Ginger Guttner - Office of Public Relations - Veterinary Medicine Building - Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Telephone: 225.578.9922 - Facsimile: 225.578.9916 - www.vetmed.lsu.edu - gguttner@vetmed.lsu.edu

For Immediate Release: August 31, 2005

BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA), the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association (LVMA), the Louisiana Animal Control Association (LACA), and the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) are managing animal evacuations and recovery plans for New Orleans pets and displaced animals.

PETS TRAVELING WITH OWNERS

The LVMA is currently accepting pets at the Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette, LSU in Shreveport, the Monroe Civic Center for small animals and the Ike Hamilton Center for large animals in Monroe, the Farmer's Market in Alexandria, and the LSU Agriculture Center/Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge. Owners must be housed in a Red Cross shelter; owners are responsible for caring for their animals, including feeding and cleaning. Animals will be accepted 24 hours a day. Veterinarians will be on hand to handle any medical needs.

While owners are responsible for the feeding and cleaning of their pets at the Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge, the SVM, along with volunteers from the Baton Rouge Veterinary Medical Association, will provide veterinary care. If for some reason, an owner is unable to care for a pet sheltered in the Parker Coliseum (e.g., the owner is housed in a special needs shelter), SVM student volunteers will provide primary care, such as feeding and cleaning. The East Baton Rouge Animal Control Center will be taking stray animals.

The Parker Coliseum will be staffed 24 hours a day by a supervising veterinarian and student volunteers from the School of Veterinary Medicine. Pets in the Coliseum will be given physical exams and Bordetella (kennel cough) vaccinations. If a pet requires medical attention and veterinary monitoring, it will be sent to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine's Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

PEOPLE WITH PETS WHO ARE CURRENTLY EVACUATING NEW ORLEANS

The LA/SPCA will transport animals from pick-up points in New Orleans to the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. The pick-up points have not yet been determined and are being coordinated with the agency charged with transporting people from New Orleans to other areas.

The Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039 St. Landry Rd., Gonzales, La., will serve as the primary staging area. Once the shelter is full, animals will be moved to temporary shelters in other areas of Louisiana and Texas.

The LA/SPCA Dorothy Dorsett Mobile Veterinary Center will be at the Lamar-Dixon Center to treat incoming animals as needed.

CONFINED PETS STILL IN DISASTER AREA

Beginning on September 1, residents who left pets in their homes may call a hot line to leave information about the number of animals, species, and their confined location. As soon as the hotline number is obtained, we will advise the media. WE CANNOT ENTER NEW ORLEANS UNTIL APPROVAL IS GRANTED BY STATE OFFICALS.

DONATIONS

Financial donations are being accepted to fund the animals' care through the Dr. Walter J. Ernst, Jr. Veterinary Memorial Foundation at the LVMA at 1-800-524-2996.

A regional donation center is being established. Our needs include: large air kennels and metal cages, leashes, disposable bowls, canned cat and dog food, disposable litter pans, spray bleach, paper towels, sheets, towels, locks, hoses, bottled water, trash cans, trash bags, pooper scoopers, cat litter, extension cords, fans. The most urgent needs are kennels and monetary donations. The media will be advised of the address once determined. At least 175 animals are currently en route to Baton Rouge.

For more information or to make donations of the materials listed above, please call the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine at 225-578-9900 (www.vetmed.lsu.edu) or the LVMA at 1-800-524-2996 (www.lvma.org). To contact the Louisiana State Veterinarian's office for information/donations, call 888-773-6489 (toll-free), or email katrina@ldaf.louisiana.gov.

ANIMAL EVACUATION AND RECOVERY PLAN CONTACT INFORMATION

Louisiana SPCA contact - Laura Maloney - 225-413-8813
East Baton Rouge Animal Control Center - Hilton Cole - 225-774-7700
LSU School of Veterinary Medicine - Dr. Becky Adcock - 225-578-9900
Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association - 1-800-524-2996 OR 225-928-5862

Media Contact:
Ginger Guttner
LSU School of Veterinary Medicine
225.578.9922
gguttner@vetmed.lsu.edu

The mission of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is to provide superior education in veterinary medicine and related fields, to offer a wide range of superior services to the general public and the veterinary medical community, and to maintain a relevant, high-quality research program in basic and applied fields.