KC-DARTFIELD LOG

Louisiana

KC-DARTFIELD NOTES

Louisiana Flood

LA Flood
Southern Louisiana flood, Baton Rouge, wikimedia Southern Louisiana flood, Baton Rouge, wikimedia

Water Comes

KC-DART — Cheri Deatsch, Ron Presley, Randy Wheat, Sister Michael Marie, Trisha Fravel. Kinship Circle with Brother Wolf in Louisiana.
LocationLivingston Parish.
LogsBrenda Shoss/KC-DART

For Hurricane Katrina, Ramona Billot fled under mandatory evacuation. When finally allowed to reenter her Belle Chasse neighborhood in Plaquemines Parish, she drove past skeletal fragments that once were homes. Only Ramona's house survived on higher ground. Three years later Ramona — a devoted animal rescuer who founded Plaquemines Cat Action Team (PCAT) to manage massive feral/stray post-Katrina cat populations — evacuated for Hurricane Gustav. Once again, Ramona's family escaped devastation. On the 7th anniversary of Katrina, Ramona, her son and husband stayed in their Braithwaite home with four dogs, 14 cats, 12 kittens and one macaw. The family thought they'd survived the worst of Hurricane Isaac. But the water came. A dark torrent topped an 18-mile levee. Ramona's family lost everything but their lives… Now, the water comes for Ramona's family again. This time it's her sister's family, rescued by truck along with their five dogs. But there isn't time to gather their many outdoor/feral cats. One dies in the flood. The rest are back, except two kitties who remain unfound. As a flood survivor, Ramona is able to talk her sister through the trauma. “I have two sisters and we've each been rescued from different flood disasters. My oldest sister was a nurse at Memorial Medical Center when Katrina hit. We all have scars. But we love Louisiana, this place we call home,” Ramona tells Kinship Circle director Brenda Shoss, her friend and rescue colleague since Katrina.

ON THE GROUNDIn August, dense rains trigger catastrophic flooding in southern Louisiana. More than 20 inches of rain over waterways like the Amite and Comite rivers slowly submerge communities. Twenty parishes are declared federal disaster areas. Ramona and her husband deliver people and animal supplies in hard-hit Livingston Parish. The Denham Springs animal shelter gets water itself and cannot admit more animals. Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, based in Ashville, NC, and Humane Society of Louisiana establish a flood shelter at Florida Parishes Arena. Kinship Circle's Sister Michael Marie, on the ground with KC-DART to assist this effort, describes areas under eight-feet of water. Volunteers see drowned rabbits, chickens, dogs (still crated or chained), cows, goats… DONATE NOW • Register as a disaster volunteer.

Ron Presley brings food and comfort to Mango, a dog whose family lives in tents outside their flooded home. (c) Kinship Circle Ron Presley brings food and comfort to Mango, a dog whose family lives in tents outside their flooded home. (c) Kinship Circle

Ron Presley holds Mango in Colyell, LA.

Ron Presley feeds roaming animals after Louisiana Flood. (c) Kinship Circle Ron Presley feeds roaming animals after Louisiana Flood. (c) Kinship Circle

Post-flood animals roam without food or shelter.

A cat's family pre-evacuated without her. Then her main caregiver fled by boat. The cat has survived till rescue. (c) Kinship Circle
When we come to the aid of four dogs, we discover the little Chihuahua and a Lab are lactating. (c) Kinship Circle When we come to the aid of four dogs, we discover the little Chihuahua and a Lab are lactating. (c) Kinship Circle
LA Flood ➊Water ➋Cars ➌Gone ➍Survive ➎Chance USA Aid
A cat huddles under the bumper of a car parked outside a destroyed trailer, waiting. (c) Kinship Circle, LA Flood A cat huddles under the bumper of a car parked outside a destroyed trailer, waiting. (c) Kinship Circle, LA Flood

