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8/18/07: Hurricane Dean — Prepare Now 1) Hurricane Dean Update |
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1. Hurricane Dean Update 9/17/07, from Hurricane Center, capron@pets911.org — DEAN STRENGTHENS TO MAJOR HURRICANE WITH 125 MPH WINDS... It’s now a Category 3 and one death reported already. Image below shows the track from last Tuesday until noon today. Dean slammed into the Islands of Martinique and St. Lucia with winds over 100mph. We’re expecting serious damage reports.
The expected track is still to continue Westward into the Gulf of Mexico. What concerns us in Florida and also our friends in Louisiana and Mississippi is which direction will it go after that. Remember Hurricane Wilma in 2005 followed a similar path and when it entered the Gulf it swerved to the right and headed for Florida. By the way, the strength that Wilma attained in the Gulf was the highest ever recorded for a hurricane. SOUTH FLORIDA (Miami-Dade): There are two pet-friendly shelters in Miami-Dade for people in evacuation zones or unsafe structures (such as mobile homes). Families MUST stay with their pets in the shelters. People are urged to pre-register their pets and there are already several hundred pre-registered at this time. Applications, information and requirements are available on-line at: www.miamidade.gov BROWARD COUNTY (Ft. Lauderdale): There is only one pet-friendly shelter in Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale) and it is administered by the Broward Humane Society. Pre-registration is required and space is limited. Check out the requirements at: www.humanebroward.com/education/hurricane.htm#PFS PALM BEACH COUNTY: Palm Beach County also has a Pet-friendly shelter with about the same requirements as the others. Check it out : www.pbcgov.com/publicsafety/animalcare/petshelter.htm FOR RESCUE GROUPS: The Alliance now has 3 trailers of dog food in the warehouse in Broward county that has been donated by Pedigree. There is no charge for the food for registered non-profits but there is a warehouse and handling fee of approx $100 per pallet. All of the food we had in Biloxi MS is gone but we expect more. More storm news next week... 2. Evacuation For Horses, Cows...Fosters Needed NOW 8/18/07, from hopefulhaven@yahoo.com — From my home base, I can set up the same program as before [during Katrina/Rita evacuations] for livestock owners to evacuate with their livestock to a prearranged foster site where you can care for your own animals on the property until after the danger at your home site has passed and you can return. NEEDED: VOLUNTEER FOSTER HOMES / For hurricane evacuee families and their
grazing animals (horses, cows) In your email, state: At this time, I need you to email me immediately so I can put your name on a list if you can foster a hurricane evacuee family. This offer is for livestock people ONLY! If you have no animals and are not known to me personally from the last hitch I did on this, you will have to go to a shelter. Those needing to evacuate, give me this weekend to get fosters lined up in case of the emergency evacuation, and I will connect you with your fostering family so you can make the arrangements with them. During Katrina and Rita, we did a great job with our resources and the wonderful elves I had working from their homes for me two years ago. Lauren, Margo, Connie, Linda, and all the other wonderful elves, please stand ready to help us with supplies if so needed....We were able to fund 52 ranches for 6 months with support to get back on their feet. I am asking you to stand with me as you did two years ago. So foster homes, please email me immediately and get on the list to help our agricultural and ranching friends in need! I will do my best to set you up with what best fits your situation. Let's make this no livestock left behind as before! Hopeful Haven Equine Rescue Organization • Debra A. Barlow, President & Certified
Animal Cruelty Investigator 3. Katrina/Rita’s
Toll On Horses And Cows 6/2/07, from capron@pets911.org — [In terms of actual numbers]
the best I got from the Association and some farmers was:
KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES: 4.
