.

Tomorrow will be their final day in Louisiana. Rickey and Bailey are scheduled to depart New Orleans on Saturday, stop over in Arkansas that evening, and arrive in St. Louis on Sunday.

Tim coaxes a rescued dog from a trap.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations

Bailey ran a few traps with LA/SPCA officers who she is training. They responded to calls of loose animals. Half of their day was spent picking up animals and the rest of the day, they dedicated to training. Bailey trained the officers in animal handling techniques including how to properly leash an animal, use a muzzle and carry and restrain animals.

Today was the last day the assessment group will go out in the field. In the evening, Rickey participated in a two and a half hour assessment team debriefing.  The group concluded that thousands of animals are still running loose in New Orleans. Most of animals they are seeing are in fairly good health.  They attribute this to the rescue groups’ feeding stations and food set out by residents and workers.  A concern remains that outside groups not working in this coordinated effort may result in animals never being reunited with their owners.

As a result of the assessment team discussion, a new rescue plan will be formulated. HSUS has agreed to provide funds for a concentrated animal rescue effort in New Orleans. Over a period of six weeks, the team will grid the area and 6-10 animal control trained people will work a large number of traps in one concentrated section until they have exhausted their efforts. Then, they will move on to each identified area until they’ve completed a comprehensive search and rescue. In the meantime, extra volunteers will supply food in the areas that the team is not concentrating on so animals will have access to food until the team arrives. The LA/SPCA plans to issue a press release tomorrow that will address the details of this next animal rescue mission.  The new rescue team has not been assembled, yet.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations
Rickey went out with the assessment team at dawn. They did not see very many animals. The people in the area report that they are seeing some animals, but not a large amount.

Bailey headed out with one of the LA/SPCA officers. Before they could get out to work the traps, they were delayed by a call about a loose cat. They tried to catch the cat, but they were unsuccessful. Then, they received a report that a dog was running down General De Gaul St., which is a high traffic street in New Orleans. The team was able to catch the dog, a Bichon, before she got hurt.

A LA/SPCA staff member cleans the cages at the temporary shelter

The team went on to assist an officer in the ninth ward who reported on a pack of dogs running loose in the cemetery. When they arrived, the dogs were weaving through the above ground vaults, and escaped from the rescue team. They will return to the area later and try to catch the six or eight dogs.

The injured dog that Rickey reported on a few days ago was able to be captured today. The dog has an injured leg, but it is still unclear whether it was a fight wound or if the dog was shot.

Tomorrow, Rickey will complete the two-day assessment and Bailey will work the traps.

Monday, November 14, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations

Tim Rickey has been invited to be a part of an assessment team that will evaluate the state-of-animals in the city. The assessment team is comprised of representatives of the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Best Friends Animal Society, American Humane Association, United Animal Nations and US Public Health Services.   

This team will conduct a two-day assessment beginning at dawn on Tuesday, November 15. They will drive through the city three times a day (early morning, mid-afternoon and late evening). They plan on getting a visual on when the animals are more prone to be active, and count how many animals they see. The team will also talk to people in the area and discuss what kind of problems they witness day-to-day, and what still needs to be done.

Rickey and Bailey worked the traps today with an LA/SPCA officer they were training. They picked up eight cats from the traps. Some of them were truly ferrel and some were displaced from their homes. One of the cats they caught was blind in one eye, which may have been caused by an injury that healed on its own. Perhaps the cat was injured during the flood. They also found one dead cat nearby. The cause of death is unknown.

Tomorrow, Bailey will continue to work with the shelter and the traps with the LA/SPCA officers and Rickey will go out with the assessment team.

Sunday, November 13, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations

The team went out on a few calls in the morning and during their search, they came across an injured dog that looked like he had been shot. Rickey reported that this was one of the most injured and unhealthy looking dogs he has seen on this trip. He worked with the dog for about 20 minutes, but the dog would not come to him. They set a trap out for the dog hoping to catch him the next day.

By 1 p.m. a storm came through and they retreated to the shelter to work the rest of the day. The temporary shelter is missing part of its roof and it’s leaking in other parts. About 2 or 3 inches of water accumulated inside the shelter. During the downpour, the team evacuated the animals from shelter and moved them under tents temporarily.

A rescued dog receives care at the temporary shelter.

 

When it’s dry they plan on moving the animals back in. Later in the day, they had a meeting with the LA/SPCA staff to plan their training sessions so the new staff can gain experience in animal handling.

Saturday, November 12
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations

Today, the team came across an increased number of residents who were returning to salvage items from their homes and participate in the clean-up efforts. The people they encountered expressed their gratitude for their rescue efforts. They also provided leads on where to find animals. Later that day, Rickey and Bailey caught two dogs and seven cats in their traps.

Laura Maloney, executive director of LA/SPCA, was in the area with a film crew. She met briefly with Rickey to discuss how things were going and how many animals they were seeing. They also talked about an assessment team that the LA/SPCA was putting together to get a better sense of the current animal situation in New Orleans.  

Friday, November 11
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations

Rickey was able to gain access to an old LA/SPCA warehouse and recover some extra traps that the rescue team set out in the field. In total, they set 23 traps today.

The team retrieved two dogs, four cats, a raccoon and two opossums. One of the dogs they rescued was an injured pit bull who had an open wound on the jaw that was badly infected. They brought the dog back to the shelter for immediate medical care.

LA/SPCA are trying to find the owner of one of the rescued dogs who cam in with tags. This could be difficult since the owners are unlikely to still be in the area and the dog’s veterinarian probably evacuated as well.

