Saving the pets, one by one
Posted: Wednesday, September 7 at 05:14 pm CT by Mike Brunker
SLIDELL, La. – We’ve written and photographed some surprisingly positive people during our travels among Katrina’s outcasts, but the inhabitants of the animal rescue center here take upbeat to a new level. The tail-wagging alone seems sufficient to cool the warehouse that is home to more than 400 pets and other animals left behind when their owners raced to safety.
The shelter is run by staff and volunteers from Noah’s Wish, a Northern California-based non-profit that aims to apply the Red Cross disaster model to animals. Based on what we’ve seen here today, it works amazing well.
Zona Marchand hugs her dogs Game (left) and Kira before leaving them at the Noah's Wish emergency animal shelter in Slidell, La. Wednesday. The Marchand family's home was completely destroyed and they have moved into a motel in Baton Rouge, where 10 people share their room. "It's like having to leave my children," she says. Marchand was unsure when they would be reunited and the shelter will care for the pets until then. (Andrew Locke / MSNBC.com)
Slidell’s abandoned dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, birds and reptiles benefited from a relationship established several years ago between Noah’s Wish and the city’s animal control agency. That enabled the two paid members of Noah’s Wish – director Terri Crisp and training manager Sheri Thompson – to mobilize volunteers even before the storm made landfall and to have the center open one week ago today, just two days after the storm hit.
“We knew this was coming one day … and (the preparation) is what allowed us to set up so quickly … and allowed the animals to survive,” says Crisp.
Touring the metal warehouse housing most of the animals, we are stunned by the sophistication of the operation, particularly since the Noah’s Wish response team travels light and then quickly assembles a rescue center and shelter in the disaster zone, relying on local humane societies, pet stores and individual contributions for such supplies as food, water and cages.
A massive fan pumps fresh air into the building, which has a triage center for animals that require medical care manned by two veterinarians and four veterinary technicians.
Throughout the rest of the building, volunteers rush to and fro along narrow walkways between stacked cages of cats and smaller animals and bigger ones for dogs, maintaining complex schedules for exercise and bathroom breaks that would make an air traffic control officer dizzy. The volunteers, who undergo a three-day training session and annual refresher course, pay their own way to work the disasters.
In one corner, a brilliantly colored green-wing macaw stands tall in its cage, taking in the scene and occasionally crying out the only word it seems to know: “Mama!”
“Mama’s coming,” volunteers assure the bird
Outside, another “mama” is in tears, saying goodbye to her two dogs. Zona Marchand says it feels like she’s giving away her children, but all 10 members of her family are living in a hotel in Baton Rouge and they can’t care for the animals until they repair their badly damaged house.
Fortunately for Marchand and others in Slidell whose pets have been left to fend for themselves after the storm, Noah’s Wish will arrange for foster care for as long as it’s needed and promises to find permanent homes for the animals that go unclaimed. No animals will be euthanized unless it’s medically necessary, they vow.
“They’ve lost so much,” Thompson says of the owners. “We don’t want to have to tell them they’ve lost something else.”
During our visit to the rescue center, we told of our encounter at a Red Cross shelter with Bill Harris, the Slidell man who says he escaped death thanks to his “miracle” cat, Miss Kitty. After hearing his story, an obviously moved Crisp arranges for us to accompany an animal control officer and a Noah’s Wish volunteer to go check Harris’ condominium and see if we can find any sign of the missing feline. Check back later and we’ll tell you what we found there.
Fans blow cool air into the kennels at the Noah's Wish shelter in Slidell, Miss., Wednesday. Temperatures in Slidell reach the mid-90s Wednesday and shelter workers were constantly watering the animals to keep them cool. (Andrew Locke / MSNBC.com)
'Miss Kitty? Are you there?'
TRACKBACKS
I'm willing to be a foster home to someone's pet until they're able to get back on their feet.
I have a small dog already, but he can share his pen with another dog if it needs a good, loving home.
Write to me at shutterbug71405@yahoo.com
Tanya
Tanya ... Pineville, LA (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:23:52 PM)
Any chance the fine people at Noah's Wish could be persuaded into running the human evacuation and shelter the next time a storm blows through???
Bless them and I will be sending a donation in the name of Yolk the Amazing Blind Hunting Dog and Hari the Flying Monkey Cat!
Bethany Altenburg , Tallahassee, Florida (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:24:26 PM)
Keep up the good work! Every day I look at my dog and my eyes fill with tears thinking of all of the anguished pet owners and displaced animals. I pray every day for their safety, well being and return to their families. God bless all of the volunteers who are helping humans and animals alike. Our prayers are wtih you always!
Faythe & Indie the Yorkie, Montclair, NJ (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:25:01 PM)
While I now rest assured that many people are coming to the aid of the human victims, I can admit that secretly in my heart I was wondering about those pets that were left behind. Thank God for Noah's Wish for their foresight, preparation and hasty emergency response. We can't lose them, but FEMA sure could use them.......
L.Lemn,Seattle,Wash (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:31:54 PM)
You are doing such a WONDERFUL job - it brings tears to my eyes! Take good care of yourselves as well as the animals you've rescued.
