Hurricane Katrina Rescue Diary
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September
01, 2005 |
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Thursday,
September 01, 2005
From
Linda Campbell,
Licensed Veterinary
Technician and
Humane Society
of Missouri director
of Programs
A middle-aged woman, and her young, adult son came to the staging
area (Jackson, MI) and began pulling out small dogs (Maltese, Toy
Poodles) to take them to the shelter areas. We went to assist
because the dogs looked overheated. We were helping to get
the animals in. These people and animals had weathered the
storm in Gulfport. They were running out of everything due
to the flooding situation. They could not leave their animals
behind. They also had two Sharpei dogs and three cats that
had been left behind in Gulfport. The mother and son had
driven all night long to get to Jackson to bring the dogs to shelter. They
then planned to turn around and drive back to get the other animals. They
were extremely concerned about leaving the animals behind and very
anxious to get on the road.
They had brought chew bones with them, but had no pet food. We talked
to them, and the son said he had waited in line for seven hours for gas. They
also experienced a car-jacking attempt. We gave them Purina One to feed
their dogs while they were here and let them charge their phone on our charger. They
got something to eat and hugged all of us. Everyone was crying and they
were extremely thankful. They got into their little yellow car to try
to pick up the other two dogs and three cats. They had a half tank of
gas. Total chaos, gas lines, finding ice is impossible, police presence
in the gas stations that do have gas. The police are conducting traffic. People
are siphoning gas from tanks.
There are 500 to 600 people in the convention center in Jackson. The
young man is leaving now to pick up their dogs. They just
didn’t have enough room in their car to bring all of the
animals at once. These people had no extra clothing, nothing. They
just wanted to get the animals to safety. Kennels along the
way couldn’t take any more animals.
Thursday, September 01,
2005
From Debbie Hill, Humane
Society of Missouri
director of Rescues & Investigations
The nearer we got to Jackson, Mississippi, the more unnerving
the situation became. There were long lines at every gas
station, many had no gas or were rationing it. We saw fist fights
as we passed one station. We are topping off every 50-100
miles. The availability of gas is going to be a continuing concern.
A trip to Wal-Mart to purchase provisions was somewhat surreal.
Everyone was quietly but intently lining up to buy water, canned
food, etc. All of those things were piled up at the front of the
store.
We arrived at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson just
after midnight. Normally the venue for the Mississippi State
Fair, concerts and Disney on Ice, the Coliseum has become home
to several thousand people and pets fleeing the hurricane-ravaged
area.
After finding where we should park and setting up, we finally
got to sleep around 2:30 a.m. Four hours later we were up and working
with authorities to determine next steps.
There are lots of people and their pets here. A lot of them are
scared and hovering on the edge of survival. Right now sanitation
and food supplies seem to be OK.
Tim Rickey (Humane Society of Missouri Assistant Director of
Rescues and Investigations), is doing an assessment with HSUS (Humane
Society of United States) and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management
Agency) to decide how to go on from this point. The rest of us
have some time to organize this location and talk with rescuers
from other humane organizations.
There is some discussion of moving all of us to Biloxi or Hattiesburg
to be closer to the situation.
At this point, the Humane Society of Missouri definitely has
the largest presence of any animal welfare group here. Our animal
rescue vehicle is going to be in demand. In addition to HSUS,
who arrived midday yesterday, other groups here include the American
Humane Association, Days End Farm Horse Rescue from Maryland and
some small shelter groups from Mississippi who were fleeing the
storm.
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by the Humane Society of Missouri. |