Under Cars

Under Cars

Animals Wait

Waiting

The water slowly recedes, replaced by stillness. Homes emerge, silent and wasted. Debris. Muck. And survivors. Kinship Circle Disaster Animal Response works from a staging site in Amite, Louisiana. We assist Brother Wolf Animal Rescue (BWAR) and Humane Society of Louisiana (HSLA). In the field, we rescue deserted animals and deliver aid to animals with people who lost everything. Please donate to Kinship Circle, so we are there for animals — always. Abandoned animals at the temp Florida Parishes Arena shelter are held for at least 45 days before eligible for adoption. The pre-adopt holds give humans displaced by flooding a chance to claim to their animals. For many animals, the flood dismantles the only life they've ever known. Field Response Manager Cheri Deatsch's team conducts search-rescue in a mobile-home subdivision off Magnolia Boulevard. Here, a sweet calico cat's life forever changes the day her home fills with 6-8 feet of water. We are told the cat's evacuated person returns to the property when she can, so feed in place to help the cat survive. We find the cat huddled under the bumper of a car parked outside a destroyed trailer, waiting. “There are cats everywhere, each with a similar story,” Cheri notes. Dogs too. A rusty-brown and white dog is left behind when residents flee the water that consumes most of Denham Springs. KC-DART responder Randy Wheat comforts the bewildered dog, found in front of her water-damaged home beneath a busted car. Neighbors feed the dog daily, so we donate food for her sustenance. Cheri records this address for recheck, to see if the dog's guardian returns.

Cheri Deatsch feeds a calico cat found under a car bumper outside a destroyed home. (c) Kinship Circle
Many left-behind pit bulls and other dogs at the disaster shelter are heartworm positive. (c) Kinship Circle Many left-behind pit bulls and other dogs at the disaster shelter are heartworm positive. (c) Kinship Circle
Kylie Shafferkoetter, Sandy Lynn and Colleen Reisenbichler deploy for Kinship Circle animal aid after catastrophic flooding in Louisiana. (c) Kinship Circle

LOST AND FOUNDResidents slowly make their way back. In the meantime, we monitor animal survivors and provide food/water. With your support, we can deploy more top responders now. Post-disaster, people without financial solvence abandon animal survivors… Along Hood Road, more people request aid for animals. A pair of trailers has over 15 cats between them — friendly kits, including a Siamese-mix litter about six to eight months old, several big yellow tabbies and more. No humans are present, so we feed the cats and leave extra food bags on the porch. Some cats are ear-tipped, which indicates they've been spayed or neutered and returned to the colony. A man with seven dogs — two pit bulls, a Rhodesian-mix, two lab-mixes (with mange), a Chihuahua and beagle-mix — also rescues strays in his flood-hit community. He welcomes the large food supply we leave with him. At trailer #79, 4-week and 3-month old kittens are under care of an older couple. While they refuse donated food, they are interested in TNR (trap-neuter-return) for the cats. We leave a phone contact for them. Someone has recently set-up Lost Pets Of Livingston Parish on Facebook for human survivors and rescuers to report lost/found animals. This is a helpful tool to facilitate reunions.

Abandoned animals at the flood shelter are held for at least 45 days before eligible for adoption. (c) Kinship Circle Abandoned animals at the flood shelter are held for at least 45 days before eligible for adoption. (c) Kinship Circle
Randy Wheat comforts a bewildered dog, found by her water-damaged home beneath a busted car. (c) Kinship Circle
Two homes have over 15 cats between them. No humans are present, so we feed the cats and leave food on the porch. (c) Kinship Circle Two homes have over 15 cats between them. No humans are present, so we feed the cats and leave food on the porch. (c) Kinship Circle
Donation

donate

Donation

donate

Randy Wheat glimpses a horse on a property wrecked in Southern Louisiana floods. (c) Kinship Circle Randy Wheat glimpses a horse on a property wrecked in Southern Louisiana floods. (c) Kinship Circle

