Hundreds of pets still trapped
2005-09-11 10:10
New Orleans - Sometimes when the helicopters and military vehicles go quiet in New Orleans, you can hear the howls and screams of the hordes of dogs and cats still trapped in homes and on rooftops.
"It's scary," said Willie Cirone, a volunteer from New Jersey who came to the stricken city to rescue animals after Hurricane Katrina. "There are hundreds of them in houses still."
About 20 volunteers tour the city in a convoy of trucks on the few passable roads.
Some have small boats to go into the floods. Some of the volunteers have brought fishermen's gear so they can wade through the streets, carrying dog leashes in their hands.
They have come across terrified mongrels, a Pitbull that nearly strangled itself on a leash before collapsing with exhaustion.
"They are scared, they are hungry, they are tired," said Kerry Branon of the International Federation for Animal Welfare.
The address where an animal is found is noted, in case it can be reunited with the owner.
But most of the rescued animals are still waiting in a huge agricultural exhibition hall at Gonzales, about 80km from New Orleans. There are already about 1 300 dogs, cats, rabbits, parrots and more.
"About 400 get here every evening. Only about 20 people a day find their pets here," said Laura Maloney, executive director of the Louisiana Society for the Protection of Animals (SPCA).
Exhausted human refugees tour the building. Some carry photos of their lost animals; some have put up signs offering a reward for their pets.
A sign warns everyone: "Please be cautious next to the cages of animals that are not yours. They are stressed and can be defensive."
Some owners have got past the military checkpoints to re-enter the city to try to find their animals.
- AFP