Pet rescues, reunions and regrets

Kim Campbell Thornton • E-mail

At least one happy ending has emerged from Hurricane Katrina's wreckage.

Bill Harris of Slidell, La., trapped in his home for three days by rising floodwaters, stood on a chair with his beloved Miss Kitty in one arm and a two-way radio in the other, desperately calling for help. When he was finally rescued, he had to be taken immediately to the hospital and Miss Kitty was left behind.

Alerted to the cat’s situation by an MSNBC crew, Noah’s Wish volunteers went in search of her. Several days later, they finally trapped a cat matching the description Harris gave. The two were reunited Friday at Forest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Miss., where Harris underwent surgery.

More such reunions are likely, thanks to the efforts of animal welfare organizations, dog clubs, and corporate and private donations.

“We’re holding all the animals for 30 days because it’s going to take that long for some of these people to connect with us,” says Terri Crisp, founder and director of Noah’s Wish. “The state is only requiring that they be held for 15 days, but we always give people more than enough time, and that’s because so many people have had to move so far out of the area to find a place to live. With the challenges that we’ve had with gasoline and with phones, we really need to give people the extra time.”

Almost a third of the 506 animals now in their Slidell shelter have been identified, Crisp says. Volunteers post notices on properties to let people know what animals were taken from the location and where to come to identify them and make arrangements for short-term or long-term care. Some animals have been reclaimed and those available for adoption have been moved to other shelters.

In New Orleans, Best Friends Animal Society is rescuing 50 to 80 animals each day and taking them to St. Francis Animal Sanctuary in Tylertown, Miss., just across the border from Louisiana. The sanctuary was struggling in the aftermath of the storm.

Brent Wallace / FGH Bill Harris and Miss Kitty, together again.

“They had about 300 animals there, had no power or water, and were down to their last 24 hours of food,” says Michael Mountain, president of Best Friends. “Our first team got the place up and running and then we made it our base of operations, building it out to hold 800 to 1,000 animals. It’s now a fully functional emergency shelter with a Best Friends staff of 13, plus three vets and three vet techs and about 50 volunteers on any given day. Some are caring for the animals. Others are building more shelter, as we expect a sudden escalation of animals in great distress when the waters recede further and trucks can reach more of them faster.”

Searching via the Web
Other organizations, including the American Kennel Club and Petfinder.com, serve as communications resources for rescuers, people who have lost animals, and potential volunteers. The AKC’s Companion Animal Recovery organization set up a donations exchange database on its Web site where people can list resources, equipment and offers of transportation or foster homes. People in need of assistance can search the database by state. At Petfinder.com, hurricane victims can post the locations of their pets so rescuers can try to find them and search descriptions and photos of found animals. Volunteers can post offers of foster care or other help.

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