Thousands of Animals Remain Trapped Without Food or Water in Abandoned Homes
IDA's Project Hope animal relief team continues to rescue animals in Mississippi and place them safely in shelters and foster homes. Working closely with Randy Grim and others from Stray Rescue of St. Louis, the group took in 20 dogs with particularly aggressive temperaments last week. They transported the dogs back to Stray Rescue's shelter in Missouri, where they will be cared for until claimed by their guardians or placed in new homes. Additional IDA staff also flew down south this week to help with the relief effort. |
|
The Project Hope team is just one of many groups working on the ground in areas of the South devastated by the most destructive storm on record ever to hit the U.S. Jane Garrison leads the food and water program at the makeshift animal shelter at the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, the central staging area for animal rescue in the state of Louisiana. In the weeks she has spent in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina hit, she has personally rescued hundreds of animals trapped on rooftops and inside locked houses without food or water while organizing relief and rescue teams.
Armed with a list of over 3,000 residential addresses where guardians say their animal companions remain trapped, Garrison and her volunteers are bringing food and clean water to animals who are dying of malnutrition because they have not eaten for over two weeks. Rescuers find that animals have survived in about half the houses they visit. There are also thousands of homes where animals remain barely alive that have not been reported to rescue organizations, and volunteers sometimes enter houses only after hearing barking inside. Even though they are working as fast as they can, Garrison's team is only able to visit about 300 houses per day. At that rate, they will never be able to save all of the animals now on the verge of starvation.
Volunteers are needed in Gonzales to help save animals still trapped in houses throughout the New Orleans area. Timing is critical, and every day counts for these starving animals. If you can join the relief effort in Gonzales, you will save the lives of animals every day that you are there. You do not need to be a "certified disaster rescuer" to help, and even one day of volunteering can make a huge difference, whether you join the search and rescue operations, work with animals at the shelter or do data entry of field notes. If you are willing to rough it for the duration of your stay (that is, sleep in a car or tent) and work hard, please contact IDA President Dr. Elliot Katz for more information at (415) 388-9641, ext. 225 or by email at EMK@idausa.org and send a copy of your email to Alicia@idausa.org .
IDA's Project Hope animal relief team needs medical supplies to provide basic health care for many of the animals at the Jackson staging area. Please ask your veterinarian to donate medical supplies for this urgent cause.
Project Hope
Rt. 1 Box 128
Grenada, MS 38901
(662) 237-0233 |
Welcome to HorsesintheSouth.com - 
