An Honest Mistake?
I emailed these to a few people and to a person, they asked me if this was a "JOKE."
It is not a joke.
These are real and recent pictures found on PetHarbor Posted by the LASPCA for animals they recently rescued off the streets. I'd be embarrassed if I was them? Like everything else I am sure that they have a reason? I sat on these for a while wanting to be fair..and then it dawned on me how totally unfair it is to the owners of these animals (2000 of whom showed up at the "FIND YOUR PET" event two weeks ago) to be so inept as to have these pictures up for nearly a month before VOLUNTEERS and not the LASPCA themselves noticed. And unfair to the animals themselves as the LASPCA IS euthanizing (and maybe more than they are letting on but I hope not) Quality control anyone? If I did this at work I would be reprimanded.
posted by EricsDogBlog.com @ Thursday, December 29, 2005
81 comments
81 Comments:
Never mind, low-quality photos --those are NO quality photos. Unreal. Please don't tell me that these animals will also be put to death if their owners can't locate them!
THE LA-SPCA KILL FACTORY IS UP AND RUNNING AGAIN!.
Hi,
I request your assistance in finding out how safe the animals at the LA-SPCA are. Are they still killing animals at the LA-SPCA days after getting them, even though the public may assume that they are holding them for a extended period of time or sending them to no kill shelters, and in no case killing them. I trusted Laura and the LA-SPCA not to kill Cajun, the dog in question, and to get back to me, or my attorney, but now he is apparently dead. They knew we were trying to contact them to discuss the matter, they were difficult to get through to, but they had my contact information, which I left on the emergency line a day after the raid, they made no attempts to contact me. They didn't even list him on petfinder, or petharbor, and give his owner time to claim him. My attorney is working on this, I am not sure what type of claim we have against the LA-SPCA, or how it can be used to stop their actions, but everyone should be aware of what they are capable of. I think the citizens of New Orleans should be given options to get rid of them and and get a new form of animal control in their city, if they knew the evil depths of how they think, I believe they would make the change. In speaking with residents in New Orleans, there was a lot of resentment towards the LA-SPCA, most believed their attitude arrogant, and confrontational, and not in the best interest of the animals.
#1 Phone call on December 5th to LASPCA various people http://www.uspetrescue.com/html/laspca_dec_5.mp3
#2 Phone call on December 6th to LASPCA , Laura Maloney http://www.uspetrescue.com/html/laura_dec_6.mp3
We were doing a lot of trapping and tracking down all over the 9th ward, for about 6 weeks, we successfully brought a lot of animals in off the streets, and into the loving arms of bestfriends through Winn-dixie and magazine street. At the same time the LA-SPCA were telling people that there were very few animals left which everyone really knew wasn't true. We pretty much were able to set traps where ever we wanted as long as we stayed under the LA-SPCA radar. Only a few times we ran into them with bad results. We ran into a problem the last week we were in New Orleans just before Thanksgiving. Everybody was filled up with animals and it was hard to get them accepted anywhere. We ended up having a few animals at our personal residence a house on Desire in the 9th Ward, most of these animals were on their way to Magazine Street/Bestfriends when space opened up. One day, I think because our vehicles were clearly marked "Animal Rescue", and the LA-SPCA must have seen them, the police ended up at our house, with the intention of taking animals, within minutes there were three trucks from the LA SPCA there lifting the animals completely off the ground from inside the house and carrying them this way, all the way to the trucks, with the use of catch poles. Joe was at the house, I wasn't there at the time. Joe let them know he was fostering one of the dogs, and the dog with the bad leg had a birth defect, and that I was fostering him. They left the dog Joe was fostering, I think they intended to leave The dog I was fostering (Cajun) but somehow in the confusion that followed they ended up taking him and leaving another dog for me. They had Joe in handcuffs in the back of cruiser so he wasn't able to express himself as much as normal, they released him when they left, they told him they thought he was me, and that I have a warrant out for my arrest filed by Pam Caruso, a lady that let us stay at her house because we were rescuing animals, she worked with the LA-SPCA getting the new "No Chaining law passed" , well she was eventually told by her friends that worked at the LA-SPCA that we were frauds and we were stealing animals, and that the LA-SPCA wanted us out, so she kicked us out of the house she begged us to stay at weeks before, but I don't know how she could file criminal charges against me, and if fact I have never been able to verify there really is criminal charges. I was really concerned when the animals were taken, because of all the stories I have heard about the LA-SPCA. They also took some cats that we thought we might have found the owner. The next day, I tried to talk to the LA-SPCA but was unable to speak to anyone, eventually I tried a different number which was their emergency number and left a detailed message about the animals, at the same time we hired a attorney, he made repeated attempts to contact the LA-SCPA unfortunately he was never able to do so. I made the decision to try again to contact a live person at the LA-SPCA myself to try to resolve the problem. The results of those attempts and the outcome is contained below in the email correspondence and in the links of the audio recording of the phone calls to the LA-SPCA. (Calls took place in One party consent jurisdictions so these recordings are legal). When talking to Laura on December 6th, Laura seemed nice enough, and she seemed helpful, After talking to her I felt comfortable that the dog was being treated good, and would be OK, but listening to the call now, is freaky. I have to wonder about the timing of the calls. December 5th which was the first time I was able to speak to a person instead of voice mail, to alert them to the problem, I would find out later was the day they killed Cajun, I didn't find out until a week or so later that he had been killed that day.
On Dec 17 Laura responded to my detailed email I had sent her after the phone calls. It was in this email that I found out that the dog, that I intended to foster had been killed December 5th.
It is so sad that this poor dog survived a life long handicap, and the flood, only to be killed by the LA-SPCA. He was such a good natured dog, he had such a calm demeanor and would have made a loving pet for anyone. It is hard to imagine that this was not done intentionally because I mentioned that I wanted to foster the dog, but maybe that is crazy thinking, in any case they shouldn't be killing dogs, if they can't move them to a good temporary home, the LA-SPCA needs to take advantage of bestfriends or some of the other rescues operating in New Orleans. I gave the LA-SPCA the benefit of doubt, I even tried to work through them, so as to stop butting heads with them. I thought that they may have good intentions but were given a bad rap. I think this incident however might further prove that there is some really bad thinking on Laura's part. This dog should have been given a chance to find its owner, when they find out the dog was killed, they will be as sad as I am. The LA-SPCA should be sticking to a extended hold time, or at least allowing the owners time to recover the animal even if they are shipped to a different shelter. In no circumstances should they be killing people's pets.
A lot of problems with all the rescues groups, could have been solved by the LA-SPCA taking the lead in organizing them and creating a central system of tracking pets. Laura had the opportunity to work with all the various rescue groups that rushed in to help, but instead she has pursued a systematic program of trying to get them to leave. One has to think that she believes she is in competition with these groups, rather than being helped by them. I think it should be considered if the LA-SPCA's contract with the city of New Orleans should be renewed. In my discussions in the past few days with others on Laura's leadership of the group, and of the LA-SPCA's behavior as a whole, it seems that there is quite a bit of shadiness that has surrounded their operation for a long time.
Sincerely
Gary Otten
Permission granted to crosspost and to forward
----- Original Message -----
From: Laura Maloney
To: Gary D. Otten
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 11:04 PM
Subject: RE: 1501 Desire Street and Subcontracting
Hi Gary,
Thanks for checking in. I followed up on your case. I don’t have any info on the arrest warrants; sorry. We responded to the call from NOPD and did not initiate the case.
Thanks for your offer to sub-contract with us to catch remaining animals. On January 4, we will begin a high-volume trapping program which will be managed by a seasoned trapper. All trappers will be volunteers or LA/SPCA staff. Your letter indicated that you would require fee-for-service, which isn’t an option on this project. If you’re interested in volunteering, please complete the application found on our website at http://www.la-spca.org/forms/ap_aco.htm and we will give it to the managing trapper for his consideration.
Regarding the animals…we don’t normally release information about animals not owned by the individual from whom they were seized. But, I know that you were here to help (even though you weren’t working with our agency or any group).
The animals you were housing were removed upon the request of NOPD from 1501 Desire Street and were taken to the animal control facility on Thayer Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. When our animal control officers arrived at the address, there were two dogs and four cats of which you did not own. Consequently, these animals were impounded as strays according to local law. The dog that you claimed as your own was left in your custody and not impounded.
The stray hold is 5 working days, not including the day the animals arrived at the animal control facility, which was the 21st of November 2005, which means they were available for adoption, transfer or euthanasia on November 26, 2005.
The four cats we impounded were feral and therefore qualified for the Louisiana SPCA’s TNR program, which sterilizes and releases cats that are negative for feline leukemia and/or feline immune deficiency. Three of the four cats will be spayed or neutered and released; one of the cats tested positive and was therefore euthanized on November 30, 2005.
One of the dogs, a severely under-socialized Shepard mix, escaped from one of our newly hired animal control officers as it was being moved from a holding run to triage. We made every effort to recover the dog, but we have been unable to re-locate her. We are still on the lookout for her in the area.
After combing through our lost reports to see if the second dog (the one with the leg injury) had been reported as lost, and holding him beyond the holding period (November 26th), he was euthanized on December 5th, 2005. Sadly, partnering shelters were unable to accept this dog into their adoption program. He wasn’t a transfer candidate.
We are transferring all animals that we can to other shelters. Dogs who are under-socialized are housed in a special tent so that staff and volunteers can work with individual animals so they qualify for adoption with another facility. Dogs that are nearly feral are far more difficult to place. Feral cats are being fixed and released.
If you are aware of owners that are looking for their pets, please have them contact us directly at 504-368-5191 or they may visit us at 701 Thayer Street in Algiers. Our animals are being posted on petharbor.com. We suggest that people look on both petfinder and petharbor websites.
