Q: I understand that a team from your organization just returned from New Orleans with some rescued animals. What is the situation like there for animals these days?
A: Two years ago the WARL animal rescue team I led was one of the first out-of-state agencies to respond to the hurricane. We set up the first veterinary triage center in New Orleans and rescued over 1,000 animals stranded on rooftops, marooned by flood waters, and trapped in abandoned homes.
Since then, WARL has transferred over 300 animals from overcrowded and under-resourced Gulf Coast shelters to our Washington, DC facility. These days, few if any of the major animal rescue groups are still involved in that region. But WARL is committed to continuing giving what assistance we can. I went back to New Orleans in August of this year, and for animals, the situation is just as bad, and maybe worse, than it ever was.
On a tour of one rural Louisiana shelter the director told me about the problems they currently face. For one, Katrina left large numbers of animals homeless on the streets and in the parks. They are producing multiple post-Katrina generations of homeless animals. Others are turned in by people who are still struggling to rebuild their lives and cannot manage to make ends meet. As for adopters, the director told me that there is almost no one there who is in any position to adopt.
That particular shelter takes in as many as 80 animals every day.
When we left, we brought back as many animals as we could on our two rescue vans—63dogs and 26 cats. Most of them were on the euthanasia list for that day.
All 22 of the newly arrived puppies had parvovirus, a disease that is invariably fatal if not treated immediately and aggressively. All 26 of the cats had ringworm. Ten of the adult dogs tested positive for heartworm. One had a broken leg.
This was not a total surprise. Many of the animals we have brought up from the Gulf Coast over the past two years have been sick and injured. But to have over half of 90 animals in a transport require hospitalization and major medical treatment is an indicator of just how much more dire the post-Katrina situation has become for animals.
We don’t for a moment regret having rescued these animals. Until the Katrina crisis is truly over, WARL will be assisting our Gulf Coast partners and the animals who still need us. But this last trip is really stretching our resources, so we are actively collecting donations to cover the expenses.
You can learn more about our organization and recent rescue efforts in Louisiana by watching these videos:
Thanks for your question and for caring about the animals,
Scotlund