The ASPCA goal of raising one million dollars to help pets lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina had almost been reached by end of day, Friday 3rd September. The ASPCA thanked everyone who has given so generously.
Donation lines are still open at the toll-free number, (866) 275-3923
100% of all money raised is to go directly to shelters in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Several ASPCA National Outreach staffers spent a good part of Friday tracking down and purchasing 1,000 large, extra-large and giant collapsible dog crates to be sent to the Houston SPCA and the Louisiana SPCA staging area.
The PETCO Foundation has an additional 90 crates en-route to the Houston SPCA.
Pets in Distress in Ft. Lauderdale, FL has food and equipment ready to ship to several points in Mississippi and Louisiana.
An ASPCA trailer arrived in Jackson, MS, at 9:30 Friday evening.
The Mississippi Animal Refuge League (MARL) reports that HSUS and the State Dept. of Agriculture are operating an emergency shelter at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson.
Tyler Town, MS, is in need of a generator and supplies to support 500-plus animals evacuated from the Humane Society of Louisiana and the St. Francis Animal Sanctuary.
The Louisiana SPCA has begun rescue efforts for animals left behind in the Greater New Orleans area. Animals are being brought to the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, LA, which is serving as a staging center for displaced animals. They will soon be uploading photos of displaced pets onto Petfinder.com for people to look for lost pets.
The Houston SPCA has been doing a heroic job taking in animals from the Louisiana SPCA staging area in Gonzales and from families seeking refuge in Red Cross shelters. As of Friday morning, the Houston SPCA had already admitted 700 animals and expects that they could receive 1,000 more.
Houston SPCA staff are working round-the-clock to care for animals so that families devastated by this tragedy will not also be confronted with losing their pets.
Many horses are in need of rescue and Dr. Andrew Lang, director of the ASPCA Equine Program, is to issue a grant to the Emergency Equine Response Unit to purchase “water buffaloes” (300-500 gallon tanks), pumps, and an extra diesel tank for their truck, so they can head south to assist in the rescue efforts.