Thanks for being concerned about our city’s animals and offering your love and support.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gary D. Otten [mailto:animalrescue@fuse.net]
Sent: Fri 12/16/2005 12:39 PM
To: Laura Maloney
Subject: Re: 1501 Desire Street and Subcontracting
Laura,
Hello, I understand you have been out of town, I know you are very, very busy. I was just wondering if you or someone there, has been able to gather together a response to the below email.
Also we have been unable to verify that there were arrest warrants for anyone at the property that day, which doesn't surprise me. If you have any information in that regard that would be great too.
Thanks so much, if there is anything I can do to help let me know.
Gary Otten
----- Original Message -----
From: Laura Maloney
To: 'Gary D. Otten'
Cc: gloria@la-spca.org
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 6:20 PM
Subject: RE: 1501 Desire Street and Subcontracting
Hi Gary,
Let me look into this for you and get back to you.
Laura
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gary D. Otten [mailto:animalrescue@fuse.net]
Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 2:40 AM
To: laura@la-spca.org
Cc: gloria@la-spca.org
Subject: 1501 Desire Street and Subcontracting
Hi,
In regard to the animals taken from our house at 1501 Desire. Could you give us full accounting of the animals that are in your possession which were taken from this address. We would like to know the following things. Where are they physically located? Are they still in good health and alive?
The cats were all trapped in the same area. We were contacted by the potential owner of some of the cats and we were making arrangements for him to drop by our house to view the cats, it was at this time that the raid occurred. We will notify him of your possession of the cats. Who should we tell him to contact there?
The dog with the bad leg, which is a birth defect, is respectfully requested to be returned to us for fostering . We rescued this dog, and have taken the dog to the veterinarian. We have numerous pictures of the dog and will list him on petfinder we didn't want this dog to get destroyed just because he has a medical problem. We request your co-operation in placing the other animals up for fostering, if any of the dogs are not easily able to be placed because of their demeanor then we request to be able to arrange for transport to one of the 501c groups that we have worked with, that are transporting animals to their location, and we will have a behaviorist work with them and then arrange for fostering. There were a few cats that we think were feral, if they are not owned by the person that contacted us, then we request to be able to spay/neuter and release them in the area they were picked up in.
We really want to work with you to resolve all these issues, we want to make sure the animals that we rescued find their owner or are placed in a good foster home.
Gary Otten
These dogs as you said are not strays. They were and are someone's companion animals.
ARNO and Best Friends and Winn Dixie and the countless other groups that came including yours, are living proof that these animals can be sheltered and reunited. I just found my Frankie in CA on petfinder. He dug out after the storm. Thank god he didn't land in the hands of the LASPCA. I would have never got him back. He would be dead. If every petlover imagined their companion animal in the hands of the LASPCA then we would all be on the same page here. A lot of these dog and cat lovers consider their pets to be their children. That is why so many did not evacuate and either met with death or had their pets torn from them. It is a people problem too, not just a pet problem.
It may be just my opinion, but I feel quite sure that is why the LASPCA does not answer the phone. They would have people screaming at them all day. Petowners I mean. If they list pictures that you cannot make out then they probably feel they cannot be held accountable. I wish there was some way to get a look at their records. That would be frightening I'm sure. That is "if" they are keeping any.
Marilyn
Let me reiterate that these pics were from several weeks ago. I would hope they have been fixed by now. Laura called it a mistake I think when I emailed her.
But regardless she makes it very clear these animals can be:
"The stray hold is 5 working days, not including the day the animals arrived at the animal control facility, which was the 21st of November 2005, which means they were available for adoption, transfer or euthanasia on November 26, 2005."
I like this one also:
"One of the dogs, a severely under-socialized Shepard mix, escaped from one of our newly hired animal control officers as it was being moved from a holding run to triage. We made every effort to recover the dog, but we have been unable to re-locate her. We are still on the lookout for her in the area."
Eric
Can some of the ARNO people be assigned to working at the LA SPCA? Clearly, good people need to get in there, and stay there, fast.
Eric, if you brought these to LASPCAs attention a few weeks, nothing has been done to correct them. They are still there.
Do they give one crap about owners?
I am amazed.
Check petharbor - the horrible photos are still there from LASPCA. Unbelievable.
You have to be kidding me. Still up? Even though she was told about this several weeks ago.
Eric
There is one photo that is completely black, not even an outline or shadow. Appears to have been posted today. Debra
Sent to LASPCA --
I sent you a note about this a month ago and was told new pictures would be put up. Yet, there are still very many unacceptably poor pictures at PetHarbor.com under the LA-SPCA site. It doesn't look as though they were ever replaced (small sample below). How are people supposed to locate their animals, or be assured that these animals are not theirs? It is bad enough that they aren't listed at PetFinder, but this is the final insult.
As someone who has spent countless hours of personal time trying to assist heart-broken NOLA residents find their missing animals I cannot tell you how upsetting it is to find that proper images are still have not been posted.
See this exchange between me and a shelter employee (names removed) a month ago.
To: LA-SPCA
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 10:55:00 -0500
See the picture--what is that an image of?? Very difficult for anyone to find an animal with images like this at LA-SPCA site.
----- Original Message -----
From: LA-SPCA
To: (my name snipped)
Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 2:09 PM
Subject: Re: another example of images at Petharbor
Hi (name snipped),
Thanks for letting us know about our poor quality pictures on
petharbor.com
I've spoken with our staff and most of them didn't realize that the pictures they were taking were being posted on a Web site; they thought they were for our use only.
This particular cat is feral, so was difficult to photograph or sex.
Thanks, again, for pointing this out. It'll make it easier for people to identify their lost pets!!
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
----------------------------------
From: (my name snipped)
Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 14:22:10 -0500
Thanks . There several bad shots (not all in bags, mind, but still not great for identification purposes and likely not all of them were feral). If you like I'll send them to you if it would help. Just let me know.
answered by LA-SPCA:
No need to send the pictures, we'll go through the kennel and identify the retakes and get them posted.
Thanks again!!
------------
So slow to update some photographs. So fast to kill Cajun. Where are their priorities, where is their compassion.
...and thats not even getting into the ones with clear pictures that are still horribly misidentified - one potbelly pig was called a "lab mix" an adult pekinese a "rottweiler puppy" cats listed as dogs and vice versa, the "green" colored cats listed - if it wasn't so unbearably tragic it would be laughable.
On a positive note - we stealth volunteers are taking out a full page ad in the Times Picayune on friday, saturday and sunday (12-30, 31-05 and 1-1-06)at their own expense. There is a toll free number for owners of lost pets 1-877-707-2969 We have people manning phones, ready to call back and help facilitate reunions. The pets we are featuring have decent "found" locations and all animals in the ad are in confirmed locations. We want to help - please cross post and tell anyone and everyone that we can, will, and do help (SV has reunited nearly 700 pets with their families!) It aint over till its over!
Hey, these photos were taken and posted by the LA SPCA under the direction of the infamous Laura Maloney! What do you expect? Compassion, integrity, kindness, or even feigned interest in posting viewable pictures? If so, you have the wrong group and I think the entire nation knows by now that the LA SPCA is a slipshod, careless, unconcerned organization managed by an arrogant Director. I don't think even a moron would have posted these pictures. What possible benefit could they provide to people looking for their pets? But the LA SPCA couldn't care less. What a thoroughly disreputable facade of a humane society. They really need to be investigated big time.
One wonders if they didn't update them because those animals "aren't there" anymore.
Possibly. The fourth one from the top on the left is not there anymore.
I just wonder how much of the donated money to LASPCA does Laura use for keeping up her "personal" appearance.
this is just the topping on the cake... do they honestly think anyone could identify ANYTHING in those pics? good god...what next ?
I I am a local resident here and the rescue groups I volunteered with also had trouble with the LASPCA. That is NO SURPRISE to me. The main goal of the LASPCA is to make money for themselves and not use it to help animals. Yes, they occasionally will pick up a stray if you can catch it and hold onto it for 8-24 hours. And yes you can dump animals off there...but they will be euthanized if not adopted quickly. They put more money into euthanizing than into anything else.
Didn't you see the tiny site where their only shelter for the entire City of New Orleans existed?
Believe me they get plenty of money and donations.
They cannot handle everyday operations much less anything of this magnitude. They are incompetent and do not want people that actually care about animals working for them. I cannot say that every employee is not a good one--but on the whole the organization is a disaster in itself and should be euthanized.
"This particular cat is feral, so was difficult to photograph or sex."
What a line of crap! Having just returned from LA again myself...and having worked with ferals for years...I have never EVER had a problem photographing one...sometimes yes it may take a few minutes to get a good guess at sex, but with a feral that is easily done...while it is still in the trap...all ya have to do is LOOK...for gawd's sake...you CAN see into ALL sides of a humane trap...but I guess one needs to know what a trap even looks like to know about sexing feral cats, something Laura Baloney wouldn't know about since she (heaven forbid) might get her hands dirty!!!
More lame LASPCA excuses, falling on deaf ears (mine)...with what I've dealt with for the past couple of weeks out there (again, this was trip #3)...I can't believe she is even there...she is an absolute and utter disgrace to the TRUE animal welfare community. There's got to be a way to get someone in there who actually cares about animals...instead of a Barbie Doll who sucks in the funds and lets these animals suffer...too bad we can't see what the balance is in the LA SPCA bank account...
The LASPCA removed a dog from one of our (ARNO) traps. It was a red chow poss mix, one of a bonded pair we were trying to get out of cement-bottomed canal. A gentleman had been feeding them and said he would care for them until their owner(s) were found or adopt them if they were abandoned. They were NOT feral. LASPCA (they did leave a note on the trap) refused to turn over the dog to anyone--us, vet, the fellow who had been caring for it.
There are phone numbers on the traps, it's not like they are unidentifiable or abandoned.