Cathy Schaefer, Houston (Katy), Texas (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:33:57 PM)
Great to read some nice news. Thanks for giving these victims a voice.
Laurie Elk Run, Iowa (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:35:10 PM)
Thank you for reporting on the animals! I have felt helpless here in Oregon and am so tired of all the horrible images of starving, stranded animals. Great to finally hear something good! God bless Noah's Wish!
Angela Badie, Portland, Oregon (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:36:34 PM)
I saw a slide show photo of a man shutting his two dogs in a back room of his house with enough food to last a month because he was not allowed to take them with him when evacuated. I was wondering if there was any way to find these two dogs and keep them safe until this man is able to come and get them? His name is David Webster.
Kristen (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:38:01 PM)
Will be glad to foster dogs/cats in Baytown, TX.
Contact: texasminpin@yahoo.com
Yolanda Cessna, Baytown, TX (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:39:12 PM)
Hi,
I love animals and all I can say is bless you all for taking's care of the animals. I cried when I saw a fellow who would take care of a man's dog for him. Later it showed the two united. Again, bless you.
Jo Curran (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:41:15 PM)
What a fabulous story full of hope. I am so grateful someone is taking care of the forgotten victims. It makes me cry to think of the poor little pets out there not knowing what happened. They don't understand what's going on around them and they must be so scared. God Bless all of the volunteers!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Dee Berry, Garden Grove, CA (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:41:51 PM)
What about all of the poor animals that we have seen on TV, stranded on rooftops, etc? What is being done to rescue them? I encourage everyone to give to Noah's Wish and also the US Humane Society to help in this effort.
Cindy (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:42:58 PM)
Hello, this article is tough to read without my eyes tearing. I live in Knoxville, TN and am open to housing any dogs who need a foster home. I wish I had the means to leave my job temporarily and come volunteer there and help. If there is anything I can do, pls let me know. I can send food - anything.
Keep up the great work and remember that what you do means so much to so many.
Patricia - Knoxville, TN (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:43:30 PM)
IT TRULY BREAKS MY HEART TO SEE DOGS AND ALL ANIMALS ON ROOFS OF HOUSES DRINKING THAT WATER AND DYING ALONE......THEY WILL BE SO SICK...I CAN'T EVEN WATCH THIS ON TV....I CRY....I HAVE A JACK RUSSELL TERRIER NAMED PRINCESS DIANA..AND I KNOW IF PRINCESS DIANA WAS STILL ALIVE SHE WOULD HAVE JUMPED RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS TO SAVE PEOPLE AND ANIMALS. I SENT MONEY TO THE ASPCA....WHERE CAN I SEND MONEY TO NOAHS WISH???
LINDA WALLACE, FORT WORTH, TEXAS (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:43:36 PM)
Thank you Noah's Wish for everything you do!!! I would have been one of those who wouldn't evacuate and leave my pets behind.... Some people don't understand that... But a whole lot of people do... Thank God for you all...
Bridget Jamieson (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:43:53 PM)
Thanks to Noah's Wish, for all they do for our animals friends and companions. I hope their server gets back into operation, as I have $100 to donate.
John D.M. Shelley II, York, PA. (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:44:28 PM)
I live in Prattville, Alabama, near Montgomery. If anyone is evacuating to areas in Alabama (or is already here) and has a dog or dogs needing shelter, I will be glad to help.
My two dogs have a house with a fenced yard. They are good with others and they expect the same in return! They enjoy visitors and new friends!
You can reach me by e-mail: auburnite@gmail.com
Ed, Prattville (Montgomery), Alabama (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:44:42 PM)
I was heart broken that people had to leave their pets behind. I would not be able to do it and completely understand those who refused to do so. Pets mean more to the human spirit than it seems some realize. I am grateful for all you done to protect these loved ones left behind.
Cheryl Breland, Reno, NV (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:45:02 PM)
please if you can check on those two dogs whose owner left them a month's worth of food for them. He had to be evacuated and it broke his heart to leave them. His picture was posted yesterday in the msnbc pictures posted on the internet. I am just so heartbroken because of the animals. If you could somehow find out who he is please get his dogs. Rose a loving pet owner.
Rose Burgess (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:45:07 PM)
Thank you to Noah's Wish for taking care of all of the "fury" and "feathery" children displaced by Katrina. I find it heart breaking that so many pets were left behind in the flood waters. God Bless you all for your hard work and kind hearts!
Neva, Frisco, Texas (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:45:30 PM)
Thank you, Mike Brunker, for this story. My heart continues to ache for all the pets who await their rescue.
D. Murphy, York, PA (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:45:57 PM)
will be happy to foster animals in fort lewis washington
contact : momo_girl1@msn.com
sarah oetker, fort lewis, washington (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:47:26 PM)
we have a few people that would foster some animals if needed!!! PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US!!
mollie biddle, lexington , kentucky (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:47:40 PM)
God Bless all of you...
Ken Martineau, Hampton NH (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:47:45 PM)
God Bless Noah's Wish and all the great volunteers! There will be truly a place in Heaven for each and everyone of you. Keep up the great work and thanks for remembering God's Little Creatures....
Carla Amarillo, Tx. (Sent Sep 7, 2005 5:48:14 PM)
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