Plan to Reunite Pets with Owners at State Shelters
COORDINATED RESPONSE AGENCIES ANNOUNCE PLAN TO RE-UNITE ANIMALS WITH OWNERS
Contact: Lawrence Hawkins
(225) 389-0436 USDA/APHIS Veterinary Services
Baton Rouge, Sept. 19, 2005 – Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry (LDAF), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association’s (LVMA) State Animal Response Team (SART), Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LASPCA), Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine and the Humane Society of the United States will implement a plan to re-unite owners and rescued animals over the next 30 days.
Extractions and admissions of animals in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina are beginning to decrease. Owners should plan to claim animals sheltered at evacuation facilities in Lafayette, Monroe, Shreveport, Slidell, and Gonzales before October 1. After that date, the various animal humane groups will arrange foster shelter of unclaimed pets for a minimum of 15 days. After October 15, 2005, unclaimed animals will be eligible for adoption.
Owners seeking to claim their rescued animals may call the Humane Society of the United States' Call Center at 1-800-HUMANE1, make contact by email at katrina@petfinder.com or see www.petfinder.com. Callers and e-mailers should be aware that the focus of the operation is still on the very demanding business of rescuing, recovering and caring for animals from New Orleans. For those who wish to go to the rescue center in person, it is located at the Lamar-Dixon Expo facility in Gonzales, Louisiana, 9030 St. Landry Road, Gonzales, LA 70737.
In order to protect animals residing in Hurricane Katrina shelters, minimize the likelihood of disease outbreaks and protect human health, sheltered animals receive appropriate vaccinations and medication. To facilitate re-uniting animals with their owners, each animal is photographed and all animals receive microchip identification if needed. Medical and identification information travels with the pets. However, the process of establishing a searchable database of these rescued pets has not kept pace with the rescues. Therefore, your animal may have been rescued but the Call Center may not have a record of that rescue in the database yet. For at least the next few days, the highest priority will remain the rescue and the immediate care of as many pets as can be found and accommodated. Please be assured rescuers are working as fast as they can to make the database current so calls of concerned pet owners can be answered more fully.
To date, over 6,000 animals have been sheltered at emergency shelter locations coordinated by LDAF. This number includes approximately 4,000 dogs, 1,000 cats, 400 horses and lesser numbers of various other companion animals. LDAF and USDA/APHIS in cooperation with Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association have also provided emergency feeding and water via truck and airlift for stranded livestock in the impacted area.