Staff and volunteers with BestFriends.org are still working with pets left homeless after Hurricane Katrina.
They plan to close up their base of operations in New Orleans by the end of February – all the dogs and cats who haven’t been reunited with family members or sent to shelters and foster homes will be placed in some sort of temporary care.
Of the 16,000 pets displaced by the hurricane and saved by rescue organizations, Best Friends Animal Society estimates that they helped catch and place about 4,000. Volunteers did a large chunk of that work! I was VERY tempted to pack up the station wagon and head for Louisiana to lend a hand for the last few weeks.
As their operation in New Orleans winds down, they’ll have an Adopt-A-Thon and a Mardi Gras pet parade to help more dogs and cats find temporary or forever homes.
And don’t worry that the pets in the area will be forgotten – the leaders of the Best Friends operations in New Orleans have passed the reins of animal rescue and rehoming to locals.
Want to help? You can volunteer for Best Friends Animal Society. Maybe a week or two in New Orleans isn’t quite feasible – just getting there and staying for a week can be a strain on the wallet! But if you can spare the time, there are still a lot of “project pets” – dogs and cats who aren’t exactly easy to adopt out. They need love and a little socialization. And volunteers are needed for basics like feeding, grooming, and cleaning up. Best Friends estimates they need about fifteen people on any given day to keep things running smoothly. Lately they’ve had less than ten people on site to help out.
Can’t make the trip to Louisiana before the end of the month? There might be space for a foster dog or cat in your household… or room in your hearts to give a Katrina pet a forever home.