Girlie Girl, a tan white hound mix, was found roaming in Algiers 239x245

Found: Girlie Girl

  • Breed: Hound Mix
  • Gender: Female (intact)
  • Age: Approx 3 Years
  • Weight: 20 Pounds

Description: She is tan with a white chest and one white paw. She may have been wearing a blue collar when lost.

Last Seen: Spotted in early June at Ace Hardware Store on Gen. Meyer in Algiers. She'd run around the neighborhood for quite awhile and eventually showed up at a home on River Oaks Drive.

Contact: Elsa Jones
504-251-8185
Kinship Circle founder Brenda Shoss helps out at ARNO, volunteer Victoria Clark cradles a kitten 239x640 Beautiful Rebekkah, a rescued longhair tri tabby dilute cat 239x290
A Calico Manx mix was left inside a Katrina destroyed home in Waveland, MS, but she and other cats may have escaped 268x148

Lost In System: Calico

  • Breed: Calico/Manx Mix
    White and Grey with Tabby
  • Gender: Female (spayed)
  • Age: 2 Years
  • IDs: PF61199, BFE536

Description: Calico is mostly white with gray, brown and orange on her back and around her ears. She has green eyes and a bobtail.

Last Seen: Calico was left inside at 309 Waveland Ave in Waveland, MS (Hancock County) with 2 cats, Mama and Honey, and food/water. The house was destroyed and cats may have escaped. [Guardian] has been back and can't find her cats.

Contact: Sherry Johnson
pitachic@comcast.net
Remington, a hurricane survivor whose leg was amputated, now faces death at Virginia shelter unless rescued 268x353

Help Remington Get A Second Chance


  • Breed: Boxer/Hound/Pit Mix
  • Gender: Male
  • Age: Approx 2 Years
  • Weight: 40-50 Pounds

Description: When found, bone protruded from Remington's broken leg. The Katrina survivor was transported to Richmond, VA where his leg dangled untreated for another week before amputated. The woman who initially rescued Remington has lost interest. Despite his pain and misery, Remington remains affectionate. He wants to be loved and part of a family. He's a happy, intelligent boy, full of wonder. The sweetheart walks well on leash, grateful to be out of the dingy, dark kennel that holds him. Remington is one strikingly handsome boy, with a bluish brindling, who does remarkably well as a three-legged dog. His activity level is moderate. He'd thrive in an only-dog home, or possibly with a submissive female. Remington would do best with a dog savvy person familiar with rehabbing crated dogs who've had little exercise or companionship.

Notes: It's been suggested that Remington be put down for no reason other than he's been there too long. Remington has not been to any adoption events, like most dogs at this facility. He's not had a single chance. Remington is presently at a facility in Central Virginia that closes within the next two months. Remington, along with others, faces euthanasia. Please consider adopting this wonderful dog. Anyone interested (in or outside Virginia), I will fly Remington out to you! R. Hunt, rsrhunt@earthlink.net

Contact: Sylva Penkov-Southwell
804-449-1929, cell: 540 907-8890
sylvasylva59@earthlink.net
A black and white Katrina rescue dog at ARNO waits for his people, or chance at a new life 268x275
Minnie, a long hair calico cat, was seen at her New Orleans home prior to Katrina and possibly rescued but now lost in the system 293x170

Lost In System: Minnie

  • Breed: Domestic Longhair Calico
  • Gender: Female (intact at storm time)
  • Age: 15 Years
  • Weight: 10 Pounds
  • Lost IDs: PF63418, PF63490

Description: Minnie is a black, orange and white long-hair Calico cat. Her bottom half is pure white. Minnie has yellow eyes, the left eye is crossed. She is not declawed and is missing some teeth. Minnie loves to play with feathers, is on the scared side and has Feline AIDS. She wore a red collar with a round gold ID tag that shows her name plus no longer good address and phone (139 38th St, New Orleans LA).

Last Seen: Minnie was last seen at her home, prior to Katrina, at 139 38th Street, New Orleans, LA 70124 (Lakeview Area).