We did rescue its buddy the day before a huge storm moved in. It would have died in that storm, but LASPCA was no where to be seen trying to rescue it. Perhaps it would have meant exerting too much energy.
I met somebody in one of the parishes that said the local shelters were working overtime killing all the "owner surrenders first" after Katrina. "You should've seen all the bags we were taking outta there!" This individual was more than a little upset about what's been going on.
I also met a number of people/families wandering around their neighborhoods, many in tears, searching for their pets. They had NO CLUE where to look for their animals and they are completely devastated.
National Enquirer Headlines: LASPCA RESCUES BIGFOOT!!
After looking at the pictures and thinking about it for awhile, I honestly think that this kind of garbage needs to be sent to the Supermarket Tabloids, exposing all the dirty laundry and skeletons in the closet. It's a embarrassment, joke; not to mention utterly unprofessional. THIS is yet ANOTHER New Orleans government agency run amok; if the regular press isn't interested, maybe the Tabloids would be. Imagine the tremendous publicity of 100,000s of people standing in the checkout lines reading the front page headlines! What do you think... anyone have the pictures and story to send? SOMETHING needs to be done ASAP or else they will just keep getting away with it.
suzysmom :(
RE: LASPCA RESCUES BIGFOOT
Oh by the way forgot to mention, that unless Bigfoot's owners come forward within 5 days, he will be PTS as it has been determined that he is too aggressive to be put up for adoption and all the other rescue shelters are full...
Bigfoot's family are you out there?!
Regarding the petharbor photos and listings - I remember seeing a post that had Laura Maloney's comments that LA-SPCA had inadvertently not entered the locations where the pets were found but that this was being "corrected." Can anyone remember where this was from? There are NO LOCATIONS on the listings on petharbor, with poor quality photos (I think some photos have now been deleted since last night) makes it very difficult to search for owners who do not have access to website. I want to be able to reference Laura's comment before I contact LA-SPCA.
Also - has anyone communicate to HSUS, ASPCA or the Times-Picayune about the terrible accounting for the current animals?
Eric, here are pictures of an akita, M, intact, 125 pounds on 8/29. He
lived on Geurra Dr. in Violet, LA, 70092. These pictures are a couple of
years old. Thank God somebody in the family had the pictures because the
Hunter's home in Saint Bernard Parish drowned and they lost everything.
These are not "no account" people. They are fine, middle class, hardworking
people who lost their dog. The husband is a police officer. The wife was a
supervisor in a State agency. They have one son, a senior in high school.
The wife and son are now in Florida where the son is finishing school. The
dad is living with his sister in Gretna, LA and working as the police
officer he is.
They had two akitas, and the male is still missing. The female was
originally thought to be Jason's Candy, and she was shown to Jason's family,
determined not to be Candy, and then moved into akita rescue in
Jacksonville, FL, where she was spayed and treated for heartworm. Florida
Akita Rescue is fabulous, caring, loving, wonderful. Then a very nice
collie man drove her half way from JAX to NOLA, because Dorie from akita
rescue didn't want her to have the stress of flying, where she has handed
off to Mr. Hunter, and she is now with him in Gretna.
Keno is a very distinguished older gentleman, very clean in the house,
wonderful manners. He is protective, but not mean in any way. Someone
could easily have fallen in love with him and not listed him on petfinder or
pet harbor.
You can see that I received these pictures in October. I have been combing
the internet every day, except one - when I had surgery, looking for Keno.
The teenage son is heartbroken over this dog. The female akita was his
grandmother's and came into their family when she passed on.
Mr. Hunter's email address is good, but he doesn't have a lot of access. If
you should run across this akita anywhere please let me know and I will call
every Hunter in Florida and NOLA and keep them updated. I am retired and
online often.
Keno had an injured right ear some time ago, treated by the vet, and it
folds a little. Not a half flop, just a little.
God bless you for what you're doing. Carol Berk
Please everyone get this Post ot the local Press and the Crleans Parish Board. I am a local resident. It is time for change and accountability.
Re: Owner-surrendered animals killed en-mass after Katerina by shelters,comment: posted by a ARNO person
-----
Oh no, yet another horror. This is the first I have heard of this. Does anyone know more??? Many owners likely surrendered their pets as a temporary solution, which turned into a longer one when they couldn't return right away.... Do those shelters use gas chambers???
I wonder, in the end, what tiny percentage of animals residents of the Gulf will truly have been saved --despite the efforts & caring of so many people.
Most of the animals in these photos are extremely shy and traumatized and won't come out of their cages. Cameras also make them nervous. SPCA volunteers sit and read to them for a half an hour at a time. And then we come here to read your unproductive hate.
The official policy is that animals are held for five days--this means NOTHING is done to them in case the owner comes during that time. After that, they remain at the SPCA or are transfered, only to organizations that sign statements that they will not euthanize. There are dogs at the shelter, including pit bulls, that have been there since September.
The amount of creativity displayed in twisting the facts here is quite intriguing. But it is also counter-productive and doesn't help the animals. If only some of the animal rescue volunteers had been willing to follow the city's laws, perhaps more of them would be able to continue their work.
Because a animal won't come out of a crate or is traumatized is no reason to pose a poor quality photo - check the lighting. I have taken digtal photos of traumatized and frightened animals at shelters for webites and have never have posted a photo where a pet could not be recognized. If the volunteers have time to read to the animals for a half an hour then someone has time to check the website and retake the photos that are needed, AS PROMISED. Some of these have been up there for a month.
It's not "unproductive hate" to express anger with an organization that clearly is incapable of doing its work professionally. If the SPCA staff cannot take decent pictures of animals and post them promptly after all their years in operation then they are incompetent. Out of the thousands of images I have viewed of animals on Petfinder and Petharbor during this disaster these are the worst I have seen.
Animals may be dying needlessly, if not at LA-SPCA (well, let's leave out the dog with the birth defect that SPCA was *specifically asked* not to harm because there were people willing to care for him, but they euthanized him anyway) but elsewhere because people cannot recognize their pets at this site. This adds to the backlog of shelter animals in the system. Check it out: good photographs can expedite the movement of animals out of the shelter system. Bad photos inhibit that.
What is unproductive hate, as you say, is to expect New Orleans residents to passively put up with this b.s. in silence.
New Orleans City Ordinance
Reclaiming Your Pet (Sec.18-268)
Any animal that is impounded, is taken to the LA/SPCA. To reclaim your animal you must provide proof of a current rabies vaccination in order to avoid extra charges. You will be charged an impound and per-day room and board fee. After five days, the owner forfeits all rights to the animal which is then put up for adoption or humanely euthanized, depending on its health and temperament.
http://www.la-spca.org/prevention/ordinances.htm#Reclaiming_
There are people at the LASPCA that do care about the animals just as there are people working for the rescue groups who are only in NO as a excuse to take a free vacation and visit the French Quarter. Please, not all LASPCA people are bad. That said...
I have good pictures of terrified animals. It's not that hard to do. They've been terrified for four months and if a flash or two frightens them, it is a small price for them to pay to get reunited with their families. Take the damned pictures!
Yes, many people thought they were signing their pets over to be cared for until they got back on their feet. The shelter person I talked with that dealt with all the "owner surrenders" still looked like s/he was traumatized/in shock over what s/he had witnessed. I do have contact information for them but swore I wouldn't give it to anyone without asking them permission first. My hope was/is that Eric can talk to them and get the word out if for no other reason than that these owners will know what happened to their pets. (Eric--how do I contact you without getting lost in the shuffle?)
When we were allowed down in Plaquemines Parish, we were doing a world of good. It is truly amazing how many animals survived down there. They are everywhere! (As an idea of how bad it was, brick houses are completely gone, we found a dead horse 15 feet up in a tree, a 120 foot fishing boat was sitting on 30-50 foot high bridge, a house is sitting on top of a semi, houses switched streets, trailers are over a quarter mile from where they started out.) When you asked a local if they had seen any animals they always said no, then asked what you did with them if you found one. When we told them the process, they would rattle off a list of animals they had seen. Even the sheriffs were literally begging us to save animals they had seen. Then we were abruptly kicked out. Animal control simply does not have the manpower to keep these animals alive. I still don't really know why. Did this ever hit the internet?
How in the hell do you determine the temprement of a terrified animal under shelter conditions after they've had to fend for themselves for three or four months? Why are some of them PTS the same day LASPCA picks them up and why is that not made public?
Listen, I am more than willing to hear LASPCA version on anything. I have actually been very understanding of the challenges.
I am not sure how anything can be twisted. I have simply put up pics that are on Petharbor. I find it not very professional to have them up that way when I have owners crying on the phone with me 3x a day about trying to find pets.
OK, let me say this for all the hear -- HAVING BEEN TO LASPCA, TALKED EXTENSIVELY WITH L. Maloney, I do think that the LASPCA may do a good job in a backwards ass state (when it comes to animal welfare)with a population that are not the greatest owners.
I do give them and her the benefit of the doubt. I did a little research and found that they have lower euthanasia rates than most shelters in state.
Here is all I am saying: we had a disaster here that forced owners to leave pets. They are desperate to get those pets. Please put up really good pictures so that that one owner who is looking on your site daily finds the animal.
Listen, I have taken picture of over 200 animals that were rescued. I am very sorry but you can get good pics.
ALSO NOW IS THE TIME FOR THE LASPCA TO BEG AND PLEAD WITH SHELTERS AROUND THE COUNTRY TO TAKE PETS FROM THEM SO THEY CAN KEEP THEY CAN SAVE AS MANY AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE. Tara High in Gulfport has done just that with very good success. I am not saying LASPCA isn't doing that I just don't know.
The pictures are a problem. I had never planned on knocking the LASPCA again on this blog. I was through with all of that. But they are what they are.
