Leads Club Supports Katrina Victims

Leads Club donated to the Humane Society of the United States to help rescue the pets of the Katrina victims. I wanted to share a recent update on their work.

It's Day 12 of our massive response to Hurricane Katrina, and I wanted to update you on the heroic work of our Disaster Animal Response Teams in New Orleans and Mississippi.

Our relief teams continue to work against the clock in an all-out effort to save the animals left stranded by the hurricane. We now have upwards of 300 staff and volunteers on the ground - with more on the way. Thanks to their work and that of the Louisiana SPCA and other organizations, we've rescued nearly 5,000 animals. Of those, more than 200 have been reunited with their families.

Our teams have rescued animals from rooftops, trees, and other harrowing circumstances. HSUS rescuers are breaking down doors to enter homes of desperate pet owners and facing floods and flames to bring these animals to safety. If you haven't already, I encourage you to take a minute to view our slideshow and video footage (Windows Media or RealPlayer) showing HSUS DART teams rescuing stranded animals in the battered region.

View Slideshow or VideoWindows Media
RealPlayerSeeing their work makes me proud and also relieved that we've saved so many animals in a disaster of this magnitude. That said, thousands of animals remain at risk, and The HSUS has appealed to FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, and the Department of Defense to assist our rescue efforts.

As our rescue work has moved forward, our animal sheltering professionals have continued to improvise solutions to the staggering challenges of housing and caring for so many animals. The emergency shelter set up at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, Louisiana, was quickly filled to capacity. Harried volunteers have been working around the clock to keep the crates clean, to walk the dogs, to keep the animals watered and fed - all in an impossibly crowded space.

But we received approval from federal and state authorities to transfer hundreds of animals out of that emergency shelter, and just yesterday transported 350 of them to shelters in other areas. This will free up space for the hundreds of animals being rescued daily from our search-and-rescue missions in flood-ravaged New Orleans and surrounding areas. In Mississippi, a pet-friendly shelter has been established at the Jackson, Mississippi, fairgrounds. Of the nearly 5,000 animals rescued thus far, more than 1,000 are from Mississippi.

The generosity of our supporters has meant the world to all of us on the ground in Louisiana and Mississippi. And for the many trapped and suffering animals we've rescued, it has literally meant the difference between life and death.

I'll continue to keep you updated on our progress on the Gulf Coast. For more frequent updates, please bookmark https://community.hsus.org/ct/2daG55p1rXbJ/ and visit the site often. We're adding new stories, information, and photos every day.
Sincerely,
Laura Bevan
Incident Commander,HSUS National Disaster Animal Response Team
P.S. Do you have a question about our disaster response for animals? Then please read our frequently asked questions. If you don't find your answer there, then call us at 1-800-HUMANE-1 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern time. Thank you!

Copyright © 2005 The Humane Society of the United States All Rights Reserved. Humane Society Disaster Relief Fund 2100 L Street, NW Washington, DC 20037