Animals Missing

A gray-white cat waits. Her primary guardian left without her. A neighbor who fed her later fled by boat. Rescued. (c) Kinship Circle A gray-white cat waits. Her primary guardian left without her. A neighbor who fed her later fled by boat. Rescued. (c) Kinship Circle
Cats in this rural area are semi- to full-feral and either left due to lack of food or died. (c) Kinship Circle
We follow leads about discarded cats, but on search-rescue we only find old cans or a cathouse. No cats. (c) Kinship Circle
Along the swollen Amite River in Denham Springs, a young gray-white cat waits for a woman who is unlikely to return. (c) Kinship Circle
Cats in Colyell are fed after their caregivers flee southern Louisiana floods. (c) Kinship Circle

WHERE ARE THE CATS?Nearly all reports related to this area concern cats. Sadly, most search-rescue efforts result in “no cats found.” Since the cats along this rural route are semi- to full-feral, they either relocated due to lack of food or died. One account describes a pregnant cat at a deserted home littered with flood debris. The team finds a cathouse and old food cans, but no cat. It seems someone had fed this cat, then stopped. We leave a phone contact… We also aid a few potbelly pigs, goats, turkeys, cows, chickens and a pony.

Nestled in woods, north of Denham Springs and south of Plainview, Magnolia Estates is a sprawling trailer park. Floods swallowed all mobile homes and tossed thick debris across every plot. A few useless cars with smashed-out windows and doors are scattered about. One fat little Chihuahua waddles after his people as they clear rubble. On this hot day, ditches brim with stagnant water coated in green scum. Ground furrows teem with minnows and mosquito larvae. The tiny fish dart in and out of rubbish. Insects breed and grow, soon to take flight. Baptist Disaster Recovery crews are on site to mud-out and gut destroyed homes. Red Cross volunteers distribute clean-up kits and drinking water. One trailer home is hauled past, on its way to the scrap heap. A tow tuck drives by with a bulky load of junk cars. Homes bear signs: “For Sale, As Is.” More signs stand amid random possessions: “Huge Yard Sale, Everything Must Go.” Scrawled on mattresses at the curb: “Do Not Take.” A mix of stray and caregiven animals survive here, among humans. The team pursues a report of cats abandoned outside Trailer #6. Eric Phelps (BWAR) already retrieved two feral cats from inside this trailer, per request from people who said they could not catch them during evacuations. Apparently more cats roam outdoors. A girl says her dad feeds them, so we leave kibble bags, canned food, and a contact number. A separate bulletin details over 10 discarded cats. Jerome, a neighbor, tells us he's not seen the cats for some time. We recheck 11 cats previously fed outside a wrecked trailer. These cats are also gone. Neighbors live in tents pitched on front yards. Some have cared-for dogs, tied to stakes. Eric duck-tapes a note to a destroyed van's window. The owners later call to surrender young cats. On Heritage Road, an elderly woman who'd fed a feral cat colony evacuated. In her absence, neighbors feed the cats. We leave additional food/water. We check an address near the end of our list with “five dogs chained.” But the dogs are well-fed and described as Louisiana fine, a term coined by BWAR's event director, that translates: The animals are fine, by local standards.

A lactating Lab and Chihuahua are among four dogs we feed/aid in a flood-hit area. The Bulldog girl is camera-ready! (c) Kinship Circle
KC-DART officer Sister Michael Marie gains trust from a rescued pit bull at the Amite, LA flood shelter. (c) Kinship Circle KC-DART officer Sister Michael Marie gains trust from a rescued pit bull at the Amite, LA flood shelter. (c) Kinship Circle
Many animals are missing after the flood. Lost Pets Of Livingston Parish is set up online to help find them. (c) Kinship Circle