I applaud anyone and the LASPCA if people sit and read to the animals.
Laura is very good with the press in a global way but very bad with helping grassroots people and animal lovers understand her challenges what she is doing day to day to have to kill as few animals as possible.
I say it one more time -- I want to apologize if I offended any hard working person at the LASPCA. Just please understand how hard it pet owners (citizens of your state that have lost everything) have it when trying to find animals. The number one problem they have is recognizing the pet from 20,000 PF and PH listings.
What you won't find from me is "hate" I honestly try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I put myself in others shoes. When you tell me that people read to the animals it makes me feel guilty for even bringing up the pictures...but I still think I should have...for owners defense..
Eric
also owners were told to look on petfinder.com and not petharbor...
If LASPCA wants to show they care about owners they should list on both.
Please remember LA-SPCA - that there are owners of left/lost pets that are out of state and cannot return to NO - the photos are all they have IF they can access a computer. They cannot come and look personally at LA-SPCA for their pets. Think of how many cats and dogs look a like. Plus without information about WHERE the animal was found we are just helpless in reuniting owners.
m c s p c a m c s p c a well the bitchkh came down, way on down, down to a town on which she throw down her frown, cuz she be rich and she be white, way up from where they don't do nuthin right. she work for the man that mean stupid man who sit in a house they call white. she be takin my dogs my baby dogs she took 'em wit her to where they don' belong. that bitchk be a ho that ho she said i can't have my dogs no mo because she be rich and she be white way up from where they are "the right" but they don't know how to do nuthin right. well i tell ya right now yes right now the next time that ho be coming down it'll be me and my boys that throw down the frown because down in my town we do things right whether we be rich black or white cuz that's who we are that's who we are and no rich bitchk who do nuthin right is gonna take my dogs without a fight
This cat is listed on petharbor as being available for adoption at the LA-SPCA. http://www.petharbor.com/get_image.asp?RES=Detail&ID=A001086&LOCATION=LSNA
I wonder what excuse they have for this poor photo? Feral, and up for adoption?
Again,please check the facts before embarrassing yourselves again. The LA SPCA website does, indeed,tell people to look at both Petfinder and Petharbor. But I am sure that my correcting this false claim will just lead to another round of "what about.."
The energy here seems to thrive on the negative. I'm not sure where that gets anyone.
anonymous wrote: "Plus without information about WHERE the animal was found we are just helpless in reuniting owners.
There is a means of finding where the animal was picked up using petharbor. If anyone needs that send me an email at sabbyblue@ hotmail.com I will send you the url. (remove the space, i put it there to help avoid spam)
Anonymous said...
"The LA SPCA website does, indeed,tell people to look at both Petfinder and Petharbor. But I am sure that my correcting this false claim will just lead to another round of "what about.." "
I have not seen any 'false claims' made here that imply the LA-SPCA site does not tell people to look at both sites.
Previous posts have said that the problem is that people are looking on petfinder but that the LA-SPCA animals are NOT on petfinder.
People looking on petfinder may not go to the LA-SPCA site and read that they should also search petharbor.
With the goal being to reunite, perhaps the LA-SPCA could ask Petfinder to put a blurb on the petfinder disaster link suggesting that people also search petharbor.
Or, LA-SPCA could put the animal on petfinder to help folks locate their pets.
Anonymous said, "There are people at the LASPCA that do care about the animals just as there are people working for the rescue groups who are only in NO as a excuse to take a free vacation and visit the French Quarter. Please, not all LASPCA people are bad."
How in God's name can anyone accuse out-of-town rescuers in New Orleans being here for "a free vacation and a visit to the French Quarter"? Slopping around in toxic floodwaters, climbing over dangerous rubble, getting very little sleep, bunking down in tents or vans, working from dawn to dark is not anyone's idea of a vacation. Most certainly it is not free as a huge number of rescuers have paid their own plane fares or paid for their own gas to drive here from far away places. This is a horrible insult to rescuers who have given so freely of their time and efforts to help our animals.
As for the LA SPCA, I have lived in the New Orleans area for over 30 years and it's present management and operations are the worst I have ever seen. Granted, these are unusual times and circumstances but that is no excuse for the way they have handled things. In my personal opinion, Laura Maloney is the worst Director they've ever had and I have lived through at least 6 Directors that have come and gone at the LA SPCA. That place needs a good housecleaning and they can start by hiring qualified, caring personnel. Those stupid photos they posted on Pet Harbor are an excellent example of their gross incompetence.
Having trapped dozens of cats, I can assure you that sexing of un-altered felines is the EASIEST of 'em all. As the Fruit Loops commercial goes, just "Follow your nose". Urine from an intact male has an overpowering stench to it. Even if the cat hasn't pee'd or sprayed in the trap - the smell is LARGE!!
"How in God's name can anyone accuse out-of-town rescuers in New Orleans being here for "a free vacation and a visit to the French Quarter"?"
Hello? They said they were. It is an insult to the 99.5 percent of the rescuers to say ALL rescuers are near saints when there where some people there who flat out said they were there just to see NO. They slept all day, partied all night. They took up space in an apartment that should have gone to people who were working, ate food meant for volunteers, had FEMA washing their "dirty" clothes, etc.
I saw one or two other lemmons there but everybody else was hard working, dedicated, and broke (a few in debt)from paying their own way, esp. cell phone bills.
The author of a piece in the 12/30 Times Picayune titled Giving a place to pets in a disaster is a huge supporter of the LA-SPCA, he is also a volunteer there. (you can see his negative opinion of the rescue efforts of others toward the bottom of this part of his blog dated 11/13 titled "The animal rescue craziness continues.." just below the letter from Laura Maloney. Those opinions expressed in his blog are NOT in the article)
The article does mention the LA-SPCA, though so that opens the door to write a letter to the editor re: concerns regarding the LA-SPCA.
Article online at:
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1135926336299960.xml?nola
"I knew that the Louisiana SPCA's shelter had been destroyed. But with the help of volunteers from inside and outside the state, they hadn't stopped rescuing animals. In fact, they had evacuated their shelter long before the storm, and after returning to the city, worked to save over 8,000 animals"
The obvious thing not mentioned is what LA-SPCA is not doing for those animals after they were saved....
What a shame!!! and to think that these individuals get paid to do this. They do get paid, don't they?
It seems to me that it would be so much easier for the animals sake to replace all these inept "humans" working there and instead hire people that are really animal lovers and care for the animals welfare. Laura Maloney and "her staff" should be FIRED. FIRED, FIRED!!!!!. She has for a long time deceived the people of LA. and as for the pics, any intelligent person would have thought that these pics were useless and something should have been done immediately to correct it to help with the identification process, even if it was for their own use only. For God's sake what's is wrong with these people? You need to be a complete MORON to post pictures like that. To me it looks as if they made a mockery out of this tragedy by posting these pictures and believe you me, this was no honest mistake!!!!!
Eric, thank you for the remarkable work you are doing on behalf of the animals please keep it up. and lets do something about this Laura Maloney, she has hurt the pet lovers comunity so much, and worst she doesn't even has an idea of how much suffering she has inflicted to pet owners and animals alike, which translates to this womans not having conscience and this is what I find very disturbing because she will keep on doing the same and worst. SHE MUST BE FIRED, AND THE SOONER THE BETTER AS IT APPEARS THAT LAURA IS THE BIGEST MORON OF ALL AND SHE IS DIRECTING THE LESSER MORONS AT THE LA SPCA
To the Washington Post:
I am an attorney in Shreveport, Louisiana, who has been assisting my neighbors of South Louisiana get their pets back from shelters strewn across the nation in the aftermath of Katrina and her deluge.
Unfortunately, there are a few shelters who are behaving obstreperously and refusing to return pets to their owners.
My client, Belinda Sumrall, evacuated to a red cross shelter outside of Houston, Texas, where she and her sister called the pet rescue hot line phone number posted at the bulletin board to report all of their pets, cats and dogs, left at their duplex in Arabi, Louisiana. Some ten or eleven pet rescue requests were uploaded to the petfinder database as a result of these calls on 9/28/05.
Meanwhile, a rescuer named Kim Deserio carpetbagged her way down south to rescue pets. After rescuing one of the ladies’ cats on 9/27 or 9/28, she returned to Ms. Sumrall’s home to take Sandy Marie and Coco Ree from outside of Ms. Sumrall’s home, on October 5, 2005, and left a note at Ms. Sumrall’s home stating the two pups had been rescued that ACA (Alley Cat Allies) was the contact for the two dogs she rescued. Acting for the Montgomery County SPCA, Inc. in or near Gaithersburg, Maryland, Deserio then drove the two dogs to her home in Maryland. She didn’t go by Ms. Sumrall’s home before absconding with these pups in order to leave her contact information at the home of Ms. Sumrall. Sadly, the one cat Deserio rescued died in foster care.
Upon finding Deserio’s notes, Ms. Sumrall and her sister called ACA to find Sandy Marie and Coco Ree. Sheryl Hogg, a behind the scenes volunteer who works tireless to reunite pets with owners, worked with them to locate these pups—and she did – not at ACA, but with Kim and her MCSPCA crew. Kim told Ms. Hogg that because she found the dogs outside, because they had heartworm, and because it would break the foster person’s heart to return them to Ms. Sumrall, she would not return the dogs.
There is no reasoning with this woman Deserio or MCSPCA, or its directors, Claire Proffitt and Cindy WIlson. None of them bother to return the myriad of phone calls made on behalf of Ms. Sumrall. They never bothered to review the pet rescue requests left by Ms. Sumrall and her sister; instead, Deserio prefers to claim falsely that there were no rescue requests for Sandy Marie and Coco Ree. Deserio did email two responses to my requests for the homecoming of sandy Marie and Coco Ree; her responses were arrogant and callous and indicative of that disgusting elitism this country supposedly was appalled to see the week of the mass media coverage of the flooding of New Orleans. Indeed, Deserio’s closing directed to Ms. Sumrall in her 12/17/05 responsive email reads: “ We will not be returning the dogs to Ms. Sumrall, but wish her the best in her transition to a new life.”
