Rescue Update

Winn-Dixie Shelter

Hi All-
It's been a few days since we updated you. There is much to tell and lots of rescues still going on.

Our original plan was to do adoptions from our mini WOW van. We have attempted to get cats and /or dogs that we could transport north of New Orleans and adopt out, similar to our mobile adoption center in Seattle. Our biggest obstacle has been the spay/neuter rate in Louisiana. Most (95% or more) of the animals being rescued have not been fixed. We have visited 4 shelters and talked to many others and they haven't had any that are already fixed for us to take. At one shelter, a family was bringing in a small dog to be held until they could get back on their feet. This dog was not neutered and the shelter told the family they could have him neutered, vaccinated and microchipped for $75.00 while the dog stayed with them. The family didn't want to neuter him because they "didn't want to take away his manhood." This is the attitude we have found in this city and it is overrun with strays. Fortunately, this family was talked into neutering their dog, but many people refuse.

We have not been able to make a contact with a local vet to have surgeries done in a timely or cost effective manner. One local rescuer is trying to arrange some surgeries this week for us, so we can hopefully do some adoptions next week. In the mean time, there are still thousands of animals to be rescued in the area. The devastation from the flooding is unbelievable. Half of the city is completely uninhabitable. You cannot immagine the destruction- entire neighborhoods destroyed. It is like a ghost town. We decided to settle right in New Orleans. There is a makeshift shelter set up at an abandoned Winn-Dixie grocery store parking lot. We have gone out on rescues every day. So far we have brought in 6 dogs and 12 cats. In addition, we have set up an area for the feral and aggressive cats to be brought that is a distance from where the dogs are kept. The barking was scaring them and making them more aggressive. Several people were bitten and nobody wanted to clean their cages. I am happy to say that most are not feral, have calmed down and gotten transferred to shelters out of state.

We are going out each day in the morning (6am-10am) and evenings(4pm-8pm curfew). In between times, we have the feral caats to take care of. There are many specific rescue stories to tell you. Now that our internet connection is working better, we should be able to regulary keep you updated and share the specific stories with you.

Brenda and Kristin