BIT BETTER FOR PITSA canvassing team visits a home near Springfield on the east side of Livingston Parrish. The entire property had been submerged underwater. Two black and white pit bulls, a father and son pair, are chained to dead bushes with meager shade and no shelter. The home's occupants have laid out unhinged doors to keep the dogs off the swampy mud. We speak to the residents through a front door. A man's voice says that no animals need rescue, so Eric Phelps (BWAR team lead) offers to return with doghouses for the pits. The man is overwhelmed, but grateful. On this initial encounter, we leave food for the dogs and take photos. Now, we need to find a source for doghouses. We secure one from a local contact in Walker, just east of Denham Springs. Brother Wolf Animal Rescue buys the second house, plus straw and water buckets, at Tractor Supply. The next day, we return with these items and more food. The thankful man immediately fills the clean buckets with cold water for his dogs. Eric spreads hay to sop up more water. He then sets up the doghouses under a tree with more shade. The man recognizes our sincere effort to help and shares his flood story. He tells us the dogs originally had outdoor enclosures that floated away when floodwaters rose swiftly. He rescued both dogs by boat, in chin-deep water. The flood ruined his home, along with the homes of several relatives in the area. They have scant resources, but want to keep their dogs with them.

A father/son pitbull pair are chained without shelter before dognhouses are donated. (c) Kinship Circle

Two Pit Bulls
A man saves his pit bulls from chin-deep waters, but their doghouses and most possessions are swept away in the flood.

A man saved his dogs in chin-deep waters. The dogs' enclosures were swept away with all possessions. (c) Kinship Circle

Two Doghouses
We donate doghouses, food and water buckets. The family wants the father/son pits with them.

We donate doghouses, food, water buckets to a grateful man, who lost his home. (c) Kinship Circle

Food And Shade
Eric lays out hay and puts doghouses under shade trees. We offer refuge, but condemn dogs chained for life.

The family wants to keep their dogs. We condemn the chaining of dogs for life. (c) Kinship Circle

But Still Chained
Please never chain any dog for life. This cruel, dangerous restraint method is illegal in some regions.

Survive

Survive
People dump animals after the flood. Ron Presley feeds and rescues a dog found roadside. (c) Kinship Circle
A colony of cats literally come out of the woodwork to get food from Ron Presley. (c) Kinship Circle

WE ARE HUNGRYAt the emergency shelter in Covington, Kinship Circle officers Ron Presley and Sister Michael Marie load dog and cat food, bowls, leads, poles and other gear. While there, Ron works with traumatized and aggressive dogs. Confused animals, their familiar territory lost in the wreckage, grow defensive at overcrowded shelters. Ron and Sister next visit Colyell, a mostly empty town in the south-central part of Livingston Parrish. Animals remain. And they're very hungry. A colony of some 15 cats “literally come out of the woodwork to get food,” Sister reports. “One cat drops out of a hole behind the rim of an open front door.” The abandoned group are under one-year old. Down the road, a lone family live in tents pitched across their front yard. The husband Tony is a contractor who offers affordable rebuild services to neighbors in this flood-destroyed community. One grateful client actually buys the family a camper trailer, so they can get off the damp ground. They continue to care for their brown pit-mix Mango and pale yellow tabby cat. We give this family plenty of animal kibble, so they can spend depleted resources on recovery. Food drops continue for weeks, even months, after disaster strikes. Abandoned animals mingle with pre-crisis strays to produce disaster offspring. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Kinship Circle director Brenda Shoss rescued one of these babies of the storm. Her longhair tuxedo cat, Baby Noah, is a true New Orleans gentleman and beloved family member. Some, especially cats, will never find forever homes. They survive via the kindness of local caregivers. In French Settlement, one such group of cats live behind a restaurant. We leave an ample food stash for the hungry kitties and residents who feed them.

