By Rebecca Simmons
In the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, the animals, staff, and volunteers at the Lamar-Dixon temporary shelter in Gonzales, Louisiana, which currently houses approximately 700 animals displaced by Hurricane Katrina, are doing fine.
The temporary facility in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, which also evacuated animals and reduced staff to a skeleton crew in order to ride out the storm, reported similar good news. By noon today, more than 80 staff and volunteers had returned to that site to continue rescue and relief work there.
The Lamar-Dixon facility sustained tropical storm-force winds, heavy rain, and several tornado warnings. But thanks to a strong effort from animal groups and volunteers from around the nation, and a well-executed plan, no damage to the facilities or injuries to the animals, volunteers, or staff has been reported.
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"It's great how everyone has pulled together," said Julie Janovsky, senior state legislative specialist at The HSUS and co-manager of export operations at Lamar-Dixon.
Bob Reder, regional director of The HSUS' Pacific Northwest office in Seattle, Washington and assistant incident commander at the Lamar-Dixon center, agreed. "There is a collation between a multitude of organizations, and we're all working together for a common cause."
In preparation for Hurricane Rita, the teamwork of everyone at Lamar-Dixon clearly paid off.
Together with other groups, The HSUS helped evacuate animals from a shelter in Lake Charles, La. and moved them to Shreveport, La. on Thursday. Other animals were evacuated from the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, La. to the Dixon Correctional Institute.
"By the time the storm arrived we were very well-prepared," said Janovsky. "Dick Green from American Humane Association was great at prioritizing our needs. He made sure that the animals, resources and people were protected throughout the storm."
Although the majority of the volunteers were evacuated, enough staff and volunteers remain on-site to keep the animals well-cared for.
"Even though we don't have all of the volunteers back, the barns are well-staffed and volunteers are rotating shifts," said Janovsky.
The storm did cause some stress on animals being cared for at Lamar-Dixon, animals who have now survived two major hurricanes.
"Today we've been dealing with a lot more instances of animals exhibiting unpredictable behaviors, but I'm surprised that we didn't see more," said Scott Jetter, a behavior specialist from Des Moines, Iowa and volunteer at the shelter.
For animals in New Orleans who are still waiting to be rescued, Hurricane Rita was just another setback to being reunited with their owners.
"There's really been no good news out of New Orleans. Because of the flooding, people won't be able to come back as quickly, our rescue teams will have a harder time getting around, and animals that were surviving could have drowned, or their food supply could have been cut off," said Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The HSUS.
Rescue and feeding operations will continue as soon as conditions allow safe entry to impact areas, including New Orleans. The HSUS is also deploying assessment teams to Southwest Louisiana.
Rebecca Simmons is the Outreach Communications Coordinator for the Companion Animals section of The HSUS.