Contact: Sherry Johnson, pitachic@comcast.net
Remote Reunion Campaign
Stu, a Shiba Inu Lab mix, survived Katrina and Rita and was found roaming Flanders a month later 293x217

Found: Stu

  • Breed: Shiba Inu/Yellow Lab Mix
  • Gender: Male (neutered since storm)
  • Age: Adult  /  IDs: Winn Dixie HK1711, Katrina 14, PF63489

Description: Stu is a medium-sized, yellow Labrador Retriever/Shiba Inu mix with white markings. He survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. At rescue, he wore no collar or tags. Stu is playful, with favorite hobbies: toy time, swim play and digging. Despite his cheery disposition, he displays dominant behavior and is food aggressive.

Last Seen: Stu was found roaming around Flanders on 10/16/05. He was taken to the Winn Dixie site (9th Ward), Winn Dixie #HK1711. On 10/19/05, Stu went to Humane Society of Louisiana evacuation site in Tylertown. Stu is currently at HSL under ID: Katrina 14. Stu was not neutered when found and tested negative for heartworm.

Contact: Elizabeth
Humane Society of Louisiana
304-231-4954, humanesocietyla@gmail.com
Remote Reunion Campaign
Los Angeles Mayor gets key from NOLA pit bull rescue at opening of city animal shelter 239x230

Lamar-Dixon Pit Bull Sparkles In Tinsel Town


10/5/06 David Meyer  ~  When Los Angeles opened its redone animal shelter, the Mayor was handed the key by a NOLA pit bull Save-A-Pet transported from Lamar Dixon!

This pup (now at pit bull rescue Via Lobos) was among 127 animals rejected by shelters. Just hours before HSUS had to vacate Lamar Dixon Expo Center, the official disaster shelter, Save-A-Pet's David Meyer and Pia Salk prepped animals for flight to Los Angeles. (Best Friends also took about 30 pits, they rock!)

Knee-deep in dog, David phoned Kinship's Brenda Shoss as they left Lamar. Soon after, original ARNO began under David, Pia and Jane Garrison. Brenda was ARNO's Food/Water Assignments Director and National Volunteer Co-Coordinator with Kate Danaher… See Photos of the Lamar-to-L.A. flight, with a dog-full DC-9 cargo plane!
Tmax, a Weimaraner, goes home to Roy, a Katrina evacuee who was stunned and wept when told his dog was found in Virginia 268x281

Reunions Still Happen: T-Max Goes Home


10/2/06, Donna Schwender  ~  When I hinted about a NOLA reunion, many hoped for one of the "really famous" missing dogs. While T-Max may not have celebrity status, he is no less deserving. The Weimaraner, ID# PF47227, should have celebrated a "slam-dunk" reunion long ago. But this didn't happen…
A lovely lady who adopted T-Max (renamed N'Awlins) passed away in July. Her niece Sidney assumed care of T-Max. As Sidney got to know T-Max, her gut told her that someone must miss this lovebug. Sidney contacted Anita and I a few weeks ago to see if we could find Mr. Schneider, the listed [guardian].

Turns out Mr. Schneider owned The Clipper, a grooming shop where some animals tragically drowned during the hurricane. Petfinder files show phone/mail efforts to find Mr. Schneider but Judy McDermott (a key reuniter) ultimately discovered he lived in a FEMA trailer right outside his pre-Katrina address. Go figure?

Sidney says "Roy was stunned and wept." She took time off work to drive T-Max from Virginia to New Orleans, after T-Max's doggie daycare held a grand goodbye party for him.

Minus nasty details, the rescue group is not happy about this reunion. Regardless, T-Max is back home where he and Mr. Schneider are estatic. May their lives unfold together. Thanks to all involved, especially Sidney and her aunt for protecting this sweet dog. Never assume two things: That it's too late for reunions or that seemingly easy cases were long ago solved.

