hurricane relief

I'm going to be a vendor at an art/craft show in 2 weeks, that is, assuming I'm home and not on a volunteer stint. Rocks are not what I sell, but I am going to take my gumball machine full of small rocks and put it in my setup, for a quarter people can turn the handle and all proceeds will go to hurricane relief.

puppie i think that's a wonderful idea! i might have to steal that one.

duckbean that made me cry for the 59th time today. but good tears!

God must have known i was about to cave when they showed that poor dog on that flooded porch rail and the boat left him behind. i could never have left him there even if i'd been ordered to leave him. i received an email right behind that airing with news that a team is going in to rescue the animals in new orleans. here's the e-mail:

Hello Everyone,
This is a link received from LSU vet school explaining the rescue /triage
plans put into place today for managing pets and livestock. I just returned
from the rescue center at PArker Coliseum on campus this evening. They have
plenty of volunteers (vet students, veterinarians, local residents) and
food but need more cages/pens and especially needed fans as it is hot and
heat stress seems to be the major problem experienced by pets. The horse
center is at Lamar Dixon Center in nearby Gonzales. Donations to the Walter
Ernst Foundation (operated by the Louisisana Veterinary Medical
Association) is tax deductable and funds will be immediately available for
rescue/relief efforts and can be accessed at <lvma.org>. Efforts are being
coordinated between the LVMA, LSU School of
Veterinary Medicine here in Baton Rouge and the LA SPCA so all are
reputable. And of course donations to the Red Cross are always safe and
reliable.
Baton Rouge is now the center of operation for rescue/relief. Our town has
doubled in population in 24 hours. All resources are stretched to the max.
Roads are all overloaded, food is in short supply and gas lines are long
but remarkably most people are being incredibly patient and polite.
Ambulance and fire trucks are screaming all over town. Helicopters fly over
constantly. I have never seen anything like this in my life.
Yesterday I was crying in disbelief over what had happened. Today, while I
realize it is going to be a long haul, I realize that we can rally and do
this. We are taking on 3 geriatric horses from New Orleans at our farm who
need to be in pasture and cannot stand in stalls because they stock up.
Murphy will be excited to have new buddies in his pasture. We are going to
be OK. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and support. We will keep you
posted as to progress.
Karen

and this:


>Animal Evacuation and Recovery Plan for New Orleans
>
>BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
>(LA/SPCA), the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association (LVMA), the
>Louisiana Animal Control Association (LACA), and the LSU School of
>Veterinary Medicine (SVM) are managing animal evacuations and recovery
plans for New Orleans pets and displaced animals.
>
>PETS TRAVELING WITH OWNERS
>
>The LVMA is currently accepting pets at the Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette,
>LSU in Shreveport, the Monroe Civic Center for small animals and the Ike
>Hamilton Center for large animals in Monroe, the Farmer's Market in
>Alexandria, and the LSU Agriculture Center/Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge.
>Owners must be housed in a Red Cross shelter; owners are responsible for
>caring for their animals, including feeding and cleaning. Animals will be
>accepted 24 hours a day. Veterinarians will be on hand to handle any
>medical needs.
>
>While owners are responsible for the feeding and cleaning of their pets at
>the Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge, the SVM, along with volunteers from the
>Baton Rouge Veterinary Medical Association, will provide veterinary care.
>If for some reason, an owner is unable to care for a pet sheltered in the
>Parker Coliseum (e.g., the owner is housed in a special needs shelter), SVM
>student volunteers will provide primary care, such as feeding and cleaning.
> The East Baton Rouge Animal Control Center
will be taking stray animals.
>
>The Parker Coliseum will be staffed 24 hours a day by a supervising
>veterinarian and student volunteers from the School of Veterinary Medicine.
> Pets in the Coliseum will be given physical exams and Bordetella (kennel
>cough) vaccinations. If a pet requires medical attention and veterinary
>monitoring, it will be sent to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine's
>Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
>
>PEOPLE WITH PETS WHO ARE CURRENTLY EVACUATING NEW ORLEANS
>
>The LA/SPCA will transport animals from pick-up points in New Orleans to
>the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. The pick-up points have not yet been
>determined and are being coordinated with the agency charged with
>transporting people from New Orleans to other areas.
>
>The Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039 St. Landry Rd., Gonzales, La., will serve
>as the primary staging area. Once the shelter is full, animals will be
>moved to temporary shelters in other areas of Louisiana and Texas.
>
>The LA/SPCA Dorothy Dorsett Mobile Veterinary Center will be at the
>Lamar-Dixon Center to treat incoming animals as needed.
>
>CONFINED PETS STILL IN DISASTER AREA
>
>Beginning on September 1, residents who left pets in their homes may call a
>hot line to leave information about the number of animals, species, and
>their confined location. As soon as the hotline number is obtained, we
>will advise the media. WE CANNOT ENTER NEW ORLEANS UNTIL
APPROVAL IS GRANTED BY STATE OFFICALS.
>
>DONATIONS
>
>Financial donations are being accepted to fund the animals' care through
>the Dr. Walter J. Ernst, Jr. Veterinary Memorial Foundation at the LVMA at
>1-800-928-LVMA.
>
>A regional donation center is being established. Our needs include: large
>air kennels and metal cages, leashes, disposable bowls, canned cat and dog
>food, disposable litter pans, spray bleach, paper towels, sheets, towels,
>locks, hoses, bottled water, trash cans, trash bags, pooper scoopers, cat
>litter, extension cords, fans. The most urgent needs are kennels and
>monetary donations. The media will be advised of the address once
>determined. At least 175 animals are currently en route to
Baton Rouge.
>
>For more information or to make donations of the materials listed above,
>please call the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine at 225-578-9900
>(www.vetmed.lsu.edu) or the LVMA at 1-800-928-LVMA (www.lvma.org).
>
>ANIMAL EVACUATION AND RECOVERY PLAN CONTACT INFORMATION
>
>Louisiana SPCA contact Laura Maloney
>225-413-8813
>
>East Baton Rouge Animal Control Center Hilton Cole
>225-774-7700
>
>LSU School of Veterinary Medicine Dr. Becky Adcock
>225-578-9900
>
>Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association
>225-928-5862
>
>Sincerely,
>Ginger

