MuttShack Animal Rescue Roseville Man Rescues Post Katrina Pets

Allison and I joined other volunteers at Muttshack Rescue, set up in New Orleans in a small private school. There is a large building that functions as a gymnasium for the school, but is now housing rows of large crates where the healthy rescued dogs are kept. Right across the street from the school grounds is a levy and Lake Ponchartrain. The levy provided us with a very pleasant dog-walking route with a cool breeze coming off the lake. You could see someone with a dog up there silhouetted against the sky at almost any hour of the day.

Another building that consists of four classrooms is being used for supplies and two vet clinics. The vet rooms are filled with cages and medical supplies and a school table used as an exam table. I`m a veterinary technician, and at the time we were there, techs were in short supply, so I was kept pretty busy. Rescue teams came in throughout the day with new animals in need of medical care. Needs ranged from a general check-up and vaccinations to major medical problems. It had been more than 6 weeks since the hurricane and flooding, and many of the animals coming in were in much worse condition than the majority of those I had seen on my first trip.

One of our cases was a beautiful young German Shepherd Dog who was found covered in a dark, oily, toxic substance. She was emaciated, having lost about half her body weight, and severely dehydrated. She had a very pronounced head-tilt, which is a sign of neurological damage, and could not even stand. After a de-tox bath, IV fluids and medication, she began to show signs of improvement. Over the next several days she responded well to treatment and regained her balance and her ability to walk. Although she still had an obvious head-tilt, she was improving and could walk without falling over.

Her owners had given her up to Muttshack because of her condition, and she quickly became a favorite of all the volunteers who encountered her. Especially a volunteer named Terry. Terry named the shepherd Katy, adopted her and took her home with her to West Virginia. Katy is a very lucky girl and couldn`t be loved more!

There were many other cases of reactions to toxins. A cocker spaniel was brought in near death, and was not expected to survive. After being cleaned up and treated, he surprised and delighted everyone by bouncing back very quickly. Another dog`s skin was so painful that she couldn`t be touched or treated without being sedated. She seemed to be improving when I left.

We had several chows who had been caught under a house where they had been living since the storm. They were exposed to toxins that were present from the time the flood waters receded six weeks before. We had to shave them down, as their heavy coats were matted with hard, dried material and their skin was covered with dry, silty dust. The dog`s eyesight had been damaged, and their lungs were affected, too. They had not made much progress by the time I left.

The night before we headed home, I assisted in emergency surgery on a pit bull who was found earlier that day. He had been tied to a kitchen table in his home for over six weeks. During that time he twisted the leash so tightly that it in turn, began twisting the belt that had been used as a collar around his neck. The more he twisted it, the more the large belt buckle cut into his throat, until it was laid open almost ear to ear. When he was found, the collar was about one more twist away from cutting through the dog`s carotid artery, which would have caused him to bleed to death.

After 6 weeks without food and water, we could see every bone in the pit bull`s body, and he was very dehydrated. But, as he stood in his crate with a gaping wound in his neck and his bones jutting out, he happily wagged his tail as he focused all his attention on catching the fly that buzzed in and out of the crate. His resilient spirit was amazing to see.

The wound had surprisingly clean edges, and we were able to stitch him up. He came through the surgery well, and the next morning I was very happy to give him the first meal he`d had in over six weeks!

Many cats were being trapped and brought in, too. There are a lot of feral cats, but many pet cats are being found, as well. The cats that are outside are doing fairly well if they are in an area where there are regular food and water drops. Allison and I accompanied another volunteer on a late night food and water run. We drove through neighborhoods leaving dry and canned food and bowls and pans of water in areas where cats had been spotted recently. It was very eerie walking through dark, silent, deserted, debris-strewn neighborhoods until three o`clock in the morning. We never saw another person, or any lights except for the occasional passing police car. We managed to trap two cats before we finally called it a night.

A very sad fact is that there are still many pets trapped in houses where no one has come back. Some people are beginning to return to some areas of New Orleans to clean up and salvage what they can of their homes and belongings. Hopefully, more animals will be found and claimed by their owners. However, I`m afraid the vast majority will remain unclaimed

Allison and I spent one afternoon loading and transporting 23 animals in two vans to the airport for their flight to a sanctuary in New York with one of the volunteers. Most of the dogs and cats, as well as many of the smaller animals and exotics, are being flown to shelters and sanctuaries all over the country. Others are being fostered by individuals and rescue groups in hopes of reuniting them with their owners.

Our first stop when we got back to Illinois was Amber Leaf Animal Hospital in Winfield. We called ahead to warn them, and they were up for the challenge of seeing as many of our 25 refugees as possible. Dr. Beth Anne LaPointe checked out most of the dogs that afternoon. Thanks so much for your care and attention, Beth Anne. And I have to say to all of my Amber Leaf tech buddies: You guys are the best! I have so appreciated your support during the past weeks. Jennifer, Joanna, Cody and Katie, you were awesome keeping everything together that very long day when I was so exhausted and falling apart. You know I love you guys!

Thanks also to Dr. Jason Rudigier, Dr. Beth Leopold, Barb and Danielle and everyone else who helped throughout the following week. You have all been a very integral part of this rescue mission.

