Remember the Animal Victims

If anyone knows of other private rescue organizations, or people in the surrounding areas with enough room (and willingness) to board refugees' pets, email me and I will post the information.

AFTERNOON UPDATE: Laurence Simon just sent this info:

Something from Houston on LiveJournal:

Hurricane Katrina has left many people homeless. When they are able to return they will be looking for shelter for their families. Many of these shelters will not allow them to take their animals. There is an organization called E.A.R.S. http://www.uan.org/ears/index.html that helps families keep their animals. They are begging for temporary homes in the Houston area. If you can take care of someone's treasured family pet until they get settled again please contact Betsy Fleming at elizabeth.fleming1@jsc.nasagov

Please give her a brief description of what you can handle such as cat, dog, ferret, caged rodents, etc.

Thank you in advance for helping ease some of the stress these families are going through. You don't know how much this means to them to know their fur babies are okay while they reconstruct their lives. Our rescue group is already receiving pleas for help from persons displaced by Katrina. They evacuated to Houston with their pets but now are essentially homeless and need either temporary or permanent placement for their beloved pets as they work on rebuilding their lives.

NOON UPDATE: From comments on Brendan Loy’s Blog:

The Humane Society of the United States is on their way down with Disaster Relief Teams (http://www.hsus.org/index.html), Noah's Wish went down on Monday with search and recovery teams (http://www.noahswish.com) and the Humane Society of Northwest Louisiana has opened it emergency shelter and is telling evacuees to bring their animals to the LSU campus in Shreveport (http://www.hsnwla.org/)

UPDATE: Fellow Homespun Blogger, Omar of The Bull Speaks, runs a reptile rescue in Alabama. He writes they're okay and open for business if anyone needs them. Email: critters@ondogriver.net

Also: some bird rescue information from an organization in Appling, Ga. Contact Ron or Tammy Johnson at 706.541.9316 or e-mail at birdrescueron@aol.com

"They are our pets. We domesticate them. We bring them into our lives and make them dependent on us for food, shelter, medical care, and love. In return, they enrich our lives in so many ways. Yet somehow, when disaster stiikes they often seem to fall between the cracks. This is not to say that human life is not more important, yet it seems as though a system ought to exist for them in times of disaster as it does for us. Often left behind in the urgency of the moment, like very small children they are at a loss to understand just why this is happening to them. Every underpinning in their life is suddenly gone. The people around which their lives revolved have vanished. Their homes as they have known them have disappeared. They are lost, alone, afraid, and often hungry, thirsty, and in pain. Somehow a system must exist for them as it does for us." ~Cat Fanciers' Almanac, December 1994

American Kennel Club

"In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the American Kennel Club (AKC) is working to make contact with delegates, presidents and secretaries of AKC Member and Licensed Clubs in the hurricane- stricken states. If your club is in need of assistance or you know a shelter that needs help, please contact us at ajs@akc.org or call 212-696-8220. You may also call Diane Albers, FAKC, at 800-597-2987.

"In anticipation of the needs of the canine victims, we are accepting monetary donations. If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation, you may send it to the AKC/CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund at the address below. Contributions made to the AKC/CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund are used to immediately purchase needed equipment and supplies and deliver them directly to contact centers. For online donations. Inquiries should be directed to: Fund Administrator, American Kennel Club, (919) 816-3564; e-mail: krm@akc.org

Cat Fanciers Association

"If the locale in which you live is in need of disaster relief assistance, please send email to disaster-relief-request@cfa.org"

ASPCA®

"In recognition of the loss and devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the ASPCA® (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) has issued a call for help and in-kind aid for the numerous animal shelters effected by this incredible natural disaster. With the funds raised, the ASPCA, working through its National Outreach department, will grant the money to shelters most in need of financial support as a result of this week's hurricane.

"Contributions will go directly to the ASPCA Disaster Relief Fund. To donate to the ASPCA Disaster Relief Fund, please go to www.aspca.org/disaster or call (212) 876-7700 Ext.4516."

American Humane Association.

Humane Society of the United States.

From Yahoo News.

"San Diego-based Petco is raising money for the four- legged victims of Hurricane Katrina by asking shoppers to donate by rounding up their purchases to the highest dollar, the company announced Tuesday. The donations raised in the fundraiser, which runs until Sept. 11, will go to Petco Animal Supplies Inc.'s own charitable foundation to be spent on animal welfare-related disaster relief needs in the Gulf Coast region, according to the company."

More.

Many gulf coast residents simply did not have enough time to take care of their pets when the hurricane hit. So, animal rescue groups like Sacramento's United Animal Nations are ready to help.

More information as I dig it up.

posted by Harrison at 1:42 PM