Hurricane Katrina Rescue Diary

	September 10, 2005

Saturday, September 10, 2005
From Debbie Hill, director of Rescues & Investigations

We returned to hard-hit Hancock County (Waveland/Bay St. Louis area) and assisted an animal control officer. The local animal control agency is receiving calls from residents who fled the area but left their pets behind, and are calling to ask someone to rescue the abandoned pets. One such rescue involved a Pug, a Boston Terrier mom-dog and six Boston-Pug mix pups. 

Brandy, Carmen John, Brian and Debbie

Another call came from a resident who said she fled the storm and would not be returning; she wanted her two dogs rescued and a good adoptive home found for them. We went to her house and brought out a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix and a tiny Chihuahua named Killer.

The rest of the day was spent going house-to-house, street by street in the county. There aren’t a lot of people here and there’s no phone service, so we’re getting reports from the few people we see or else we encounter the animals on our own. 

We herded four lost domestic geese to safety and came across a dog hiding underneath a modular home. The house had been torn off its foundation by the storm and was sitting catawampus on the ground. The dog was scared and thin and was suffering from skin and eye problems. It took 30 minutes of talking to him and showing him food and water before he trusted me enough that I could get a leash on him.

Behind that house, there was a house with a pit bull staked out on a chain with food, but no water. Two other pit bulls were running loose. While we were rescuing those dogs, a little schnoodle came walking up to us, so we got her, too.

Later we were stopped by a Bay St. Louis police officer at the Emergency Operations Center. His house had been damaged, so he needs to relocate, plus he’s been working 20-hour days and can not take care of his dogs. He asked us if we would find temporary foster care for them.

Veterinary Technician Linda tends to a rescued pup.

Robb and rescued Tortie friend

Kyle herds lost domestic geese to safety.