Hurricane Dean Threatens – Urgent Prep For Pet Evacuation 8/16/07, from amanda@muttshack.org— Hurricane Dean Threatens in the Atlantic. Urgent! Help Needed for Louisiana Pet Evacuation Transportation • Join Our Team for Disaster Evacuation • Volunteers, Donations and Supplies Needed We lobbied, and with the help of Senator "Clo" Fontenot, won the right to evacuate pets. But the hardest part is now up to us: To respond when a hurricane threatens the State of Louisiana, and evacuate pets alongside their owners. There is still a lot of work to be done. MuttShack needs pre-storm funding for supplies and equipment to be ready. We need sponsors, but most of all, we need trained qualified and brave volunteers to go in and participate in the evacuation of pets from every Parish in the State of Louisiana to make sure each dog, cat, bird, small animal and critter gets out safely with their owners. They need flights, training and supplies. Aug. 16, 2007 (Bloomberg) — Dean, the Atlantic season's first hurricane, formed east of the Caribbean's Lesser Antilles, while in the Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Storm Erin approached Texas. Dean was 485 miles (780 kilometers) east of Barbados at 5 a.m. Miami time, and heading west at 24 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory on its Web site. The system's sustained winds strengthened to 75 mph from 70 mph earlier today, taking it past the 74 mph threshold for a hurricane. The hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. PLEASE HELP! This is a great opportunity to consider sponsoring a volunteer or support us in getting prepared for what is looking to be an active hurricane season. Your help is needed to make sure no pets are left behind! • Join MuttShack Disaster Response: www.muttshack.org/donate.htm VIDEO: MuttShack
Story - Hurricane Preparation Katrina Then and Now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHBRECU7vLE 5.
Are You Prepared? Disaster Readiness Tips for Animal Companions As a conscientious animal owner you consider your pets as members of the family. So, when setting a plan for coping with the effects of disasters of any kind, remember to provide for your beloved pets’ health and safety needs. Here are some guidelines: www.nsalamerica.org/articles/healthtips/are-you-prepared.html Stock up on dry or canned food, being sure to include a mechanical can opener. When putting down a water supply, remember to have plenty available or your pet as well as a drinking bowl. A good rule is to pack a 5-7 day supply. MEDICATIONS: Be certain to have a sufficient supply on hand. Keep a photocopy of essential or life-supporting pet prescriptions in your emergency kit. IDENTIFICATION: Microchipping your dog or cat will increase your chances of reuniting in case of separation during an emergency. By embedding a microchip with your contact information under your pet's skin, a veterinarian or animal facility, with a simple scan, is able to identify an animal’s owners. In some evacuations, a pet may have to go to a separate shelter or veterinary kennel since human shelters frequently prohibit animals for health and space reasons. If you reside in an area where evacuations are likely, be informed about pet shelter options before disaster strikes. In addition to microchipping, be certain you also have your pets securely tagged and keep photocopies of the tags (and rabies tags as well) in your emergency kit. Also, have recent photos of your pets to make identifications easy and swift. SANITATION, FIRST AID: Pads, paper towels, rags, a litter supply, and pet-safe disinfectant will come in handy. Add some over-sized bandages and gauze strips to your family first aid kit if you have a larger animal. COMFORT ZONE: A favorite blanket or chew toy can be just the thing to provide security for an animal under stress. In such times, take a moment to reassure your best friend that you are there, protecting him or her.