Host An Adoption Day: Our Katrina Survivors + Your Shelter Animals!


10/7/06, Contact: Cody Riess  ~  Trap, Neuter and Release (TNR) is in full swing at Southern Animal Foundation in New Orleans, where I volunteer. Unfortunately, we trap lovable abandoned dogs and cats or adoptable kittens with nowhere to go but back to the streets.

San Francisco Adoption Day, 10/28/06  ~  I'm looking for more West Coast rescue groups to host an Adoption Day with New Orleans survivors, like the upcoming San Francisco event. Our animals arrive with health certificates, spay/neuter, vaccinations, microchip, etc. Press is key to big turnout. I will get area TV, newspaper, radio to promote your event. We have proven success. A New Hampshire rescue group adopted 31 cats in four hours. Wow!

Katrina animals get attention, so both your animals and ours move from shelters into approved homes. Big press makes an Adoption Day work. I appreciate your consideration.

New Orleans is less than half its original size! Latest stats show 187,525 residents, about 41% of a pre-Katrina 454,000 population. Simple TNR doesn't solve matters because unihabitable areas mean less people and thus, less food sources for animals. We must focus on pick-up of adoptable animals. Yet those animals are unlikely to find forever homes in post-Katrina NOLA. There are fewer residents and those here struggle to rebuild. Adoption Days in collaboration with out-state rescue groups have had wonderful results. Still, we need more groups to host Adoption Days with our animals.

Just 190,000 Live In New Orleans Now

10/6/06 Associated Press  ~  Fewer than 190,000 people live in New Orleans a year after Hurricane Katrina, according to a door-to-door survey. The population of 187,525 is about 41 percent of the 454,000 estimated residents of Orleans Parish before the storm hit Aug. 29, 2005.

A Louisiana Recovery Authority spokeswoman, Natalie Wyeth, called results "the most precise set of numbers we've seen." Louisiana Public Health Institute conducted the survey for the Authority and Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.

It sampled homes from all over the city, said Alden Henderson, with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who pushed for the survey. He said the survey used a method commonly employed by the Census Bureau. Results intend to help planners determine where clinics, schools, transit systems and other key infrastructure should be placed, Wyeth said. Population estimates have ranged widely for New Orleans.

Local demographer Greg Rigamer, who has studied the city's population, dismissed figures as a "fairly significant underestimation. This is important, because funding decisions are based on population," Rigamer said. He estimated there are about 230,000 city residents. Mayor Ray Nagin said NOLA is on track to reach 300,000 people by year's end.
Cats left behind after Hurricane Katrina rummage for food amid debris under gutted homes 330x210

Phoenix Free: Avondale Pit In Calendar


10/11/06, Mary  ~  Phoenix is in the 2007 Dogs Deserve Better Calendar. What a wonderful tribute to him and each person involved in freeing these souls from chains.

10/9/06, Tia Maria Torres  ~  I didn't pose him for this photo, but his stance reminded me of his picture when we first saw him: Chained and looking back at the camera. Of course now the chains are gone. Phoenix looks content and beautiful! Villalobos

Dogs Deserve Better 2007 Calendar

Kinship Circle helped spread the word that ultimately brought refuge to abused horse, Jack 293x230

Abused Mississippi Horse

10/2006 Update, Teresa Baker  ~  Thank you Kinship Circle for spreading word about Jack. He was saved and will recover!

Choctaw Ridge Farms  ~  Jack was delivered from misery, thanks to his guardian angel and the wonder of the internet. An email came in from out of state about a horse in need in rural Mississippi. Thanks to a wonderful friend of CRF, Cathy Wells, it was sent to us. We acted as quickly as possible. The short version of the story: Jack was purchased by CRF and brought back to the rescue to begin his recovery. He is very thin and had a bad injury to his eyelid. A piece of stout wire was wrapped around his hind foot. He has paired up with Sandy another new arrival…

National Feral Cat Day

Alley Cat Allies co-hosts National Feral Cat Day on 10/16/06  ~  Sponsored by Alley Cat Allies, Ark Animal Hospital, Louisiana SPCA, Plaquemines Cat Action Team, Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society, Southern Animal Foundation, SpayMart. The best way to help outdoor cat communities survive is get them spayed or neutered, and return them to home turf.

