Editor’s Note from Laura Maloney, Executive Director, the Louisiana SPCA:
Our hearts go out to the owners whose beloved pets died tragically during their evacuation from Causeway Animal Hospital to the LSU Veterinary Clinic in Baton Rouge. Below is an account of the rescue operation at Causeway Animal Hospital, immediately following Hurricane Katrina.

Area veterinarians coordinated rescue efforts for many clinics in the New Orleans Metro Area. Causeway Animal Hospital was one of the many clinics included on rescue lists dispatched to the LA/SPCA. With communication severely disabled due to the hurricane’s aftermath, we were not aware that Dr. Pelle, the kennel manager and two volunteers who had remained in the neighborhood were caring for the animals.

For all of us who give our heart and soul to the care of animals, like the LA/SPCA and Causeway Animal Hospital, events such as this one compound the many tragedies associated with Hurricane Katrina. We express our deepest, heartfelt sympathies to the families of the animals and the hospital personnel who cared from them. We share in your loss. Causeway Animal Hospital Evacuation

A Rescue Gone Tragically Wrong

October 11, 2005

In the many animal rescue operations that have taken place since Hurricane Katrina there have been many tearful endings, both happy and tragic. One of the most painful and tragic moments is that which occurred in the evacuation of animals from Causeway Animal Hospital in Metairie. In the words of Louisiana SPCA’s Operations Director and Chief Humane Officer Kathryn Destreza, “It is something I will never forget. I’ve had many nightmares over this event; it’s always there.”

Immediately following the storm, the LA/SPCA and other rescue groups began responding to calls logged minute-by-minute of animals needing to be evacuated. Causeway Animal Hospital was one of the many veterinary clinics in the area that were placed on the need-to-be rescued lists because it was assumed that no one would be able to return to the city to care for the animals.

LA/SPCA arrived at the hospital unaware that there was a staff returning daily to care for the pets. Like many other residences and businesses in the wake of the hurricane, the clinic was very warm as a result of no electrical power. Humane officers loaded the animals onto a refrigerated, climate-controlled vehicle. The use of the vehicle was very successful in previous evacuations including the initial evacuation of LA/SPCA shelter animals the Saturday prior to Hurricane Katrina. From the clinic, the humane officers began the transport to the LSU Veterinary Clinic in Baton Rouge.

Upon arrival at LSU, the humane officers opened the trailer area of the vehicle and discovered, to their horror, that the air-conditioning had gone out. The alarm alert inside the vehicle’s cab had malfunctioned and failed to alert the driver that a fatal malfunction had occurred, somewhere in transit between Causeway Animal Hospital and the LSU Clinic. Tragically, many of the animals had already expired. Humane officers began furiously removing all the animals from the vehicle. Only a couple of dogs were able to be resuscitated at the LSU clinic; the rest passed away.

Destreza immediately called the LA/SPCA director Laura Maloney to tell her about the situation. Maloney said it took her several minutes to understand what Destreza was trying to say because of her intense sobbing. The exhilaration of saving animals’ lives quickly turned to a tragedy.

Destreza and her officers have been through the most emotionally draining events that anyone can imagine, but the tragedy of this event is beyond compare. “We rescue animals, we injure ourselves, we try to help people who love their animals and when we realized what had happened we were incredibly devastated. It’s taken a toll on everyone and we’ve even lost two staff members in large part due to this event.”

“We continued to go on with rescue operations because we have to, but we’ll never recover from the sadness and devastation associated with this event.”
 

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