 | | Scotlund Haisley rescues an abandoned dog from a destroyed New Orleans home. |
The country watched in horror when Hurricane Katrina roared ashore and the levees collapsed. In response, the League joined rescue groups across the nation to participate in a massive rescue effort of the estimated 250,000 animals left behind.
Nothing could have possibly prepared us for the destruction we met in New Orleans. Oil tankers jaggedly washed ashore. Telephone and electrical poles crisscrossed dangerously in nests of seething wires. Rooftops and cars poked above eight-foot floodwaters. Nothing was safe, nothing conducive to life of any sort.
Animals were everywhere: perched atop cars; paddling frantically through floodwaters; cowering under houses.
During our 16-day stint in Louisiana, the League rescued over 800 animals. We cared for over 1,000 sick and injured animals in a field hospital. We reunited dozens of animals with their families. And we transported 55 animals who'd been surrendered by heartbroken families who had no other choice back to our DC shelter for care, rehabilitation, and placement into loving, permanent homes.
Over our 91-year history, The Washington Animal Rescue League has been involved with hundreds of emergency rescues, but never has a crisis affected our entire team the way Hurricane Katrina did. In the pages ahead, you'll learn about the many ways the League reacted to a horrific disaster, putting our all into saving the four-legged victims of Hurricane Katrina.
|
Hurricane Katrina: Responding to Crisis