*Free* Spay/Neuter
  • 10/14/06: Plaquemines Parish spay/neuter for outdoor cats. Call PAWS, 504-392-1601.
  • 10/16-18/06: Ark Animal Hospital neuter for male outdoor cats. Call Ark at 504-834-0906.
  • 10/16-21/06: Southern Animal Foundation for outdoor cats. Call SAF at 504-671-8235.

Volunteer Info Meetings
  • 10/16/06: Greater New Orleans meeting at 7:00pm. Jewish Community Center, 5342 Saint Charles Ave (Uptown). Call 601-749-5084.
  • 10/17/06: Plaquemines Parish meeting at 6:30pm. Belle Chasse Auditorium, 8398 Hwy 23, Belle Chasse. Call 601-749-5084 for information.

Volunteers? Gulf Coast Animals Still Need You!


Humane Society Of Louisiana
115 Obed Magee Road
Tylertown, MS 39667
304-231-4954, 601-876-2781
info@humanela.org
Jeff Dorson, Exec. Director

After Hurricane Katrina damaged HSL's New Orleans shelter, we set up set in Tylertown, Mississippi. The temp site also served as a staging area for animals after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One year later, dogs and cats rescued from storm-ravaged areas are still homeless. Can you, or someone you know, open their home to a Katrina animal?

Help In New Orleans Metro Area
  • Foster Care
  • Animal Transport
  • Adoption Days
  • Administrative/Clerical Support
  • Rescue/Trapping
  • Special Events And Fundraisers

Volunteer At Our Sanctuary
We need hands-on animal care at our Tylertown facility, formerly called "Camp Katrina." North of Abita Springs about two hours from NOLA.


Louisiana SPCA
701 Thayer Street
New Orleans, LA 70114
504-368-5191, fax: 504-368-3710
LA-SPCA Volunteers: 504-368-5191

Volunteer Opportunities
  • Adoptions, Foster Care
  • Animal Care
  • Building/Grounds Maintenance
  • Community Outreach and Humane Ed
  • Office, Fundraising, Events
  • Media/PR, Writers, Designers
  • Veterinary Clinic and Mobile Outreach


Southern Animal Foundation
1823 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-671-8235
animallover@southernanimalfoundation.org

Foster Families Needed
From SAF's website, click on Adoption. If interested in fostering, please download our application. Submit form by fax or mail.


Animal Rescue New Orleans
271 Plauche Street
New Orleans, LA 70123
main ARNO line: 504-571-1900
ar-no@cox.net

Need Local/Out-State Volunteers
504-571-1900
arnovolunteer@yahoo.com
animalrescueneworleans.org/volunteer.html

  • Feed: Food/water stations, field data.
  • Animal Care: Walk, feed, clean kennels…
  • Foster: For animals awaiting adoption.
  • Data: Field data, phone, recruitment…
  • Trap: Humane capture of homeless, injured, newborn, pregnant animals.

Adopt From ARNO
Petfinder  ■  Save-A-Pet

Greater New Orleans:
Animal Rescue New Orleans

West Bank/Belle Chasse:
Ramona Billot, ramonabillot@yahoo.com

Donate To ARNO
  1. Donate Online
  2. Give By Mail: 1219 Coliseum Street
    New Olreans, LA 70130
  3. Gift Cards: petsmart.com or petco.com
  4. iGive: Shop at major stores with 26% of your purchase for ARNO!
  5. Supplies Drop-Off: ARNO Warehouse
    271 Plauche St, New Orleans, LA 70123


Independent Food/Water Program
Contact Traci Kestler, 504-975-5971
tbkestler@cox.net

Can You Spare One Day Per Month?
  • Feeders
  • Warehouse workers
  • Phone workers
  • Computer workers
  • TNR trappers

Food and water for homeless animals is our priority. If you don't want to do food/water stations, we need you somewhere. Just one day per month, 12 days per year, not even full days! I need to relieve feeders who presently work every week. Please help. Traci Kestler


If you are a nonprofit rescue or shelter that needs volunteers in a Katrina-affected region, email disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org your complete contact information and concise volunteer needs for our next newsletter.

