From the Animal Services Officer
Hi to all I just returned from New Orleans yesterday. Can't
put into words what I saw!
Unfortunately I arrived late Thursday
night the 22 and on Friday morning we had to prepare to leave Lamar-Dixon
Expo Ctr. due to "Rita" changing course. Several hundred volunteers were evacuated to safer locations leaving a crew of 10 to hold down the fort.
The volunteers started to arrive back on Sunday the 24th and hitting
the streets again. I went into the Elysian Fields area with my
team on Monday the 26th. This area had some flooding over 6 feet
or more in some locations. It was sad all we located were dead
pets this day in homes we entered. We also began to notice loose
dogs packing up and going after smaller, helpless dogs. Many of
these loose dogs were pit bulls.
The following day I went out and
was partnered with a young woman from Portland Org. named Stephanie.
This day we rescued two cats and three dogs. One home we had
on our rescue list stated that there were three cats with food & water
in upstairs bath and a dog with food & water in right side bedroom.
You had to smash in windows to gain access to these homes. We broke
out the window and stepped in onto waste high debris and went up
stairs to the bath and found the cats dead and no dog.
Going back
downstairs I started to climb out the window and Stephanie asked
if I was okay because I was breathing so hard, and I sated I wasn't.
She hollered there something under this mess. We both frantically
dug and found a yellow lab jammed into the corner of the room under
a small table. It appeared he had probably been under there 7 to
10 days.
The following were recovered 6 more animals. That afternoon
I was sent out to recover known "aggressive" animals that were
inside various houses on the "Eastside". These were mostly Pit
bulls some of the worst temperaments I have ever seen. The first
one I removed bent a brand new Ketch Pole that I was using for
the first time like a pretzel. I removed 4 such dogs.
My equipment & the
animal control truck and my body took a beating, but saving 20
plus dogs, cats and a few other pets made it all worth it.
If you
can please donate to the HSUS Katrina fund! I haven't assed the
equipment loss to Beverly Animal Services but it will be several
hundred dollars (Animal Control Equipment isn't cheap) I could
use donations of any size to replace lost equipment much of if
was just purchase this past July.
After this experience all I can
ask is always love your pet or pets never been mean or abusive
to them. Thank You & God
Bless. Jim Lindley Beverly Animal Services Officer |