The arrogance and disdain of this self-appointed demi-gogue enrages me, breaks Ms. Sumrall’s heart, and must be aired. Sandy Marie and Coco Ree are family to Ms. Sumrall; one of them and I can’t remember which is a wedding anniversary gift, having been given to her as a puppy on the eve of her marriage.
Belinda would love the opportunity to air her story, and while I ordinarily do not believe in trying cases by media, this particular situation merits media attention. It would help not only Belinda, but the unfortunate others who also are experiencing this same type of obstructionist, callous, holier-than-thou disdain being dispensed by people who purportedly came here to help in the aftermath of Katrina. Belinda, like others, was victimized by Katrina and the levees’ breaking, the floods, and a chaotic government response---she does not deserve to be victimized by these callous carpetbaggers.
Please contact me at your convenience to discuss the possibilities of having this story aired.
Thank-you for your time,
Kathryn S. Bloomfield
(318) 934-4001
home: (318) 861-2695
401 Edwards Street, 10th Flr
Shreveport, LA 71101
While I agree that the woman above should return the dogs and should have left a note, she should be well-praised for traveling from out of state to save them in the first place.
Using the term "carpet-bagging" makes it sound like she had no biz' being there, even though so many residents had left and did NOT, or could not,return to save these poor souls.
I can also see why she feels that the animals were neglected. So I wonder if efforts have been made on that level to satisy her concerns for their well-being?
To the person who says there were no claims here regarding the SPCA telling people to look at Petharbor:
Try reading before you post. Just a few posts above yours:
"also owners were told to look on petfinder.com and not petharbor..."
And you wonder why people think you are crazy.
Somone wrote:
"Slopping around in toxic floodwaters, climbing over dangerous rubble, getting very little sleep, bunking down in tents or vans, working from dawn to dark is not anyone's idea of a vacation. Most certainly it is not free as a huge number of rescuers have paid their own plane fares or paid for their own gas to drive here from far away places. This is a horrible insult to rescuers who have given so freely of their time and efforts to help our animals."
Unfortunately,most of us who live in New Orleans saw this: people driving recklessly in "animal rescue" cars; people labeling their cars with organizations they had no affiliation with; rescue cars parked outside of bars; rescuers focused on populated areas--where they had access to drinks, etc.--rather than venturing into the areas where the help was needed; houses broken into long after the residents had returned; refusal to post information because the "owners are stupid and live in a backwards state." In fact, one only needs to read the comments here to know how little respect the rescuers have for the owners.
"Unfortunately,most of us who live in New Orleans saw this: people driving recklessly in "animal rescue" cars; people labeling their cars with organizations they had no affiliation with; rescue cars parked outside of bars; rescuers focused on populated areas--where they had access to drinks, etc.--rather than venturing into the areas where the help was needed"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lets see, As one of many rescuers that was in the NO area let me refute the above.
1, Yes I was guilty and went to one of the bars in the French quarter. It was On Oct 1rst. It was for my wifes Birthday. The person that gave up the rest of her entire vacation including the possiblitly of visting her family for Christmas, to spend yet another week helping out.
As a side note I had been there over three weeks with out going to a bar there.
A typical day was to get up at 5:30 am to set the days agenda. I ussaully got back after 7pm. Had a meal then did paperwork and organaiztion till 11pm or longer.
As far as venturing into areas I can safely say after over 800 miles driven within the city limits I doubt there is an area I didnt get to. If you saw people like me in your area it was often at a specific owners request. It doesnt meen they didnt drive eslewhere
Driving recklessly...Guilty.. I do that in LA also.
Posting inforamtion. Not sure what you are talking about here but the people that posted the least inforamtion tended to be the "official organizations"
It was maddending to come up to a house where we had been feeding or tracking an animal and see yet another SPCA documant or posting saying that the animal had been taken with no further inforamtion on how to get it back
FYI we had over a 90 percent success rate on reuntiting owners with their pets.
Now this isnt to brag, but to illustrate that is what the majority of recuers did. I am not saying there weren't boneheads and people with severly misplaced motives. But your realtiy is far from accurate.
Michael Lohr
G.A.R.
Interesting how this has devolved from a discussion of the disgraceful quality of the photographs posted by LA-SPCA and their failure to enable pet owners to identify animals that may or may not be theirs, which was the topic of Eric's blog entry "An Honest Mistake", to a discussion of who is the bad guy, alien animal rescuers versus, uh, whoever.
The fact remains that these photographs are shoddy and that they have at worst, inhibited people in their search to find their animals, possibly leading to needless euthanizing (see Cajun's story) and, at best, wasted a lot of people's precious and dwindling time.
Katrina aftermath includes puppy boom on Gulf Coast
By JAY REEVES
Associated Press Writer
Puppies are popping up everywhere amid the rubble left by Hurricane Katrina.
Animal welfare workers are seeing the tip of what they fear will be a big boom in dog births in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi hammered by the storm.
Officials say more than 6,000 pets were saved in the region after Katrina came ashore Aug. 29, and many of them were relocated to new homes elsewhere in the country. An unknown number drowned in the floodwaters or died later of injuries.
But thousands of animals remain, and humane organizations are beginning to see the result of even small numbers of animals running loose for weeks in neighborhoods where fences were flattened and owners fled.
"I've never seen so many puppies in my life," said Manny Maciel, an animal control officer from New Bedford, Mass., who has made two trips south to help trap loose dogs and cats in New Orleans and Mississippi.
Earlier this month, Maciel pulled 10 puppies and their mother from beneath a porch in a particularly hard-hit section of Biloxi. On another two-hour shift he found seven puppies and seven more dogs.
Maciel took all the dogs to the Humane Society of South Mississippi, where a shelter built for 75 animals now holds about 250 dogs and cats on any given day, including nearly 50 puppies. The shelter is the largest operating on the Mississippi coast.
Tara High, executive director of the nonprofit group, said workers have yet to see a big spike in cat births, but there's no doubt what dogs have been doing since the hurricane.
"We're beginning to get litters now," said High, a board member thrust into the job in the post-Katrina frenzy when the former director quit unexpectedly. "It's a lot of puppies, and it's not puppy season."
New puppies are brought in daily both by residents and workers such as Maciel, who is among eight professional trappers working with the Humane Society of the United States to help capture animals running loose in the hurricane zone. They use both harmless wire cages baited with food and lassos to capture dogs and cats.
A big part of the job for Maciel and partner Janis Moore of Springfield, Vt., is encouraging pet owners to help stem the puppy boom by having their animals spayed or neutered.
Maciel and Moore drive through mostly abandoned neighborhoods checking reports of stray animals and asking people to let them "fix" their pets for free.
Some animal owners, even those living out of vans while their battered homes are being repaired, don't want to part with their pets for fear they will never see them again.
"A lot of times it's the only thing they've got," Moore said.
Animals without owners often wind up at the shelter, where workers are overwhelmed despite the trickle of volunteers still coming through to help walk dogs and clean up.
High is proud that of the 300 or so animals that had to be euthanized in November at the shelter, all were too old, sick or aggressive to be adopted. New owners adopted 378 other dogs and cats.
But the storm after Katrina is increasingly hard to bear as animals reproduce.
As many as 75 new animals arrive daily at the shelter, including entire litters of puppies, and there is no immediate end in sight despite the work of the trappers and the push to get animals spayed and neutered.
"It's frustrating," said a weary High, who has worked every day but Thanksgiving since Katrina. "The animals do not stop coming in. The phone does not stop ringing."
On the Net:
Humane Society of South Mississippi:
Michael Lohr:
So, according to you "my reality is far from accurate." Yet my reality is confirmed every day by literally every NO citizen I talk to, in every neighborhood. Regarding driving recklessly--so you think it is fine to speed the wrong way on a one way street in an occupied residential neighborhood. I actually doubt that you do, but we actually had folks in "rescue" cars doing that all day long. Never saw them with animal, although they did try to lure one of mine out of the yard one day.
But you say, no, none of this happened. Hmm. And you wonder why people weren't thrilled to have you here.
As for car's outside of bars: some of these cars were outside of bars all day long. Also, many were labeled LA-SPCA. But they weren't. And many of the SPCA tags on houses were not SPCA either. They were out of state volunteers. Obviously NOT ALL of them were this irresponsible, but those that were most visible to the community certainly were.
OT Question:
Is the LA-SPCA is adopting out of the Best Friends Celebration Station location as well as out of the Algiers location, does anyone know?
I noticed that 5 of 7 the cats that the LA-SPCA has listed as available for adoption on petharbor are at the Best Friends Celebration Station location. Also, some (4) of the 11 adoptable dogs are at the BF location.
Taking bad pictures is one thing, but actually posting them on Petfinder/Perharbor or even their own website is quite another?! WHY would anyone even bother to post such poor quality pictures? WHAT EARTHLY GOOD CAN THEY POSSIBLY DO? They simply take up precious space and the extra time and effort required to even skip through them. Not to mention the FRUSTRATION of desperate families or overwhelmed volunteers who must wade through 1,000s of such useless info hour after hour, day after day, month after month. Is it any wonder that the reunion rate is so depressingly low?!
In the case of LASPCA, most commenters are not knocking the volunteers, but Maloney as Director and the ultimate person of responsiblity and in charge of the Agency must be held accountable for what goes on there, including posting of pictures which apparently have been left unedited for weeks, even after her attention was specifically called to them.
Does whoever takes them and keeps posting them have nothing better to be doing? Would they take the time to put them in their own home photo ablums...