PONIES, ZEBRAS, CATS, DOGSSister Michael Marie, a Kinship Circle officer and vet tech, is in Louisiana after Baton Rouge floods as part of the KC-DART team working with Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. In Denham Springs, she and BWAR lead Eric Phelps encounter zebras and mini-ponies roaming the battered property of what appears to be a “petting zoo.” No human caregivers are present, but the animals have food/water and seem content. It's illegal to remove animals from private property, so we record the location for check-back. In Denham Springs, a woman feeds her neighbor's black-white cat. We leave donated food bags for the sweet fluff-ball and even meet her evacuated family, who visit the cat and their damaged home regularly… On a street that runs parallel with the swollen Amite River in Denham Springs, a single gray-white cat waits for the woman who feeds her. The friendly tabby is a year or two old. Her caregiver had to be ferried out by boat with her dog, but only after she'd stayed behind to rescue another elderly neighbor. The older woman had tried to out-drive rising water. She was swept off the road and water rose to her neck inside the car. The younger woman managed to swim out, pry the car door open and pull her from the sinking vehicle. A small hill separates these homes from the river. When water surged over that hill at 6:00 a.m., residents had 15 minutes to flee. The cat's original family pre-evacuated without her. Then her main caregiver fled by boat. Somehow, the feline survives. No one knows if anyone will come back for her.

Ron Presley helps animals who live with their family in tents outside their ruined home (c) Kinship Circle Ron Presley helps animals who live with their family in tents outside their ruined home (c) Kinship Circle
In Denham Springs, a woman feeds her neighbor's black-white cat. We leave food for the sweet fluff-ball. (c) Kinship Circle In Denham Springs, a woman feeds her neighbor's black-white cat. We leave food for the sweet fluff-ball. (c) Kinship Circle
In Denham Springs, Sister Michael Marie and BWAR lead Eric Phelps find zebras and mini-ponies roaming a vacant petting zoo. (c) Kinship Circle
Trisha Fravel beckons an abandoned dachshund-mix, rescued in recently underwater Livingston Parish. (c) Kinship Circle
A pony is found at a destroyed petting zoo in Denham Springs. Animals appear content. We record for check-back. (c) Kinship Circle A pony is found at a destroyed petting zoo in Denham Springs. Animals appear content. We record for check-back. (c) Kinship Circle
Colyell, Livingston Parrish: Ron Presley feeds the dogs of three related families whose homes were ruined in the flood. (c) Kinship Circle Colyell, Livingston Parrish: Ron Presley feeds the dogs of three related families whose homes were ruined in the flood. (c) Kinship Circle

Second Chance

Patches, an outgoing little pooch, goes to a rescue dedicated to adoptions. (c) Kinship Circle Patches, an outgoing little pooch, goes to a rescue dedicated to adoptions. (c) Kinship Circle
At the emergency shelter Ron Presley comforts and plays with Brucie, a rescue deserted in the floods and never claimed. (c) Kinship Circle At the emergency shelter Ron Presley comforts and plays with Brucie, a rescue deserted in the floods and never claimed. (c) Kinship Circle
Trisha delivers food to a family who live on the porch of their flood-moldy home, with kittens and dogs. (c) Kinship Circle
A family is grateful for food to give their kittens and dogs. Trisha Fravel holds one of the goofy kits. (c) Kinship Circle A family is grateful for food to give their kittens and dogs. Trisha Fravel holds one of the goofy kits. (c) Kinship Circle
As water rose swiftly, Mary saved herself and her dogs. She thankfully accepts pup food from Trisha Fravel. (c) Kinship Circle As water rose swiftly, Mary saved herself and her dogs. She thankfully accepts pup food from Trisha Fravel. (c) Kinship Circle
Trisha Fravel is the first rescuer able to bond with Angel, an abused dog at the flood shelter for three weeks. (c) Kinship Circle Trisha Fravel is the first rescuer able to bond with Angel, an abused dog at the flood shelter for three weeks. (c) Kinship Circle

