Hurricane Katrina hit the Southern United
States hard this August (2006) and left a trail of devastation in her wake. Hundreds
of thousands of people were injured, left homeless and stranded on rooftops.
Buildings collapsed as the water levels rose and the levees could not
withstand the amount of water Katrina was raining down. A mandatory evacuation
was ordered and many fled with little belongings, most left their pets behind,
some had no means to escape with them. Dogs, cats, horses, birds and other
animals were left to fend for themselves against the wrath of Katrina. Some
perished desperately trying to find higher ground, but an amazing number of
animals survived the vicious hurricane. After the storm cleared the rescue
efforts began, searching for the lost and the dead, volunteers from all around
North America came to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Forgotten by some
and not considered worthy of rescue efforts by others, the animals had their
own saviours. Groups such as Noah's Wish, as well as individual groups and
citizens, dispatched to Louisiana to help rescue the animal victims of the
disaster.
In the aftermath of the hurricane, humans
aren't the only ones that desperately need help. Thousands of dogs, other
pets, and even wildlife are suffering and dying as each day goes by without
shelter, food and clean water. Many are injured and in need of immediate
veterinary care.
Noah's Wish is a not-for-profit
organization that works exclusively to rescue and shelter animals in disasters
is rescuing animals from evacuated homes in Slidell, Louisiana. The pets are
being housed at a temporary animal shelter and Noah's Wish is working with
Slidell Animal Control to coordinate the rescue of hundreds of abandoned and
stranded pets in the city of Slidell.
Jenn Wagnor, VP of Big Heart Rescue is a
Noah's Wish volunteer and Gail Moerkerken, President of Big Heart Rescue is
also a Noah's Wish BC/Canada Coordinator who worked for three weeks in
Slidell, LA.
Noah's Wish has 800 animals currently under
their care. They currently have a team of approximately 75 volunteers on site
which has included 4 BC coordinators and at least 5 volunteers who have come
from Canada with more Canadian volunteers due to arrive in the up coming
weeks.
All of the vet practices in Slidell are still
closed, with no indication of when they will open. One of the clinics was
severely damaged and will have to be demolished.
Medical needs the many volunteer vets and vet
technicians have treated so far include: dogs and cats with severe
dehydration, mange, broken limbs, kidney failure, heat exhaustion, loose
stool, vomiting, flea infestation, chemical burns and emaciation. As of
September 19th Noah's Wish had transferred 18 critical care dogs and cats to
the LA State Veterinary Hospital for treatment and no animal under the care of
Noah's Wish will be euthanized due to vetting costs.
Feeding stations for feral and domestic cats
have been established throughout the Slidell area and domestic cats are being
live trapped by Noah's Wish volunteers and various other cat rescue
organizations.
There are now over 50 dog runs set up in the
back of their shelter under tents. They are still finding animals alive in
homes as they continue their rescue in the city of Slidell. Locked in the
laundry room of one house, a rescue team found an over-bred, emaciated pit
bull mix huddled between a tipped over washer and dryer. The house had almost
6 feet of water in it. There are dogs that are seen on the streets, as time
goes on, they are beginning to get hungry enough to start coming closer.
Volunteers have been doing food, water and pet
supply distribution throughout the city. Supplies of pet food are slim to none
in stores that are open, and many people are finding their food is destroyed
by flood water. Additionally, team members will be making arrangements for
foster care for pets that are not able to go home in the near future.
Fostering is going to be done as locally as possible, because they want the
pets to stay close by their humans. They need each other right now. In some
cases, the pets are the only thing the families have left other than their own
lives.
Please go to http://www.noahswish.org
and send any donation amount that you can afford. It all helps.
If you have a highspeed
internet connection then you might be interested in these two video links:
Video of Gail Moerkerken in Slidell:
http://be-interactive.com/client_view/NoahsWish/slidell_webclips/Checkup_W.mpg
Video of a
song about Louisiana:
http://hartwell.tv/video/Katrina.wmv