Do they HONESTLY believe that someone will be able to "identify" their lost companions by looking at these "posted" pictures?? WHY EVEN BOTHER...
^^Oh wait I think I recognize my black lab, Ebony. Or is that my daughter's cat, Inky... Heavens, I must figure out who to call before it's too late :(
this is directd at the post that suggests we must cajole the ego of a "rescuer" who took two dogs, but refuses to return them to the owner. No attack has been made on her rescue efforts. We have no idea if she was a good rescuer or not. That truly is quite irrelevant.
It's her actions AFTER her "rescue conduct" was terminated that are reprehensible. It is the self-important egoist judgmental spiteful behavior and conduct that are at issue. This is not about concerns for a rescuer's ego. This is about a woman who is heartbroken; whose family's been ripped apart. And, it was not ripped apart by a self-less do-gooder -- True altruism does not seek praise. True altruism does not judge. True altruism needs no recompense.
Hmmm. I resent the implication of rescuers being drunks, etc. I've volunteered over 2 months of my time in Louisiana.
Animal rescuers wanting to check out the French Quarter? If I want to party and drink, I can stay home and do that. Have I been tempted? You bet. If you had seen some of the things we have, you'd want a drink (or 10) yourself. I've seen things that would drive someone with a heart of stone to drink. This is not fun work. It is grueling. I'm not in a cushy hotel room somewhere, I'm in a tent sleeping on a cot. I've yet to sleep with a real roof over my head.
I've been to LA three times since Katrina. My first trip there was no French Quarter, boat rescues were the norm,then we rode out Rita, and even after boats were no longer necessary, nothing was open.
My second and third trips??
The most I've seen of the French Quarter is passing through when I got myself lost. I've never gone to a bar, I've eaten in NOLA restaurants maybe 3 or 4 times, and YES, I feel I earned that after 20 hour days (and nights) of working my butt off. (at no cost to you, or to your state)
And oh yes, I AM GUILTY of driving the wrong way down one way streets, it was the ONLY way to get to a location while there were trees down and so much debris in the streets that we had no other choice. You might not know this because residents weren't yet allowed back into NOLA at that time, but many of us were there working in horrible heat and unbelievable stench, trying to make a difference for the animals we could find.
I know a lot of rescue people who got sick from what they were exposed to. (myself included) A lot of people sacrificed savings accounts, jobs, and time with families to travel to HELP. Some of us are in debt up to our ears.
Stop being so critical. A lot of people would appreciate it, although we don't need it. Our thanks doesn't come from people as much as it does from the animals we keep fed out there, and get off the streets and into safe shelter.
i find it humorous that the Crescent City would criticize any one for living outloud. That is New Orlean's culture. Who cares if a rescuer had a drink, two, three, four? I know after I've busted my tail on a hard job, it's only fitting to toss back a few. I can only imagine a rescuer's need for some anesthetic therapy after a grueling shift. Geez, when I lived in New Orleans, reckless driving, running stop signs, drinking, and carousing obviously was a way of life for people down there!
The city of New Orleans website refers residents to Pefinder only, in addition there is an incorrect URL. I contacted the webmaster 2 days ago to request a correction and to request that the link to petharbor also be added. These changes have not been made yet.
To all the out-of-state/out-of-town rescuers who came to N.O to help our animals, I apologize for the lone dissident voice of one poster on this blog who continues to criticize their efforts. This ingratitude certainly does not represent the majority of N.O. citizens. Perhaps this poster should look more carefully to her backyard where the LA SPCA accomplished far less than the "foreign" rescuers. Can anyone even begin to imagine how little would have been accomplished or how few animals would have been rescued had it been left up to the LA SPCA alone?
To those of you who dedicated your time and efforts, I wish to give you a great big thank-you. I couldn't care less if you had a beer in a barroom after a hard day's work or if you ate in a restaurant instead of trying to live off vienna sausages or if you drove the wrong way in order to rescue a dog or cat. You were not expected to live a deprived life.
I can only assume the derogatory remarks being posted are from a strong supporter or employee of the LA SPCA in order to detract from their poor performance.
Hurricanes and floods are not new to New Orleans and I can only hope that we will never suffer another Katrina. It is further hoped that we will have an intelligent plan to protect both people and animals from future tragedies such as this. Louisiana has been condemned for not having an animal safety plan - and rightly so - but please remember that no state has any such plan in effect. Hopefully, Katrina has taught all of America that we need to be much better prepared in the future.
I live in the New Orleans area and I can assure you the person who has complained so vociferously on this blog about the rescuers does not speak for me - nor anyone I know. Again, profound thanks to you who came to help.
"to the post that suggests we must cajole the ego of a "rescuer" who took two dogs..."
You missed my point which was that she did save the lives of these animals --twice. Once from being abandonded and then again by having them tested and treated for heartworm. She has has valid concerns for their welfare. It is not about "Cajoling" a "Carpter-Bagger," but about MEDIATING.
to the supporter of the woman who refuses to return dogs:
The ONLY reason rescuers were allowed in to save animals was that there is in place a three fold goal: rescue-shelter-reunite. All persons who engaged in rescue or shelter are obligated by moral and actual duty to engage in reunification.
This is not about mediation. This woman took the moral low road and who did absolutely nothing to locate the owner, although she knew her address and only had to run the adderess in the loss/rescue request databases of petfinder and she would have hit paydirt with a myriad of phone numbers for the owners. Rather, she has picked and chosen what duties she will honor---I cannot honor someone who sanctimoniously selects from the multiple obligations undertaken.
There were a myriad of rescuers available at the time These pups were rescued--none of whom have taken this irrefutable immoral route.
Again, you missed my point. I am a supporter of returning the dogs, as I clearly stated from the onset. What is needed is a mediator, which means someone who can ackownledge the concerns and positions of both sides and work from there.
again, you miss the point. Mediation implies that the shelter has a right to deny the owner her dogs. it simply does not. Again, you miss the point--no criticism at all has been levied at the act of rescue or even at the act of providing good shelter; in fact, in this case, the shelter apparently provided great care. But, it ignored its obligation even to try to locate the owner and when the owner was found, it refuses to return her her two pups, which are her family. These pups are not the shelter's family. These people's last comment to the owner was that it would not be returning the dogs to the owner and then it snidely "wished her the best" in her "transition to her new life." Mediation? because you seem to think you know something you don't, how do you suggest Mediation when these people won't even return a phone call. What they have done not only is civilly irresponsible, it is morally reprehensible, and quite possibly is criminal. Mediation you say . . . think again, dahlin'. I share with you what my mentor opined when I turned for support and perhaps some light shed on this insanity support in this battle: "you know what's wrong with them: they're americans who never have evolved like folks in western europe. we have a shitty, puritan culture that abounds with hypocrites who use jesus' name in vain. you just have to hit them hard and hurt them so that the next time they have a chance to be assholes maybe they'll remember that the last time they did it it was painful for them. remember always to hurt assholes"
Obviously the criticizers are either NONpet owners or had the good fortunate to have been able to safely take their pets with them when they evacuated. There are even folks who are bitching about having their houses spray painted!! Hello> Is the life of a furbaby not even worth the cost of a stupid bucket of paint?! What is wrong with these people... Most of the houses which will ever be inhabitable again will have to be repainted anyway. And I hope the "self-righteous biddies" take a look at the justthinkingaboutit pictures... To say the pet rescuers were just there on "vacation and to drink beer & visit the French Quarter" isn't even rationale thinking> They could have all gone to Hawaii for crying out loud and ended up spending less money! BUT the individuals and groups who knowingly refuse to return a grieving family's companion take the cake!!
I was in New Orleans for 22 days. I had 2 beers and never a single cooked meal. I had a cooler full of turkey and stuff like that. I never saw any ohter rescuer drinking more than a refreshing 1-2 beers after 16-18 hours or work.
Eric Rice
I was in New Orleans for 22 days. I had 2 beers and never a single cooked meal. I had a cooler full of turkey and stuff like that. I never saw any ohter rescuer drinking more than a refreshing 1-2 beers after 16-18 hours or work.
Eric Rice
I was in New Orleans for 22 days. I had 2 beers and never a single cooked meal. I had a cooler full of turkey and stuff like that. I never saw any ohter rescuer drinking more than a refreshing 1-2 beers after 16-18 hours or work.
Eric Rice
33637. I need phone/computer help for GSD in Lakewood
by lisejimmymc, 12/30/05 12:26 ET
Okay guys, I absolutely hate asking, but, if anyone can spare any time this
weekend to assist me with the German Shepherd living in Lakewood South, on
computer and/or phone, I would be forever grateful and will do whatever you
need help with on street (check houses, street addresses, etc.)If you will
recall, on Christas Day, my German Shepherd girl in Lakewood South finally
let me pet her and then the next day, I was able to get those 25 photos of
her, 1 is on PF54937.WELL, yesterday, after not seeing her for 2 days, I
showed up, shook my bag of treats and she came a running....but not for the
treats right away.....she wanted affection and then she had some running
play spurts and in the end, I ended up spending 2 hours with her just
hanging out.
She now doesn't just sit next to me...she nearly sits on top of me. She
leans her body so it is touching mine as we just sit and watch the
squirrels, etc. At one point, she rolled on her side and when she was sure I
was still going to pet her, she rolled completely on her back and took a
little "cat nap" while I scratched her tummy!!! She licks my face, and she
will paw at my hand when I stop petting her.Because she finally let her
guard down with me there and we spent a good bit of time together, I could
finally get my answer as to why she stays in the area.....after watching her
sit up for every car that went by on the service road, after seeing her look
at every car/ person that came down the street, after watching her walk over
to a car and sniff all 4 tires, look inside and look at the woman who just
got out as she went inside a house, I am convinced that she is convinced
that if she waits right there, her person will come get her...which means,
some of the characteristics she has that I have missed thus far, include
loving, affectionate, and loyal. Probably very loyal because I also spent
much of yesterday trying to coax her into my SUV...at her pace....left doors
open, want to go bye-bye, want to go for a ride, etc....and I could see, it
was killing her, she wanted to get in and go, but every time, she decided
she needed to wait there for her person and you could see this clear as day
with her.