SECOND CHANCESAfter the team visits all aid-request addresses, they return to the animal shelter for hands-on attention and rehab. Disaster shelters are noisy, crowded. Some animals are so disoriented, rescuers struggle to coax them out of kennels. Sad or listless animals welcome extra walks, cuddle-time and treats. Today April Johnson, a BWAR volunteer who also deploys with Kinship Circle, and Laurel York bring in a very pregnant pit bull. This presents much work for scant staff. Newborns can die in the field, so volunteers adapt. Still, the confluence of rescue nonprofits in crude settings without amenities such as electricity, clean water, or plumbing… can spark human conflict. Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, led by Eric Phelps, along with Humane Society of Louisiana and Kinship Circle, do their best to stay on mission. For volunteers, conflicts are usually forgotten when an animal survivor gets a second chance. Patches, an outgoing little black-white pooch, goes to a rescue dedicated to adoptions. Two more animals go to foster homes after a 45-day hold for evacuees to claim them. Some animals are reunited with their flood-displaced families. Chico the Chihuahua gets a true happy-ending after transfer to a New Orleans rescue. There, the personality-plus chi chi rejoins his tearful humans. Reunions are sunlight during the darkest time, filled with tears, waggy tails and purrs.

EMERGENCY SHELTERINGAs the formal disaster response winds down, KC-DART's Trisha Fravel joins Ron Presley to deliver animal food/supplies to destitute people without transportation. They comb Magnolia Estates for people in damaged homes and search desolate areas for forgotten animals. They also give large food stores to resident-feeders who oversee strays. Trisha finds the resilience of these kindhearted folks “amazing. Despite their own misery and loss, they are concerned about left-behind animals.” Back at the Florida Parishes Arena shelter, they spend time with animals still under 45-day hold. Disaster shelters are fluid. As new rescues arrive, others reunite with families or leave for long-term shelter/foster. Trisha, a trained vet assistant, helps a veterinarian vaccinate dogs destined for Brother Wolf's sanctuary in Asheville, NC. While less glamorous, shelter ops are the vital core behind disaster rescue. Trisha joins Louisiana Humane employees on blood draws to test dogs for heartworm, a parasitic infection that can lead to deadly lung disease, heart failure and organ damage. Dirofilaria immitis worms, spread through mosquito bites, mainly affect dogs. The disease is rampant in poor Southern regions. Trisha notes that some 98 percent of shelter dogs are heartworm positive. She later cleans stalls down to their dirt floors to refill with fresh wood shavings. While at work, a massive thunderstorm blows through the open pavilion, prompting staff to cover cages and move animals to dry ground… The next day, Trisha accompanies Brother Wolf lead Eric Phelps to canvass flood areas, dispense food, and conduct animal welfare checks. When volunteers interact with human survivors, they listen to their stories. Mary lost her home and lifelong possessions in the flood. As water rose swiftly, she saved herself and her dogs. Now Mary barely gets by on her ruined property. She is grateful for food to keep her fur-kids alive. Another Denham Springs family lives on the porch of their moldy home — along with multiple kittens and dogs. They too are deeply appreciative for animal food. An abandoned puppy, found roadside in Livingston Parrish, is rescued. Eric and Trisha next respond to a pregnant cat report. When they arrive for pick-up, she's already given birth to seven kittens. Even as waters recede, cats seem to multiply. They typically fill emergency shelters as time passes after any disaster event. While stranded dogs approach rescuers, traumatized cats quietly hide till hunger, fatigue, injury or disease drive them out. Moreover, many locals in this rural parish believe cats do fine “in the wild.” Since cats require care like all domesticated creatures, Brother Wolf's Paul Berry has enlisted PetSmart Charities to establish a separate feline shelter with veterinary oversight.

Volunteer In Disasters
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Disaster aid for animals  +  action for all hurt by greed, cruelty and hate.

Disaster aid for animals  +  action for all
hurt by greed, cruelty, hate.

Disaster aid for animals  +  action for all
hurt by greed, cruelty, hate.

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GIVE For Animals
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In kinship, not dominion, each individual is seen. We do not use the rhetoric of slavery. To define animals as unique beings Guardian, Caregive, Him/Her/They… replace Owner, Own, It… Until moral equity and justice serve all — no one is free.