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Local animal shelters open doors for furry Hurricane Katrina victims
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| by MICHELLE WALLS, Up & Coming Weekly, September 21-27, 2005 |
September 21, 2005 |
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When Hurricane Katrina washed over parts of Louisiana and Mississippi, thousands of people lost their homes. The news showed pictures of confused and lost people who had no place to go because their homes were either under water or completely left in rubble. However, when the citizens of the hurricane-affected areas left their homes, they left behind more than just their belongings. They left behind their pets.
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These family members were not allowed to accompany their owners to the numerous shelters set up, and instead were left behind to fend for themselves, drinking contaminated water and scratching up whatever seemed edible.
The first priority for rescue workers was, of course, the people. Now, rescue operations are focusing on those hurricane victims who cannot speak for themselves. Local humane societies and animal rescues have been working around the clock to round up and help the four-legged victims of Hurricane Katrina and rescue organizations from other states are helping out. North Carolina is no different.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) - which is out of California, but has strong ties to Sanford - has already sent out RVs with generators supplied with about 100 crates and other miscellaneous supplies that were previously donated. ALDF volunteers have generously pitched in to help both financially and with much-needed manpower. These volunteers are long-time volunteers with ALDF who have extensive experience in animal rescue and handling.
Heading the rescue efforts are veterinarians Dr. Laureen Bartfield and Dr. Kelli Ferris. Bartfield is the primary veterinarian volunteer at ALDF. Bartfield runs the SNAP (Spay-Neuter Assistance Program) in Sanford. SNAP is a mobile unit that provides low-cost spaying and neutering services. Ferris is part of the North Carolina State University veterinarian school and the animal cruelty investigator for Lee County. She is also part of the state animal response team and has invaluable experience working with disaster response after having performed similar tasks following Hurricane Floyd.
In a recent email sent to ALDF members, Bartfield commented:
"First, let me say that the situation is very bad and for those animals not yet rescued, it will continue to get worse. Like with the people, rescue will likely stop soon and it will be a recovery mission only. ... There will be many sad stories that you will hear and witness. You will cry often - both from good outcomes and bad.
"Not only were we able to perform some very needed veterinary care, we provided spay-neuter services at the St. Francis Sanctuary in order to allow some of the sanctuary residents to be adopted and make more room for the incoming rescues."
Volunteers have donated money to help with the expenses of driving to Louisiana and operating the response vehicles. The maintenance and operation of these vehicles is costly, especially given the high gas prices, and Bartfield has personally taken on the majority of the expenses incurred. Bartfield and Ferris will be at Louisiana State University to provide medical attention to those animals in need of emergency medical care as well as helping to clean and feed the animals brought in to their facilities.
ALDF does not have the facilities, nor the resources to accept any animals left homeless from Hurricane Katrina since the ALDF is only able to deal with animals involved in legal cases. Nevertheless, there is hope for the thousands of homeless hurricane animal victims.
Friends for life
The Friends for Life Animal Haven in Raeford is preparing for the influx of homeless dogs and cats from the Louisiana region. The Haven is arranging to send out vehicles with crates and other supplies to the region as well as volunteers who are prepared to stay in Louisiana and help out the local Humane and Rescue Societies already on the ground.
As soon as they round up unclaimed animals, the Haven is planning on bringing them back to their North Carolina facility where work has already begun to set up additional kennels.
"We assume that we will take in hundreds of animals," Linden Spear, founder of the Friends for Life Animal Haven, said.
Spear established Friends for Life Animal Haven nine years ago. While traveling to North Carolina cross-country from Wisconsin, Spear was overwhelmed by the large number of abandoned and stray animals she encountered. As a result of her compassion for lost and abandoned animals, Spear transformed her horse farm into North Carolina's largest no-kill animal shelter. Thanks to the size of her farm and the state's temperate climate, Spear is able to house thousands of animals in need of life-long homes. "The rescue operation (in Louisiana) has been worse for pets," said Spear, pointing out that Louisiana's problem does not only extend towards previously owned animals, but also the high number of homeless pets before Hurricane Katrina.
Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the Haven had disassembled their temporary kennels to begin constructing permanent shelter houses for local strays, as well as temporary homes for pets of deployed soldiers at Fort Bragg. Now with the prospect of taking in large numbers of homeless pets from Louisiana, those temporary kennels are being reassembled. With the help of donations and support from the local community and businesses, the Haven hopes to soon build more permanent housing for animals. This will also provide housing for local strays once homes have been found for Hurricane rescues animals.
The number of homeless animals is alarming and Spear asks that the local community help out as much as possible. "Everyone has something to contribute," she said. "What we need is to establish a compassionate coalition to build a strong safety net for the many homeless pets from not just the hurricane affected areas but also our local strays."
To find out more about the rescue efforts and how to contribute, go to Friends for Life Animal Haven at www.thehaven-nc.com or call 910-875-6768.
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©Up & Coming Magazine 2009
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