I'm going to post this in a couple of places in hopes that all you animal lovers see this:
Subject: Hurricaine Katrina and the Pets of New Orleans
Hi All,
Sorry to pull the pet heart strings, but here goes.
Animal rescue workers are fighting against the clock right now in Louisiana. FEMA would not allow people to take their pets with them when they evacuated, so hurricane victims had to make the choice between leaving New Orleans and staying with their animals. The Humane Society workers are going door to door and rescuing animals that have been stranded there who will slowly die of starvation and dehydration unless someone comes to their rescue. They are coming upon shelters where dogs have struggled to keep their heads above standing water for a week as they fight for life. It would be heartless to turn our backs now on those who are always so generous to us with their trust and their love.
The Mayor of New Orleans has called for the immediate evacuation of the city, including animal rescue workers. Thousands of thousands of pets who have managed to tough it out this long will die if this happens, and the people who have gone through so much will never see their beloved family members again. Not only will it be a great tragedy, it seems incredibly shortsighted -- thousands of dead animals will only create more health hazards for an already devastated city.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Please consider making a contribution to the Humane Society, who desperately need every dime and every resource they can in the time they have left.
Humane Society donation page:
https://secure.hsus.org/01/disaster_relief_fund_2005?
2. Contact FEMA. Up until now rescue workers have not been able to evacuate pets when they find them. They are considering changing that policy, I just got off the phone with them and they said they will announce their decision soon on their website. Their phone number is 202-646-3900, and their email is
[email protected].
3. Sign a petition to the Mayor of New Orleans, asking him not to close the city down to animal rescue workers until the animals have been rescued as well.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/840979272
4. Please forward this email to anyone you can think of who cares about animal welfare, and the welfare of pet owners in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. And maybe even a few who don't. Who know? Can't hurt.
For myself, I think most of you who know me know that I could get through anything with my dogs by my side, but losing them would be more than I could take. Please help in any way you can. I will be posting updates on my blog at
http://firedoglake.blogspot.com.
Thanks so much for your help.
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Disaster Update: HSUS teams race to save animals From: "HSUS Disaster Center" <
[email protected]> Date: Thu, September 08, 2005 11:37 am
HSUS President & CEO Wayne Pacelle
Dear xxx,
After initially being blocked from entering the most devastated areas in Louisiana and Mississippi, HSUS Disaster Animal Response Teams (DART) have been working around the clock to help save stranded and sick animals. What we are finding is truly heartbreaking ; animals trapped in flooded houses, caregivers wandering the streets desperately searching for their beloved pets, and nearly destroyed animal shelters where the surviving animals have spent days keeping their heads above water in their cages. But this is why we are here and why we are counting on our supporters to help spread the word about our disaster efforts on the Gulf Coast.
Block after block, our teams are entering homes and apartments, sometimes forced to break into them, searching for stranded animals. Yesterday in Mississippi, one of our DART teams rescued a dog who had been washed into someone's attic; the storm surge had stranded the animal. The woman who owned the house was elderly; she had slipped some food and water into the attic for the dog, but hadn't been able to go upstairs to carry him out.
We are finding and rescuing more animals as each hour passes - more than a thousand so far - but with many more thousands needing our help. In the past two days, we've focused on these activities:
+ Marshalling all of our resources to provide relief for these animals. We have 125 people and 39 support vehicles in Louisiana.