Help Us Aid NOLA's Forgotten Animals


Please donate now, so Kinship Circle can not only feed animals while in NOLA, but also give funds/food to Animal Rescue New Orleans and other animal recovery efforts.

Kinship Circle will service food/water routes and document animals in the East/West sections of Upper 9th Ward, Lakeview, Plaquemines…

Landscapes have changed since Katrina. Even as some areas rebuild (residents often want feeding to stop) others have seen little recovery. Animal survivors and their offspring tend to roam near former homes. Reunions are still possible via documentation on feeding routes.

While in NOLA, we'll also help out at Animal Rescue New Orleans, plus transport animals for out-state adoptions. Please donate for the continued care of Katrina animal victims. Their suffering is not over.

Thank you! Kinship Circle
Kinship Circle
Animal Disaster Aid Fund
7380 Kingsbury Blvd
Saint Louis, MO 63130

Kinship Circle is a 501c3.
Donations are tax-deductible

It's The Law: National Pet Evacuation Act Passes

Update: Federal Pet Evacuation & Transportation
In Hurricane Katrina's wake, Kinship Circle joined the animal rescue response. When we saw the wreckage, we heard its heartbeat: Faint, often muffled…a call to search before too late. We initiated action alerts to Congress and President Bush, demanding a national disaster preparedness plan with provisions for animals.

Unforgivable: A white dog is torn from a boy's arms. A bewildered yellow Lab atop a roof watches his family fade away in a helicopter. An elderly woman is denied medical care unless she deserts her cats. Over 50,000 Louisiana animals were stranded. Mississippi numbers are unknown.

Katrina's human death toll would have been lower if an enforced plan for animals had been in place. Kinship Circle alerts asked for passage of the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS Act). After Senate and House wins, President Bush has signed the bill into law. States must help evacuate companion animals during a natural disaster or risk losing federal money.

10/10/06 San Francisco Chronicle, By Kimberly Geiger: New law puts funds at risk if animals are not in disaster plans  ~  States will be required to help evacuate pets during a natural disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake or risk losing federal money under a bill signed by President Bush.


The bill was prompted by reports that some 50,000 pets were stranded in Hurricane Katrina. Rescue agencies have been criticized for the no-pets policy that forced [guardians] to abandon animals or defy evacuation orders. Nearly half of those who refused to evacuate said they didn't want to leave their pets behind, according to a poll by the Fritz Institute, a humanitarian relief nonprofit.


"Katrina gave us insight into the lack of preparedness for people and their pets," said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of Humane Society of the United States, an animal advocacy group that rescued abandoned pets after the hurricane. Markarian said that even disabled people with guide dogs were forced to choose between their pets and their safety.

Though many states now incorporate companion animals in evacuation plans, the federal law requires all states to present the Federal Emergency Management Agency with pet evacuation plans before receiving federal funds. The law also authorizes FEMA to provide additional money for pet-friendly shelters and provide assistance to [animal guardians].

"People victimized by disasters should not suffer more needless injury by having to abandon their household pets or service animals to their fate," said Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, who introduced the legislation after seeing coverage of a young boy forcibly separated from his dog after Katrina.