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UPDATE: Cats Outlived Katrina, But Now Face Desertion. PLEASE HOLD FURTHER CALLS until we can meet with the administration and determine whether we can agree about the welfare of the cats. I will send out an update ASAP. Thanks again to all who called to protest. Your calls made the difference! 8/16/07, from Jeff Dorson, stopcruelty11@gmail.com — Phone calls and lobbying to change public policies can sometimes work. We are expected to meet with officials today to have our proposals be formally implemented. The proposal to continue to feed/water the cats at established feeding stations have been approved. 8/16/07, from Cheryl Knight, CLKnight@dhh.la.gov — Hello Mr. Dorson... I will inform Security that tonight, Ms. Ramona Billot will be on grounds to feed the cats. I will be driving there shortly to inform them. Please meet me at 8:00 AM at the F. Edward Hebert campus. I will leave your name with Security... If you have problems with directions, etc., telephone Araka at 504.361.6322, and she will be able to reach me. Thank you, Cheryl ORIGINAL ALERT: Life Or Death For Belle Chasse Cats. Act TODAY WHERE: Belle Chasse (Plaquemines Parish, NOLA) WHAT: As of yesterday, a colony of 30+ cats fed daily for the last ten years will get no food or water — due to a state agency prohibiting their care. Even if you’ve never made a phone call to protest anything in your life, I am begging you to make this one. ACTION:
BACKGROUND: 8/16/07, from ramonabillot@yahoo.com — COLONY OF CATS FACE STARVATION. These cats are located at a state-owned facility in Belle Chasse (Plaquemines Parish, NOLA), where I was contacted by the caregiver (an employee) who has been feeding the cats for the last 10 years. I’ve been helping her trap, spay/neuter cats, and remove adoptable kittens. The employees of this facility are in the process of moving to new offices, about 20 minutes away from this property. The caregiver was entering the property to feed cats before going to the new office — but was threatened with disciplinary action if caught feeding any "non-humans.” I’ve been able to get on the grounds every evening for the last week, until I was escorted off the property yesterday, and told I no longer had permission to be there. As of yesterday, the cats fed daily for the last ten years will get no food or water... Time is of the essence. The cats are waiting and waiting for food and water and wondering where it is... SOURCE: Ramona Billot, ramonabillot@yahoo.com Animal
Rescue New Orleans • Plaquemines Cat Action Team 7. UPDATE:
Katrina Rescue Cat Needs Special Home For 5 Months 8/9/07, from ryan@razzamatazproductions.com — This is Galaxy’s human, Ryan. Please let everyone know that I have found a place for Galaxy to stay while we are away. A wonderful lady in Denver will be looking after him. She has experience with Feline Kidney Disease, giving subcutaneous injections, and will take good care of him. Thanks for all your concern and help in solving this dilemma. Cheers, Ryan
ORIGINAL ALERT: Katrina
Rescue Cat Needs Special Home For 5 Months
8/11/07, from kidee@msn.com — Sassy arrived in Easley, South Carolina after nearly a week on a transport van (the driver had multiple vehicle malfunctions, and a one-day trip lasted six days). After spending a few days at our vet's office, she went to live with one of the founders of our local rescue group. She's doing great!
ORIGINAL ALERT: Sassy’s
Miracle 9. READER RESPONSE
TO: Attention Katrina Pet Adopters 8/9/07, from lserfass1@verizon.net — If I survived a disaster, but lost my house, my neighborhood, my job, my neighbors, my possessions, AND my dog, I would definitely want my dog back no matter how long it took. If I had to move elsewhere and start over again at the age of 45, in a new state, with hopefully a new job, and minimal possessions, and new people around me, and then found out years later the dog whom I assumed was long dead was actually living with someone else, yes, I’d want her back. A recovered pet could be the only connection to the past life for a Katrina victim, and the most important one. To think that a new adopter would consider her emotional attachment to the pet to be more important than the emotional attachment of someone who survived such trauma and has nothing of her past life, is unreasonable. Katrina victims have not merely "moved on." The lucky ones have started new lives and abandoned the old lives. The unlucky ones are probably still struggling to overcome the trauma and find a reason to keep trying every day. These people will forever worry that they could lose everything again at any time. Many will never overcome the shock. I find it heartless that strangers would believe that within two years, someone who has been through Katrina should have established a new life and not be missing their pets anymore. People who have never faced such life disruption, and whose pets died of old age, continue to miss their pets all their lives, but Katrina victims should be healed by now? I don't have a Katrina pet. I know it would be extremely difficult to give up my dog if she were a Katrina pet. But it would be worse to think of her heartbroken former owner who did not give her up willingly. I couldn’t enjoy time with my dog, thinking about the person who is thinking about my dog and wishing she had this familiar dog with her in her unfamiliar new life. I cannot imagine losing everything that makes up my life, and losing my dog, and then some total stranger thinking that I should have simply gotten over it by now and moved on. If the new adopters think that it would be emotionally wrenching to return their pets after a few years have gone by, how could they possibly think that the Katrina victims should have moved past all of their losses by now? Linda Serfass, lserfass1@verizon.net ORIGINAL ALERT: Attention
Katrina Pet Adopters 10.
