Guard Fetches Planeloads of Pooches Left Homeless by Katrina

REUNITING DOGS WITH FAMILIES A TOP GOAL
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix) September 19, 2005 Monday Final chaser Edition
Copyright 2005 The Arizona Republic / All Rights Reserved  
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
September 19, 2005 Monday Final chaser Edition

SECTION: VALLEY & STATE; Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 447 words
HEADLINE: GUARD FETCHES PLANELOADS OF POOCHES LEFT HOMELESS BY KATRINA;
REUNITING DOGS WITH FAMILIES A TOP GOAL
BYLINE: By Emily Bittner, The Arizona Republic
BODY:

Two military airplanes scheduled to fly empty from New Orleans to Phoenix instead landed in the Valley on Sunday night loaded with a vulnerable cargo: dogs abandoned in Hurricane Katrina's path.

Two flights touched down in the Valley carrying 169 crates full of barking and crying dogs.

Their sounds filled the Air National Guard terminal at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport as the dogs began the last leg of what, for many, was a stressful and nearly lethal journey.

"These animals need TLC," said Kim Noetzel, spokesman for the Arizona Humane Society. "These animals need exercise. These animals need attention. We're just ready to do whatever they need."

The idea to ship the dogs to the Valley came after members of the Arizona Humane Society worked in the New Orleans shelter where they were housed. Some of the animals haven't been released from their crates in more than a week because conditions at the understaffed and overcrowded facility were so horrendous, Noetzel said.

When Arizona Humane Society leaders learned that two military planes were bringing members of New Mexico's National Guard to New Orleans and were returning to the Valley without cargo anyway, they asked the Guard to bring the dogs back with them.

The whole mission was arranged in less than 24 hours. A coordinator for the organization in charge of finding a way to transport the dogs from the airport to the Humane Society shelter searched the Internet for an Arizona livestock transporter.

The first name she saw was that of Bob Raney, the 74-year-old owner of Triple R Trucking Inc. She called, in a panic, at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Raney volunteered immediately to provide transportation from the airport to the Humane Society's facility in south Phoenix.

"I saw all of this devastation on television," said Raney, who enlisted his brother-in-law and a retired driver to help out. "I thought that this was one way to be able to help. ... What little bit we give back is nothing to what the devastation was."

The animals on the plane were confused and frightened while they were being loaded on the plane but calmed down after takeoff, said Arizona National Guard Sgt. Jeff Kellow.

And by this morning, all the dogs will have completed an extensive process in which they are examined by veterinarians, checked for microchips, vaccinated and profiled on www.petfinder.com so their families can find them. Many of the animals wore tags and collars.

"They belong to somebody," Kellow said.

If after efforts to reunite families and their pets don't work, Valley residents can adopt the animals.
Reach the reporter at emily.bittner@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-4783.