CHAPTER FIVE
Written by Marti
October 23, 2005
HOW THE OPERATION WORKED
The rescue & temporary shelter we chose as our base comprised, I would guess, approximately 90% rescue workers and 10% shelter workers. We were primarily interested in the shelter work because it seemed the best venue for pretty-experienced handler/trainers and because I'm a wuss who can take anything if it will help a live animal but don't do well with dead animals, which, six weeks after the hurricane, rescuers breaking into houses encountered on a daily basis. During our stay, one of the rescuers also found human bodies in a house.
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INTAKE
The Intake Desk, staffed by Tom & Cheri . . .
. . . two individuals who were unfailingly kind, helpful & even-tempered
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Even six to seven weeks after Katrina, the volume of dogs & cats coming through the Winn-Dixie site was huge. Almost every day shelters or rescue groups from around the country arrived and transported animals out of our tent shelters and every day without fail more animals were brought in by the people who trapped and caught strays & rescued animals clinging to life in or under houses. Every other day or so an animal came in as an owner surrender, perhaps because there were no more emotional or financial resources left to care for a pet.
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NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE
The North Shore Animal League bus comes to take animals to New York
[The animals portrayed on the bus are from the cartoon strip, MUTTS, by Patrick McDonnell - ad]
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Most of the outgoing animals went to a huge operation in Tylertown, Mississippi which has become the primary housing for the four-legged homeless. If an animal had been rescued from inside a specific address and could definitely be identified as a pet of that address, it was eligible to go to the Noah's Wish shelter in Slidell. Only one or two went to NW early in the week but I hoped for another so I could attach a note to the other Airedale volunteers there [Lori, Cindy & Ranette] - sort of like throwing a message in a bottle into the ocean.
CONTINUE WITH
IN THE EYE OF THE STORM:
KATRINA "A-TEAM" TRIP HERE