An October 2005 Zogby poll reports that Americans, by 2-to-1 ratio, believe that rescue efforts should accommodate pets, though only 4% say government agencies such as FEMA should perform rescues. Instead, 42% say animal rights groups should conduct rescues, and 40% say the task should be shared among private groups, government agencies and individual [animal guardians]. A majority 54% say they disagree with the no-pets policy used in Katrina's aftermath.
Kinship Circle Action Alert Archive
Never Again: Pass Federal Animal Evacuation Law Now


Honorable Representative
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510

Honorable Senators
U.S. Senate, U.S. Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Representative (your Rep's name) and Senators (your Senators' names),

A disaster preparedness plan without provisions for animals is a bad plan. In America, companion animals live in over half of all households. In New Orleans alone, 50,000 to 70,000 dogs are pets. This American Veterinary Medical Association estimate doesn't account for cats who inhabit 3 of every 10 Am erican homes, according to Humane Society of the U.S. figures.

Disaster victims should never choose between survival and animal family members. Yet government Katrina evacuations forced them to do that. Images are unforgivable: A white dog is ripped from a boy's arms as he boards a bus. A bewildered yellow Lab sees his family vanish in a helicopter. A woman is denied medical care unless she deserts her cats.

This is an emergency preparedness plan so out of touch with constituents, it fails to protect them. Katrina stragglers cited pets as the foremost reason for staying in flooded areas. Conversely, when Galveston, TX Mayor Lyda Thomas allowed pets with evacuees on buses, nearly every resident left before Hurricane Rita struck.

The human death toll might have been lower if an enforced plan for animals had been in place. I ask my Representative to support The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS Act, H.R. 3858). I ask my Senators to sponsor comparable legislation in the Senate.

Initiated by Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA) and cosponsors Christopher Shays (R-CT), Don Young (R-AK), James Oberstar (D-MN), and Barney Frank (D-MA), the PETS Act requires state preparedness plans to provide for companion/service animals to attain FEMA funding.

To properly rescue/shelter animals in disasters, the federal government must also consult with accredited animal welfare organizations.

Tens of thousands of pets are still emaciated, dehydrated, and poisoned in empty New Orleans parishes. While animal rescue groups have managed to save more than 6,000 animals in Mississippi and Louisiana, they should have received federal and state aid from the onset. Please insist that the President, Governors Blanco and Barbour, Secretary Chertoff, and Secretary Rumsfeld authorize responders to carry out animal relief missions now.

I trust you will cosponsor The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act — so a tragedy of this magnitude never repeats itself.

Thank you,
To Find Your Congress Members, Try:
Dogs Deserve Better founder Tammy Grimes was arrested for aiding a dying chained dog renamed Doogie 293x1022

Justice? Save Near-Dead Dog, Then Go To Jail


9/12/06  ~  Tammy Grimes, Dogs Deserve Better founder, rescued a dying dog. She was arrested.

9/21/06 Hearing  ~  Two of initial four charges against Tammy Grimes were dropped.
Theft: Still Charged
Receiving Stolen Property: Still Charged
Criminal Mischief: Dropped
Criminal Trespass: Dropped

10/8/06  ~  The Altoona Mirror ran at least 6 positive letters to the editor in the past week! Thanks to all who made this happen and thanks to the Mirror, finally. We got new, very brief video footage of Doogie walking today. He seems to be responding to new medication.

Demand Abuse Charges
The D.A. refused to consider charges against the Arnolds. We have video, photos, at least two eyewitnesses to animal abuse, and a veterinarian's affidavit. What more does he need? Ask the D.A. to shift focus from the "rehabilitation" of Tammy Grimes to prosecution of the Arnolds for animal cruelty.

Blair County District Attorney
Richard Consiglio, Esq.
423 Allegheny St. Suite 421
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
814-693-3010, blairda@keyconn.net

Background
When Tammy Grimes first saw Doogie from the road, chained and collapsed, she thought he was dead. Her team found him alive but unable to stand, his legs flailing in mud and feces. She documented his condition with video and photos, and took him to a local veterinarian for immediate life-saving care. She was later arrested for refusal to return Doogie to certain death at the end of a chain. Video of Doogie at the time of his rescue has been viewed over 41,000 times on YouTube. The case has been featured on Inside Edition, the National Enquirer, Animal People, animal magazines, and on Internet blogs.