One more thank-you. To my family - I know it would have been easier on all of you if I hadn`t made these trips, but I thank you all for encouraging me to go. Girls, thanks for pitching in and helping out. And Rick, thanks for knowing that this is what I had to do.

And, to any of you reading this who may be thinking of going to the New Orleans area to help - Please, GO!! Rescues will be operating as long as they are needed. It isn`t over yet, but time is running out, and there are many more animals in need of help.

Jan went back south to Louisiana a THIRD time to help more animals! Here is the story of her third trip.

On October 13^th, I headed for New Orleans to help with animal rescue one last time. This time I flew, thanks to the generosity of Dianne Birdsall, who offered me a free ticket and Southwest Airlines, who provided another free ticket for my friend Joanna Finnegan, who went with me. Joanna is a vet tech at Amber Leaf Animal Hospital where we worked together.

We started the week with Animal Rescue New Orleans, a group that has been working in New Orleans since right after Hurricane Katrina hit. They are concentrating heavily on providing food and water stations throughout the city to keep the animals alive until they can be caught. We helped with food and water drops, and aided in the capture of two dogs that had been part of a pack of five that rescuers had been trying to catch.

On our third day in New Orleans, we joined Alley Cat Allies who were trapping cats in a trailer park that was scheduled for demolition in just a few days. They had trapped over 50 cats the day before we arrived, and were hoping to round up the rest of the estimated 70 or more cats that were living there. We trapped at least six of them that morning. They expected to get many more of them around dusk that evening.

On our first trip out to check our traps, we were thrilled to have caught 3 dogs! The first was a chow mix who growled slightly when we first approached the trap, but turned out to be a nice boy who “talked” to us during much of his ride in our truck. Next, we picked up a very frightened young female pit bull. She was very shy and submissive, and very nervous about what might be in store for her. She was thin and had a bite wound abscess on her left front leg. Our third dog was a very handsome male mixed breed. He too, was very frightened but not at all aggressive. He proved to be a very sweet, playful boy when he realized that he was safe with people who cared about him.

In the time we had between rounds of checking and setting our traps and assisting the vet when we could, we were able to explore different parts of the city. We got to know our way around pretty well between running traps and traveling back and forth from the FEMA tent we stayed in to the different areas we worked in. There is still no power in much of the city, and very few people are back in the areas where we spent most of our time. There is an 8:00 pm curfew back in effect because of looting, and residents who are working on their homes are not allowed to stay past dusk. Animal rescue teams are the only people allowed to move around the city after dark. And it was DARK! With no streetlights, house lights or vehicles on the roads, it was very dark and a little creepy with all the debris everywhere and of course, the very unique smell that now permeates most of New Orleans.

One night when we were out checking traps, a military vehicle pulled up beside us. They knew who we were and what we were doing because we drove with our hazard lights flashing after dark as a signal to them. We had an interesting conversation with one of the soldiers that night. He was very surprised that women were out there alone at night, and even more surprised that we weren’t carrying a gun! He said he would never be out there without one. It seems that as time goes on, the situation in these neighborhoods is becoming more dangerous rather than safer. He told us that gangs were beginning to come back into the area and they had run into some pit bull fighters. It certainly wasn’t the kind of news we wanted to hear! We managed to stay safe, although we did cross paths with a truck being used for looting. The truck was running and the lights were on, but when a patrol car happened by, there was no driver to be found.

A frustrating problem the rescue groups are having is lack of transportation for cats and dogs to shelters that are willing to take them. When we can’t move the rescued animals out, we come to a point where we can’t bring any more in due to lack of space. At the time we were at Muttshack, the space available for cats was completely full and we were unable to bring any more cats in. Arrangements had been made at several facilities to accept many of the cats, but there were no transporters to get them there. We caught at least half a dozen cats in our dog traps, but had to release them because we had no place to keep them. Luckily, they all looked healthy and in good shape, but it was still heartbreaking to have to turn them loose to fend for themselves.

We were able to take lots of photos on this trip. We spent most of our time in Orleans Parish, St. Bernard Parish and the 9^th ward. These areas were some of the hardest hit and most devastated. The photos are a grim reminder of how bad things are in New Orleans and how much will have to be done to restore the city. They are also a reminder of the people whose lives have been forever changed. We had the opportunity to speak with several residents who had come back to survey the damage and to begin the daunting task of cleaning up their homes. Some of their stories of survival are amazing. They are very determined to go back to living in the city they love, no matter how much work it involves or how much time it takes. But, many of their friends and neighbors have decided not to come back. Whatever the future holds for New Orleans, there is much work to be done. I read a newspaper article while I was there that stated that the amount of debris to be cleaned up as a result of the hurricanes and flooding was equal to 35 years of normal refuse removal!

I feel very fortunate to have been able to make these trips to New Orleans to be a small part of a very important and much needed rescue effort. I want to thank all of you, once again, who donated to make the trips possible. Your thoughtfulness and caring are very much appreciated. I hope we will all continue to remember the many victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, both human and animal, and do whatever we can to make sure people are never forced to leave their pets behind in these circumstances again.