So, my bottom line is this, after talking to on-site dog expert at Best
Friends/ARNO set up yesterday and determining best way to leash her and get
her, etc., I desperately want to be able to put her into a foster type
situation or even a GSD rescue group, while I continue and Best Friends/ARNO
and Stealthers, etc. continue to hunt for her owner. They have a wonderful
setup with the dogs over at Celebration Station, but I have to say that it
is heartbreaking for me to have her go through the process of being
kenneled, and shipped out, etc. if I could find a home-like situation for
her instead while all involved continues to try to locate owner. I am not
saying any protocols would be bypassed...one thing I am dying to find out is
if she has a chip....she would be brought to BF/ARNO for intake procedures,
etc. but rather than have her go to kennel situation, I would love to be
able to put her with a family or someone willing to give her the love she
needs. Yes, I am certain they all need the love, but, I have never ever
worked this hard in my life to gain the trust of an animal and now that I
have it, and appear to have all of her trust, it will kill me to see her
regress in anyway, to see her face and know she doesn't trust me anymore.
Animal rescue requires a certain distance (emotional anyway) between rescuer
and handler and that is best for all concerned, but, this particular
situation demanded the exact opposite, every day for 2 months, just so that
she can now be "rescued" My mission is still very clear to me and after
yesterday, even more so.....if her owner is alive, she needs to find
him/her...she so obviously misses her home and family...and I will continue
with this task even after she is off the street...but along with that
mission, I also want the best possible temporary situation for her and she
is the 1 and only animal in 4 months of rescue that I have dealt with that I
believe kenneling/traveling/transport might ultimately create
attachment/behavior issues with this clearly, traumatized but loving dog.So,
if any of you out there are working missing lost GSD cases, or know of
individuals/groups willing to foster this girl (with screening and all
protocol, etc) PLEASE, PLEASE keep her in mind and let me know....if I have
to, I will be the one to drive her whereever, or do whatever else is needed
to help this happen....it is very difficult for me to spend the time I need
to since I should be on the street right now as I type this.
I can tell you this dog is not: Action, Precious Bailey, Nikita (loves
milkbones) or Baron (all missing GSDs) I have call in to a BR number
regarding Pork Chop/Medo...listed on PF as old b/w hepherd...that dog was
lost less than 2 miles from Lakewood...but have not gotten response
yet.thanks all
Lise McComiskey
lisejimmy@cox.net
As of an hour ago, that precious girl, the GSD from Lakewood South abandoned subdivision, is FINALLY SAFE!!!I read all the posts earlier and all were right....foster, no-kill, whatever, it was all going to be better than where she was...so, I just did it. Noone in area today and she looked somewhat depressed and checking every noise/car to pass...brought a leash out asked if she wanted to go bye bye and it was clear she knew a leash...leash on and she kind of wanted to bolt a little but was receptive to my control, but did not like car ride so had to call in the big guns. Long story short, she is now at Best Friends/ARNO Celebration Station facility awaiting micro, vaccines, etc. Aside from the fact that everyone at the facility knows how long/hard I have been trying with her, and I am completely confident in their system thus far, I still had them assure me of her fate and was promised that goal is to reunite and if not possible she will be placed via foster, rescue, no-kill, etc. and will find a home....and this is one I will follow.
Must say, felt great to get her off the streets, a full 4 months since Katrina hit on 8/29/05, but this is one that has to have a happy ending for me...it just has to....FYI- heard her bark for very first time and she did wag her tail at others who approached her kennel which I think, must be a good sign,right?
Thanks all for all the help on this one,Lise McComiskeylisejimmy@cox.neta/k/a Pizza Girl (although she really lkes those T-Bone treats now!)
Call NC Please, what idiots, If the south would have won we would all be fucked-
PETA has been in contact with regard to deplorable living conditions, improper handling and care, and cruel killing procedures at the Robeson County pound. When PETA learned that workers were killing animals using painful "heart sticks," the organization paid to send three Robeson county employees to euthanasia training. County officials repeatedly assured the public and PETA that the shelter would, from then on, only use painless intravenous injections to euthanize animals and would use their training to handle the animals gently.
But undercover footage, taken just days ago, tells a far different story. Workers—three of whom PETA sent to euthanasia training—are shown plunging a needle into the sensitive tissue around animals’ hearts while the animals are fully conscious, an illegal killing technique condemned by the American Veterinary Medical Association because the injection can cause pain penetrating the muscles surrounding the heart. Animals are killed in plain view of one another in an assembly-line fashion, dropped, slapped, stepped on, pinned to the ground, left to convulse, and thrown into a wheelbarrow on top of dying and dead animals while they are still alive. The video shows a cat suspended by a catchpole noose tight around her neck, the stick propped against the wall, her legs kicking, left to suffer and slowly die, unattended, after she is stabbed in the heart with a needle.
Robeson County’s unwanted animals are entitled to basic protections under the state law. Please contact Robeson County officials immediately. Tell them to stop permitting pound employees to kill animals because they are unfit to do so humanely and legally and to acquire the assistance of a qualified veterinarian to perform intravenous euthanasia. Urge them to take action immediately to bring the Robeson County pound up to at least the minimum state requirements. North Carolina residents, please also write to your legislators today and demand that all county and municipal animal shelters be subjected to inspection and regulation by the state Department of Agriculture, just as privately owned or operated shelters are. Write to:
Robeson County Commissioners:
Johnny Hunt, Chair
Berlester Campbell
Raymond Cummings
Luther W. Herdon
Gary N. Powers
H.T. Taylor Jr.
Eugene Turner
Noah Woods
Robeson County Courthouse
701 N. Elm St.
Lumberton, NC 28358-4891
Tel.: 910-671-3022
Fax: 910-671-3010
"When a man's best friend is his dog, that dog has a problem." -- Edward Abbey
Anonymous said: "Call NC Please, what idiots, If the south would have won we would all be fucked-"
What a gross, stupid and biased statement! Abject cruelty exists in every state in the nation and a huge amount of it originates in municipal dogs pounds, whether they be in the South, the North, the West and the East.
Robeson County in NC has a bad reputation for treatment of animals, however, PETA needs to clean up its own act before they sensationalize others. It was only last year that PETA sent two of their operatives into NC on the pretext of taking animals from shelters and finding them good homes. The shelters trusted PETA and turned animals over to them as they had been told the animals would go to PETA headquarters in VA for re-homing. It was later discovered that these two PETA nuts were getting animals from shelters right and left and killing them, dumping the dead bodies in garbage receptacles all over the different NC counties. These unscrupulous PETA people were arrested but their nutty leader, Ingrid Newkirk, stood 100% behind them.
By all means, contact officials of Robeson County if what PETA claims is true. But don't condemn one region of the country and try to re-start the Civil War of the 1860's. Cruelty exists everywhere.
Hi,
I was glad to see the letter I sent Eric and others posted on this site. It was heartwarming to see the comments about Cajun and other animals, and to know that people do care and have not given up fighting for the animals. It also helps me to see the posts, because as mentioned, although we know we did a lot of good, it is depressing to leave New Orleans on such a sour note.
(Briefly)
I was down in New Orleans for about two months, as mention in my letters, the only problems we had down there was from the LA-SPCA, we dealt with them by avoiding them, and working all night long, which was a easy thing to negotiate with the police and the military. As you can see though they finally caught up with us.
(Little History)
Jane's group and Richard at Winn-Dixie worked out an arrangement defining areas where each group would trap. Over about 4 weeks we worked the lower 9th between Winn-Dixie and the River. We had knowledge that Don who worked out of Winn-Dixie got pulled over by the LA-SPCA (with assistance from the very police that allowed him into the area hours before) in the lower 9th ward. So when we were ready to move into the restricted area north of N. Claiborne we decided to work at night to minimize contact with the LA-SPCA.
There was more vehicle traffic in the area south of N. Claiborne so we didn't stand out in the day time. We did as mentioned in emails receive a call from a Officer Damon from the LA-SPCA complaining about some of our traps that we didn't hide good enough, she told me that we weren't allowed to trap in the area. Our traps were around Tupelo and Royal this was south of St. Claude. I told her that she should be worried about their own traps that they had not checked for two days straight. She eventually hung up on me. We continued to trap in the area; we just moved those traps and hid them better.
As a follow up. We still have had no luck hiring a lawyer in New Orleans that is engaged enough to get on top of the situation with Cajun and other issues with the LA-SPCA. Jeff Dorson at the LA Humane society paid $1500 for an attorney to do work on this case, but unfortunately the attorney has been unresponsive. I own a small business, so I have first hand experience that it is hard to get an attorney that is on top of things, I can't tell you the money and time I have wasted on bad attorneys over the years. Now I am lucky and back home I have five great attorneys for various things. Now I am hoping to find one in the New Orleans area. You can see the last email I sent him below.
If any New Orleans residents and/or business people have any experience with an attorney that stays on top of things please forward the information to me. The management at the LA-SPCA needs replacement, the sooner the better; it is hard to tell what is really going on there. I just like Eric, gave the LA-SPCA the benefit of a doubt. When it became clear they were unhappy with us, I went to their location and left contact information so we could work with them, they never called, even in some of my emails I asked to work for/with them as a subcontractor. At the time I tried to work with them, I was under the impression that they had given up killing animals and were doing everything possible to find them good homes.