Chloe’s Unbelievably Amazing Reunion 8/10/07, from liz@beachnote.com — Here is a reunion story worth sharing in light of the approaching two-year Katrina anniversary... Those of you who still receive Stealth board updates will have read this. This one involves both the old (feeding program success) and new ARNO. Chloe was STILL wearing a collar and 13 years old! Incredible and wonderful. If only cats could talk and tell of her journey for the past two years. Enjoy! Liz Taken from the NOLA board — The cat was fed by an ARNO F/W volunteer in a mostly abandoned area of Chalmette. She was just trapped recently [June] in a TNR effort at a particular feeding station and found to be wearing a collar and tag thus the search was on for her owner. SBPAC was CLOSED when she was trapped, although we spoke to Tina that night and Chloe was brought to ARNO so Kristy and I could search for her owners. She has only been at ARNO since she was trapped in June. Until that time she was on the street. This morning [Wed, Aug 8] Chloe the cat was reunited with her people Jean and Sam at ARNO's shelter. Some of you read about Chloe here [Stealth boards], aka Pinky. She was found in Chalmette wearing a pink collar and 2005 SBPAC license. We had no luck following usual channels to find her owners. Our thoughts were that she either was not from the area or her owners were very elderly and not in a position to look for her. Thanks to Kristy, ARNO F/W, TNR and re-uniter superwoman, Chloe is now home. Kristy refused to give up and and put one last all out effort by purchasing an ad in the St Bernard News. It worked. A friend of Jean's, who is still in SBP saw the ad and recognized Chloe right away. Jean called and provided the missing identifiers that we purposely left out. Their story fits very well with how Chloe ended up where she did. Sam stayed for Katrina, with Chloe and their dog. When the flooding started Sam opened the door and Chloe ran out. Eventually Sam and their dog ended up on the roof and Chloe was in a nearby tree. Chloe swam from the tree to be on the roof with Sam and their dog. Sam refused rescue by officials because they would not take the animals. A neighbor rescued him in a boat and took the animals with. They did not have a carrier for Chloe though. When they got to Chalmette High School (right across the street from the area where Chloe was eventually found) Chloe could not be found in the boat. The man with the boat went back out to rescue more people and Chloe was never located. We now believe that Chloe hid in the boat somewhere until the man stopped for the night at Chalmette High and then she left the boat. Jean and Sam went to SBPAC and they even had Chloe's tag number (it was in sequence with their dogs) but they were told all that information had been lost. It is amazing that Chloe made it back home to Jean and Sam who have loved her all these years (Chloe is 13 this year!) It is because of Kristy's never ending dedication, knowing Chloe had a loving family somewhere. Without the Ad in the SB News, Jean and Sam never would have found us and thus Chloe. Everyone stay determined when you find a pet that you know someone loved and is missing. Miracle reunions do happen. DOWNLOAD FREE LITERATURE. Supplement
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for your advocacy materials 11. MINE: Taken
By Katrina (Reunion/Rescue Film) A film that exemplifies the unique human-animal bond, and the emotional dilemma when faced with judgment, unprecedented legalities, and the mother of all storms. 8/10/07, from colleen@peacelovepets.com — The stars of the film are the animals, the one's you all helped to rescue, reunite, or find a new life, and those that dearly love them. The Film website has been launched with a 5 minute trailer for the film: http://minethemovie.com/ There is a 12-minute finished trailer and press packet that is available if any of you would be interested in hosting a FUNDRAISER for the film. Funds will help complete the film, enter it into as many festivals as we can, and provide sufficient distribution so these stories may be shared. I think of it as a good way to gather folks together for a 2-year anniversary and let our entire animal loving community become a part of this film. Thank you all for your role in this, Colleen Kessler-Schick For information how you can support this film or view a 10-minute trailer, contact: geralyn@smushmedia.com 
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