CHAPTER TWO

A Decision is made

Written by Marti
October 6, 2005

My tolerance for the "great unknowing" probably ran out before Joey's or Rickie's, so Monday, October 3, when Lamar Dixon or HSUS assured me they were removing animals from Gonzales even as we spoke, I really started hustling to explore the other animal rescue centers. There was an outfit in Gulfport I was really drawn to called Project Halo which operates a no-kill shelter in Charlotte. A friend just returned from their operation and was extremely positive about the whole experience. Best Friends, that cool place in Utah that's a HUGE no-kill shelter, is in Tylertown, Mississippi at St. Francis Sanctuary and doing amazing work as is a private Louisiana group on another site in the same town. And Muttshacks, an incredible but maybe a little stressful operation at Lake Castle high school in New Orléans. And I had names of others as well as several independent rescuers who are volunteering along the Gulf coast.

But the one place that kept cropping up and kind of calling to me is formally called Disaster Response Animal Rescue and informally is known as Winn Dixie.

It's right in New Orleans, in the parking lot of a once-flourishing Winn Dixie and it started by one man from Georgia, Mark Martin, who went down the Tuesday after Labor Day-- and he's still there along with maybe 50 other volunteers. I believe his family manages a Pet Supplies Plus in Athens, Georgia. His wife, Shannon, is the administrator of a website where people check in & out, from a variety of organizations.

They are still rescuing lots of animals every day. Everyone except Mark & his now co-administrator, Richard, does kennel work as well. They have no electricity but do have a generator. Have not had running water, but now they do but it's too foul to use for anything, even crate cleaning, because no one should get it on their banged-up hands. There are three port-a-johns and I have to buy some solar showers for us - these are four-gallon bags we warm in the sun and can hang up and "shower" behind tarps hung on dog runs . . . when it's our turn. There is a triage tent area for the vet techs, but serious vet work is done elsewhere. There's a "kitchen" tent area set up.

Animals are generally moved out to the St. Francis Sanctuary in Mississippi pretty quickly to make room for more "incoming," sort of like a M*A*S*H unit.

Someone is just arranging for the volunteers to get their first hot meals (two coming up in the next week). They haven't had coffee; one of my wonderful animal-loving neighbors got that word out and another neighbor immediately bought a 42-cup percolator as well as several huge cans of coffee for us to take along.

A doctor from Oschners is having a truck of water delivered to them. They have requested we bring any and all clean t- shirts we can beg, borrow or steal because they have to change so many times a day in order to stay even moderately filthy. But the thing that stands out the most is that they all seem so happy. They have a website with a message board and the "alumni" who have returned home are extremely devoted and laudatory of the operation - and willing to give guidance.

When I've heard their name mentioned, it's been positive. Today I heard from Best Friends and Pasado, the first of whom just took awhile getting back to me and the latter who now thinks they will be staying beyond October 15, and even though I was turning them down, they both thought very highly of Winn Dixie and congratulated us on going and our choice. So that helped to validate my gut feeling.

I asked one girl where she slept and she said, "Gee, I guess I just crashed in front of the crate of the dog I was most worried about!" But mostly people are in tents, so Rickie is borrowing one and I bought little pup tents for Joey & me. Rickie also has some sort of portable gazebo thing with screened sides, so we'll have a no-bug place to sit down to eat a handful of whatever.

This is certainly rougher than I bargained for, but I'm oddly psyched & excited. If it's too rough for women "of a certain age", we can join the other Airedalers in Slidell (I think they even have indoor sleeping & plumbing!), or take up one of the other places on their invitation. But if we really respect it, can hold up, and love the work, we now have the ability to stay ten days thanks to being able to start out early.

So that's our story as of tonight! Joey, Rickie & I will be living in the parking lot of the Winn Dixie store at 4600 Chef Menteur Highway, New Orleans, Louisiana. I am very much looking forward to getting my arms around some fur that hasn't had a hug in a long while.

CONTINUE WITH
IN THE EYE OF THE STORM:
KATRINA "A-TEAM" TRIP HERE