Thanks Again
Gary Otten
******************************
Juan C. Labadie
235 Derbigny Street
Suite 100
Gretna, LA 70053
504-368-1299
Hi,
Things didn't turn out that good for the dog they took. They have informed me that they killed him. Please see all the attached correspondence between me and them, also note the two audio recordings. Let me know what we should do, I think it is obvious that they did it on purpose. I think this dog deserves some sort of justice, and also I think that all the dogs that fall into their hands deserve a better fate, lots of dogs, as people do, have some handicap. If we have cause for action against them let me and Jeff at the humane society know.
Also Jeff wanted to know what authority they have in preventing others from doing rescue work, such as catching dogs by chasing them, or when they come up to you on the street, and also catching them in traps. Jeff may have had other questions, he may have already discussed with you, you can contact him at any time or he can be reached at stopcruelty@cs.com , to reach him fast calling is better.
Also have you been able to call the warrants clerk in Orleans parish to see If I have warrants out for my arrest? It is not possible for me to operate in Louisiana without finding out. I think now it might have been a rumor. Anyway the lawyer that worked for the lady that was suppose to have filed charges against me is a William Cherbonnier, 2550 Belle Chasse Hwy Suite 215, Gretna, LA 70053. Telephone # 504-309-3305. There was a dispute over mail she may have stolen, but this has since been resolved. This lady begged us to stay in her place, then started complaining about everything we did, then came to the house one day with the police and told them she didn't know who we were, so we thought she was trying to shake us down for our electronic equipment, then when the police didn't believe her and let us leave with all of our stuff, we thought she may have stolen a package that was mailed to me from my office back home. I talked to her attorney he was quite a ass on the phone, not that helpful at all. If charges were filed by her they need to be dropped. I have a lot of proof that she wanted us at the house and knew we were there, I thought she kind of acted like a nut and would be trouble, but we desperately needed a place to stay. By the way her house at 1245 South Lawn couldn't be worth more than $50,000, it is run down, we aren't talking a palace, my truck is worth more. I have ample evidence for a lawsuit against her for the shit she put us through, the fact that she donated the house, said live here for free for all you are doing for the animals, has been far out weighed, by the misery she has caused me, so I would not feel bad in the least of filing a civil suit against her for all the trouble she has created. Even the package problem could have been resolved by her or her attorney by letting me know that they would be on the lookout for it , and guaranteeing me that they would get it back to me. They refused to do even that.
Thanks
Gary Otten
Eric, it's Joe. Thank you so much for all of your efforts in getting our story out about our rescue opperations in the 9th and Holy Cross. I am still heartbroken to this day, I mean the lump-in-the-throat and the tears in the eye type. Tomorrow is the first day of the new season, and Cindy and I (as Alliance For Animal Rescue) are still actively arranging animal relief and hay drops into the surrounding smaller cities east of the New Orleans coastline. We are working with a team that is STILL going in on regular rounds into Plaquemines parish and feeding these dying animals all the way to the Venice boatyards. Her name is RamonaBillot@yahoo.com and she is the ARNO coordinator for Plaquemines. She needs help in the transport, still, of dogs directly affected by that bitch Katrina. The animal groups in Biloxi are in grave need. Lafeyette, Gulfport, Waveland, all along the coast.
As far as Laura goes. I can give you my accounts directly.
We had 6 cats, and 5 dogs at the time the NOPD officer kicked in my door. The door didn't lock without the deadbolt, so it flew open. I turned right and bolted down the hallway not even knowing what this person looked like coming through my door. For weeks upon weeks we had instilled into ourselves this tremendous level of awareness and almost enhightened sense for danger at the next corner. The officer had the gun on me so quickly that I had nowhere to go. The uniform out of the corner of my eye almost gave me a quick sense of relief. Uniforms of all kinds, up to this point, were a good thing. His gun wasn't on me, it was on the 15inch marine knife that was hooked to my front beltloop. Having a gun would get you shot quickly. Having a blade was for protection, not killing. He took me by the wrists behind the head and escorted me to the front door. By now there were six or so NOPD and the locals were gathering. they took me onto the street, against a NOPD car, and began to demand that identify myself as Gary Otten. Laura showed up along with a couple of other transport trucks and came around the front of the truck to where I was. She reached her hand out and introduced herself. We shook and she began to tell me that she had recieved complaints of squatters stealing animals out of the 9th. Her main basis for her actions were that the city law states that more than four dogs at a single residence is the limit. We were in violation. She said she knew the dogs were not ours, thats when I told her of Cajun and Ember. Ember is my foster and poster child. Cajun was my most dramatic rescue. If you could have been there to hear them yelling at me to get out from under the edge of the house. Cajun was so far up under the house. Right out of my custom snares reach. I had no choice but to defy their warnings. It resulted in some angry words, but we had rescued him from sure death. He was truely the fallen of the fallen. She left Ember, which she is a story of her own, and a black rott. I don't even think they saw the rott. We had so many animals in that house that they failed to search the entire front room. Thats where he was peacefully hiding from the killing krew. The image of the first cat out of the house will always haunt me. These are the things that people see that make them want to kill to get revenge for the innocent. Their poles were raised at shoulder level with each of the animals as they hung them out the house, down the steps, banged into the side wall of the truck, then up into the square hole. I'm sure they took on injuries to the throat. Shes lucky I didn't get it on digi. I'd have her job. One of her officers asked me as they were bringing Cajun out " What the hell did you do to this dog." It was his disfigured leg. A birth defect. The NOPD harrassed and cursed at me as if to instantly interogate me on the spot. One red headed cop went as far as to spit in my face for not admitting I was Gary. I told them over and over that my ID was in on the megshift desk. Finally they took me back in handcuffed and made me show them right where it was. As soon as they realized I wasn't Gary, they uncuffed me and gave me a nice little speach about how they did not tresspass and that the door was open. He actually appologized for cursing at me and told me I'd have no case against the NOPD. Laura stated she knew where to find me if she needed me arrested. The red head cop told me I would be advised to leave the city limits within 30 minutes. And that, I did. I fled north out of the city just at nightfall with a load of supplies that you couldn't imagine. Loaded. I met Gary at a busy mall lot and we discussed our options. We split to Tylertown.
I challange other rescuers to show off some of their extreme photos. Alot of what I have I was afraid to let the wrong people see just where it was we were rescuing from. Noone was allowed in the barricaded area to do chase and cornering rescues. Except us. Not even the NOPD were allowed in the area that was still under martial law. We were the only single outside rescue group that were actively coordinating search, rescue, and reunions within the barricades. Under the special invite of SGT.Chuck,E5,with the Louisiana Guard and head of evening patrol. Thousands of groups nationwide. We knew what we were doing had to be kept a secret. We reported the animals as coming out of surrounding streets. We didn't dare tell the shelters where we were getting them from. They wouldn't have believed us anyway. The likelyhood of getting seriously hurt increased tenfold as soon as you crossed through the barricades. The sheer blunt force that ran through the "lower 9th", the sight atop the first levee break at the pumphouse in the northwest corner of the neighborhood. Noone wanted that area as their search area. You had to be crazy.
This season holds hope still. Evacuation plans are hopefully in place for the most part. I've emailed the rescue in Biloxi in hopes to help down there for three weeks this season. I'll be on call through Nov. We are going to work with the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center here in Dayton to help fund our 06 efforts wherever they may take us. Certification ahead of time is essential.
I can be reached at overnix45439@peoplepc.com. I still have so many stories to tell. online certification for a wide variety of cources is free through United Animal Nations and are recognized by VMAT and other rescue organizations as proper crudentials for training and deployment certification after passing and attending workshop. Hazmat is required also.
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Wow. I'm glad to see such a response to Cajun and Lauras bad management. Cajun is one of my hardest rescues to get over. We litterally risked our lives by crawling through what was called the most dangerous construction site in the US. Desperately stretching our bodies underneath this house that teetered on a heating unit. I still have yet to release many of my photos to the public. That night was insane. He was burried like a gator in six inches of mud. A custom 16 foot snare was all that seperated us from what was probably his last chance at survival. Gary transported him to Causeway and the doc said Cajun didn't know any better, the dog thought he was normal. Cajun bolted out the door at 1501 one evening. It was just getting dark, and I heard Gary shout "Joe". I was in the restroom, but three steps later I was out the door running in just my shorts. I turned the corner and dashed through an abandoned parking lot full of five foot weeds like an olympian over hurddles. Cajun ran into a fence corner and had four hands on him before he knew it. I believe he could run faster than a four legged dog just because of the reduced friction of his paws. He seemed most comfortable at Garys laptop on the console. He will be missed. By the way, I posted two ads on www.petfinders.com under found dogs of Louisiana. On is of the sad news of Cajun and my ongoing search for his owner. The other is of the foster dog that Laura left behind on her raid of our megshift shelter. Her name is Ember, she is from the edge of the 9th, and I am still searching for her owner too. Both can be found on Petfinders.
This coming year will be different for my small team of rescuers here in Dayton. I am now certified through DHS on eight levels including HAZMAT and Animals In Disasters. We have acquired numerous invites from counties along the gulf coast including Biloxi Rescue, ARNO, Vermillion, Lafayette, Plaquemines, Waveland, and more into Panama City and West Florida. We are now Guard registered in numerous states, and are registered with many state and county Emergency Planning Committies along the gulf, as well as our own here at home. Our certifications will allow us to respond under local affiliation, and to work within the ICS structure as first responders. In most situations of disaster, once the Guards are in place and have set command post, there will be an immediate need for ICS trained volunteers to assist with animal accessment. Under the pre-invite of a local group, and the OK of the Incident Commander. I have found permission easy to get if you ask the right person. Tried and True. Persons seriously interested in our story can email me for contact and photo info. overnix45439@peoplepc.com And don't worry, Laura will see me again. Gaarrongteed!
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