There are still no residents returning to their homes. The other people in the area are mainly construction workers and clean up crews. During a conversation with our rescue team, the construction workers admitted that they give half of their lunch to the animals when they see them coming through. 

A vet at the LA/SPCA shelter cares for the injured pit bull that Tim found in one of the traps.

A call came in today for a house search at the owner’s request. The owners thought their dog had been rescued but they’ve not been able to find him in any of the shelters. They wanted to make sure that the dog was not still in the house.

The team searched the house, which was very badly damaged. Furniture and other belongings were strewn about the house and mold covered the walls. They didn’t find the dog, but they set a trap in case he comes back.

The rescue team searched this badly damaged house for a missing pet.

Thursday, November 10, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations

Rickey and Bailey set out today to work the traps and, instead of finding dogs in their traps, they found cats and two opossums. Unfortunately, one of the cats had a mangled leg that appeared to be the result of a dog attack. The cat was turned into the temporary shelter for triage and treatment.

One of the calls they received from the dispatch was a homeowner who requested that they set cat traps around his house.

Christine and two LA/SPCA officers hold a few of the rescued puppies at the temporary shelter in Algiers.

Some of their cats were unaccounted for and they needed assistance in locating them. Bailey and Rickey were able to set the traps, retrieve two cats and return them to their owners.

They also assisted one of the LA/SPCA officers with a couple of Great Danes who were initially aggressive but, after some coaxing, were able to be calmed and walked out on leashes.

The team has access to food provided by FEMA, and they have showers, although it’s mostly cold water. Tomorrow they will answer more calls and work the traps again.  

Wednesday, November 9, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations

Rickey and Bailey started out on their own at 7 a.m. in the morning. They began checking traps that were set the previous day and responded to calls that were dispatched from the temporary shelter. From the traps, they caught six dogs including a Boxer, St. Bernard, Chow, Rottweiler, Terrier, Pit Bull with possibly some fight scars, a cat and an Armadillo. A few of the dogs looked pretty thin, although others looked fairly healthy, which led the rescue team to believe they had found a food and water source.

Christine rescues this lucky dog that was caught by one of the humane traps the team had set the previous day.

The cat was a little disturbed by being trapped, but he appeared healthy otherwise. And the team was able to release the Armadillo back into his habitat

While they were out working in the field, Rickey and Bailey also received calls through the shelter's dispatch unit. One call came in from an insurance adjuster who had been in to check on a home. He reported on a very large fish that appeared to be in danger of dying. The team went to the home and retrieved the fish.

They are also touching base with National Guard who are still patrolling the area and reporting on packs of dogs. Rickey and Bailey continue to investigate these reports and the LA/SPCA officers and the team from Nebraska are doing the same.

Tuesday, November 8, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues and Investigations

The four dogs were reunited with their owners by 9:30 a.m. Tank, English bulldog, and Dawg, Lab/Great Dane mix, were ecstatic to see their owners. Tails were wagging and the owners were just as excited to have their animals back.

Rickey, Bailey and the LA/SPCA officers then headed out to search the area around East Algiers Parish, an area that was heavily flooded for a long period of time. It has no utilities and remains unoccupied. Houses are so damaged that they can not be salvaged.

Rickey and Bailey set up humane traps with the expectation that they would go out on their own the following day to work the traps.

Tim Rickey reunites Tank with his owner and offers her a gift basket and a bag of Purina One.

During their search, they picked up a Sheppard mix and her four puppies. The mother was very thin and she had been caring for her puppies under an abandoned house for over a week. The team was able to rescue them and bring them to the temporary shelter in Algiers.

There are currently 150 animals at the temporary shelter in Algiers along with five LA/SPCA field officers. In addition to the Humane Society of Missouri, one unit from Nebraska traveled to New Orleans to help with the rescues. 

Christine reunites Dawg with his owner.

Humane Society of Missouri Rescue Team Called Back to New Orleans
to Assist Shelter in Rebuilding Animal Control Operations
Rescue Team will Reunite Dogs Rescued from Hurricane Katrina with Owners

Rickey and Bailey pause for a photo before they depart from HSMO headquarters.

November 7, 2005 - Two members of the Humane Society of Missouri’s Disaster Response Team, Tim Rickey, Assistant Director of Rescue and Investigations and Christine Bailey, Humane Officer departed for a ten-day trip to New Orleans at the request of the Louisiana SPCA to assist the organization in continuing animal search and rescue operations.

They also have been asked to provide shelter operation expertise to help rebuild the shelter which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. More than 95 percent of the LA/SPCA staff lost everything in the hurricane and 90 percent of the shelter staff have been unable to return to work.

The LA/SPCA currently is working out of a temporary animal shelter in a converted warehouse in Algiers Parish, in New Orleans. In addition to their primary task of helping rebuild the Louisiana animal control operation, the Humane Society of Missouri team also reunited four dogs rescued after Hurricane Katrina with their owners. 

Sparky and Jake, four-year-old male Beagles along with Tank, a three-year-old male English bulldog,and Dawg arrived in St. Louis after the hurricane. After many phone calls, the Humane Society of Missouri staff was able to contact their owners. All four dogs will be reunited with their owners today in New Orleans.

Sparky, Jake, Tank and Dawg are on board and ready to
see their owners again.

The team arrived in New Orleans on Monday night at 8:30 p.m. at a
temporary shelter in Algiers. They made contact with owners of the four dogs, and made arrangements for them to be picked up tomorrow.  They had dinner and then headed to the trailer to sleep and prepare for the next day.