Thousands of Animals Remain Trapped Without Food or Water in Abandoned Homes

IDA's Project Hope Team Continues Animal Relief Work in Mississippi - Homeless Animals Continue to Flow into Waveland from Search and Rescue Missions in New Orleans

IDA's Project Hope animal relief team had another eventful week looking after animals rescued from the wreckage of New Orleans and other areas hit hard by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
It started off when a dog who was rescued from New Orleans was brought to the Waveland shelter and appeared as if she might be pregnant. As members of the team drove from New Orleans back to Jackson in the early morning hours, these suspicions were confirmed when the dog started to produce milk. Team member Lisa Martin and her husband Mike sprang into action, volunteering to take the mama dog back to New Orleans , hoping that she would lead them straight to her puppies. The fact that it was late at night didn't deter them, but they did have to convince some National Guards on security duty to escort them into the restricted area. The Guardsmen kindly agreed to assist with the search, and sure enough, the mama dog knew exactly where to find her puppies. Mike bravely climbed under a house that had been immersed in toxic flood water just a couple of weeks earlier and handed the puppies out to their mother, who lovingly licked and inspected each one as they were laid by her side.

Back in Waveland, a steady flow of dogs and cats arrived at the shelter. Randy Grim of Stray Rescue of St. Louis asked if 15 pit bulls could be housed at the Project Hope Sanctuary until transportation to his shelter in Missouri was arranged. Of course the answer was Yes, but to everyone's surprise, a total of 44 rescues arrived on Sunday afternoon. This caused some confusion at the sanctuary, but all of these animals should soon be moved to new locations. Tragically, two of the rescued dogs (not pit bulls) escaped from their pen and attacked three of the sanctuary's pot bellied pigs, two of whom had to be euthanized. Thankfully, the surviving pig seems to be making a steady recovery.

IDA's Project Hope team has been fortunate to have had some amazing and dedicated volunteers, three of whom - Carin Dombroski and Fiona Halbritter from Virginia and Janelle Davidson from Oregon - departed this week. Fortunately, other volunteers continue to arrive, including Sherry Dugan of Oregon , as well as IDA's Northwest Coordinator Matt Rossell and his partner Leslie Hemstreet. IDA volunteer Eric Phelps returned home to Virginia recently after a week at the Waveland shelter cleaning the facility and caring for homeless animals. On his drive back home, he brought eight dogs and eight cats to shelters in Virginia and North Carolina . After a thirty-day waiting period to allow the animals a chance to be reunited with their guardians, the animals who endured so much will be adopted out. Because the entire city of Waveland was destroyed and residents who stayed in the area are now homeless (many are living in tent cities, vans, and trailers), the animals at the Waveland shelter don't stand a chance of being adopted out in their native city. IDA volunteers continue to relocate animals brought to the Waveland shelter to other facilities so they can find new homes. The steady influx of influx of strays and the burgeoning stream of puppies and kittens being born as a result of unaltered animals left roaming the streets makes freeing up room for new arrivals at the Waveland shelter a top priority.

IDA's Project Hope animal relief team is looking for volunteers to help with search and rescue in New Orleans . If you have experience with trapping stray animals and you have your own car (or can rent one), please write to hurricanekatrinainquiries@idausa.org .