New Orleans evacuation included pets

By Carreen Maloney (September 2, 2008)

As frightened New Orleans residents anxiously watched hurricane Gustav hurtling towards their embattled city, there was one place that people wore Big Easy smiles: the pet evacuation drop-off centre at Union Passenger Terminal.

The train station served as the main dispatch centre for people requiring assistance to evacuate: those with disabilities or special medical needs, the elderly, and people without transportation. And in an unprecedented show of progress, their pets were part of the plan.

“My son wasn’t going to leave without his dog,” says Jacqueline Miller, 52, who arrived with her adult son and his pit bull Nala in tow. “This makes me very happy.”

Throngs of adults and children carrying their belongings in ragged suitcases and trash bags waited patiently to be checked in as they cradled pets in their arms, held them in carriers, or walked them to the terminal on leashes, or to one of 17 other pick-up points stationed throughout the region.

“The city is definitely better prepared this time,” says Shelly Patton, building manager and webmaster for Louisiana SPCA (LA SPCA), the state’s lead animal welfare agency, which assisted with the operation. “Hurricane Katrina taught everybody how important pets are in people’s lives. It’s not like leaving a piece of property behind. These are family members.”

Historically animals haven’t been permitted to evacuate with their humans to shelters.

But the public relations disaster of hurricane Katrina forced officials to reconsider this policy. When the floodwaters rolled in, television stations broadcast chilling footage of animals clinging to treetops and stranded on roofs as the water rose four feet every 15 minutes.

In the months following, 70,000 animals died of dehydration or starvation, feeding on drywall, cardboard and tinfoil in a futile effort to fill their empty stomachs. Many people stayed behind and died with their pets rather than leave them to perish alone.

Mayor Ray Nagin was on hand to do media interviews and survey how the operation was working.

“We learned so much last time,” Nagin said. “We had a few glitches, but overall it’s going very well.”

Kenneth Morgan and Michael Parson were forced to leave their dogs Prissy, 17 and Pooh Bear, 15, in their New Orleans apartment when they fled the floods following Katrina. It was 38 days before they were able to return. Thanks to the 50 pounds of dog food and 100 gallons of water the men put out for them, their dogs were alive, but suffered from severe separation anxiety for months.

“I told Kenneth I wasn’t leaving without my babies this time,” Parson said, as he registered his dogs to make the trip.

Citizens checking in pets were given an armband with a number corresponding to the number on a coated paper collar placed around their pets’ necks. Animals weighing less than 15 pounds were permitted to board the bus and ride on their owners’ laps in carriers, while larger animals were crated and loaded into refrigerated trucks idling beside the drop-off stations.

“The idea is for the animals to be in a truck following the bus the humans are on so they’re always together,” says Gloria Dauphin, an executive assistant at LA SPCA.

It was evident that some residents still felt conflicted about temporarily relinquishing their beloved furry companions.

“Even though we’re telling them they’ll meet their animal on the other side, some are still scared to leave them because of what they went through with Katrina,” says LA SPCA CEO Ana Zorrilla.

Convoys of people and pets were ferried to shelters set up outside the hurricane zone, where guardians were expected to feed, water and walk their own animals.

Unfortunately, not everyone took advantage of the pet evacuation plan. Before Gustav even hit landfall, LA SPCA was briefing specially trained land and water animal rescue teams already deployed from around the country.

“As we were evacuating on Sunday, we already had e-mails coming in from pet owners who had left their animals asking us to rescue them,” Patton says. “These rescuers have had experience from Katrina, and now they know the terrain. We’re mobilized to save even more lives.”

Carreen Maloney has been a writer and animal rescuer for 20 years. She runs Fuzzy Town, a toy and
pet products company. She can be reached at carreen@fuzzytown.com.

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