Update November 9, 2005


Hurricane Relief Update November 9, 2005

IDA's Matt Rossell and his partner, Leslie Hemstreet, recently returned from New Orleans after three weeks of rescue efforts to provide relief for the thousands of dogs and cats still seeking shelter in the flood ravaged city. This husband-wife team returned to Portland, Oregon with five dogs and six cats who were among dozens of animal companions they personally rescued. Eight weeks after the devastating Hurricane Katrina, rescue workers are still pulling emaciated animals from destroyed homes. By now, many of the thousands of surviving animal companions have escaped their homes through broken windows or kicked in doors, and are now running scared and hiding out in the desolate city streets. IDA has brought on two new people to work on hurricane relief efforts to save as many animals as possible.

Working from early morning to past dark, much of the rescue effort has turned to making sure food and water is being provided for these bewildered dogs and cats, until each one can be successfully coaxed to safety and reunited with their guardians or placed in new homes. House cats hiding under houses or in attics, too frightened to even approach their own guardian, must to be humanely trapped. Those feral cats caught in the process are being spayed, neutered and released back in their neighborhoods if people have returned and conditions in the area are stable. Dogs are roaming the streets in packs, and it takes considerable skill to capture these often-wily canines. Rescuers are setting up feeding stations inside yards with hard-to-find intact fences or setting large humane traps to bring them in one by one. 

This urgent effort is far from over, and IDA rescuers vow to remain in the field of this disaster until some sense of normalcy returns to New Orleans. 


What You Can Do


- Volunteers are still direly needed to transport and house animals rescued from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Please contact hurricanekatrinainquiries@idausa.org for more information on volunteering with IDA's Project Hope team.

- Foster homes for rescued pets are needed and adoptive homes for animals already at risk in overcrowded shelters across the country. Project Hope needs more shelters outside of the disaster zone to take homeless animals rescued from New Orleans. Please contact hurricanekatrinainquiries@idausa.org if you can provide space for needy animals.

- Give to IDA's Hurricane Katrina Animal Relief Fund. Money is still desperately needed for food, medical supplies and transportation costs. To donate, send checks made payable to IDA with a note reading "for hurricane relief" to In Defense of Animals, 131 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA 94941. Click https://secure.ga0.org/02/varescue to donate online using your credit card. Please indicate "hurricane" in the first name field in the "in honor of" section of the form.



Read Project Hope’s Doll Stanley’s first hand account of Hurricane Katrina and the animal relief efforts