Hurricane Katrina

A lovely lady who adopted T-Max (renamed N'Awlins) passed away in July. Her niece Sidney assumed care of T-Max. As Sidney got to know T-Max, her gut told her that someone must miss this lovebug. Sidney contacted Anita and I a few weeks ago to see if we could find Mr. Schneider, the listed [guardian].

Turns out Mr. Schneider owned The Clipper, a grooming shop where some animals tragically drowned during the hurricane. Petfinder files show phone/mail efforts to find Mr. Schneider but Judy McDermott (a key reuniter) ultimately discovered he lived in a FEMA trailer right outside his pre-Katrina address. Go figure?

Sidney says "Roy was stunned and wept." She took time off work to drive T-Max from Virginia to New Orleans, after T-Max's doggie daycare held a grand goodbye party for him.

Minus nasty details, the rescue group is not happy about this reunion. Regardless, T-Max is back home where he and Mr. Schneider are estatic. May their lives unfold together. Thanks to all involved, especially Sidney and her aunt for protecting this sweet dog. Never assume two things: That it's too late for reunions or that seemingly easy cases were long ago solved.

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Host An Adoption Day: Our Katrina Survivors + Your Shelter Animals!

10/7/06, Contact: Cody Riess  ~  Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) is in full swing at Southern Animal Foundation in New Orleans, where I volunteer. Unfortunately, we trap lovable abandoned dogs and cats or adoptable kittens with nowhere to go but back to the streets.

San Francisco Adoption Day, 10/28/06  ~  I'm looking for more West Coast rescue groups to host an Adoption Day with New Orleans survivors, like the upcoming San Francisco event. Our animals arrive with health certificates, spay/neuter, vaccinations, microchip, etc. Press is key to big turnout. I will get area TV, newspaper, radio to promote your event. We have proven success. A New Hampshire rescue group adopted 31 cats in four hours. Wow!

Katrina animals get attention, so both your animals and ours move from shelters into approved homes. Big press makes an Adoption Day work. I appreciate your consideration.

New Orleans is less than half its original size! Latest stats show 187,525 residents, about 41% of a pre-Katrina 454,000 population. Simple TNR doesn't solve matters because unihabitable areas mean less people and thus, less food sources for animals. We must focus on pick-up of adoptable animals. Yet those animals are unlikely to find forever homes in post-Katrina NOLA. There are fewer residents and those here struggle to rebuild. Adoption Days in collaboration with out-state rescue groups have had wonderful results. Still, we need more groups to host Adoption Days with our animals.

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Just 190,000 Live In New Orleans Now

10/6/06 Associated Press  ~  Fewer than 190,000 people live in New Orleans a year after Hurricane Katrina, according to a door-to-door survey. The population of 187,525 is about 41 percent of the 454,000 estimated residents of Orleans Parish before the storm hit Aug. 29, 2005.

A Louisiana Recovery Authority spokeswoman, Natalie Wyeth, called results "the most precise set of numbers we've seen." Louisiana Public Health Institute conducted the survey for the Authority and Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

It sampled homes from all over the city, said Alden Henderson, with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who pushed for the survey. He said the survey used a method commonly employed by the Census Bureau. Results intend to help planners determine where clinics, schools, transit systems and other key infrastructure should be placed, Wyeth said. Population estimates have ranged widely for New Orleans.

Local demographer Greg Rigamer, who has studied the city's population, dismissed figures as a "fairly significant underestimation. This is important, because funding decisions are based on population," Rigamer said. He estimated there are about 230,000 city residents. Mayor Ray Nagin said NOLA is on track to reach 300,000 people by year's end.