so if any of y'all saw that poor dog, there is hope, help is coming. i don't know if y'all saw the miniature horses in waveland that were in trouble but if you did the aspca was on the way the next day with feed and water for them. i called our local shelter to tell them i had found someone who would take them if they could help me get them there and relief was already on the way so the man wouldn't lose the remaining 4. i've not heard one peep about the new orleans zoo animals. not a peep. not sure i want to know.

kim

If an hurricane of that magnitude hit where we live, we would be in it really deeply. Our Bengals have needs that would not allow us to travel, nor would they survive in a shelter.
Hurricanes are a life changing event, even on a small scale. Here, when we bought our house, a tropical storm had gone over and power was out for six days!
My house in Punta Gorda survived Charlie last year. I did not lose a shingle or piece of facia! My neighbors are gone. When I think about it, I never allow myself to think for a moment it was because somehow I am a superior house repair individual. I was just lucky. Hurricanes are like that.
Even in an hurricane like George, which I also was in, and Irene the next year, life changes. The effects of the hurricanes are felt for years afterwards. Electrical wires corrode and fail months, and years afterwards. Fear although not expressed, grows. My wife watches the weather channel by the hour. This was from small wind storms. Katrina was an hammer from the skies. I was in Andrew, in Homestead. I saw the eyewall. I was next to a palm tree and witnessed a 2 X 4 get driven half way through the tree and come out intact, stuck in the tree. After the storm, when it was quiet and the mosquitos came and everything was damp, I saw a brand new automobile that had been lifted and set on a second floor of an house!
After an hurricane, the next day the shock is still in effect. On the third day, fruit cravings set in. Not sleeping catches up. The life changes become apparent.
When I see pictures of folks giving to private charities, it warms my heart. I know those supplies will get to their destination. After hurricane George, bottled water was selling for six dollars a small bottle.
It took a while but people started getting stronger, order came about. In time, we too will heal. It warms my heart to see us caring. It makes me feel glad to see photos of people giving a little bit and little bits filling a truck. I know what that means to people affected by Katrina. I know what that first truck means when it arrives. I know what it means when the first Aid station is open and a Dr., is there to just adminster antibiotics. A small cut after an hurricane can quickly turn into a life threatening infection! The damp turns into rashes that grow and get serious.
When the church near where I was opened up for a warm meal, it was like coming out of the darkness into the light. Suddenly people who never spoke to one another were reaching out. People who lost everything were serving food, wearing the only clothes they had left.
It warms my heart to see the pictures of the supplies being loaded. I know they will reach their destination. This time I am giving, next time I might be hoping.
Who cares what boxes supplies are in. Supplies are getting to people in need.
It makes me proud.

well the groceries are back on the shelves. i ran out of coffee and had to make a late trip to the grocery store. the meat is back out and though i can still see huge gaps on the shelves that haven't been stocked yet, there were huge stacks of items fixing to be put out. when i checked out i asked the checker was she there when the mess went on the other night. her eyes got big and she said no she wasn't working. she said it was bad. then a guy i went to high school with was close by and said a guy shot himself in the parking lot during all of this. the checker said he was alive and i'm still puzzling over that. he was shot in the back of the head. that's not usually where one shoots themself is it? and this little tumbler said weeeeeee, weeeeeeeee, weeeeeeeee all the way home and will not be going back for coffee at night!

kim

oh cher that to me takes super strength to volunteer at the shelters. i would pay them not to make me go. i would want every single animal. i have a terrible weakness for animals.

kim

any real first hand news would be much appreciated, Kim, thanks!

KD

i've talked to my hubby several times now. i think he's a little overwhelmed with it all. he said every remaining house is just gutted with huge piles of flooring, sheetrock, furniture, appliances all piled up outside. he said the air actually stinks. he was lost one of the times i talked to him and they have to get off the coast by 5. he said they have a gate and guards with machine guns to keep people out at night. i don't know where he got a tent but he said they are staying in a tent in someone's yard.

kim

cher he's not going as a volunteer. he's making contacts for the flooring work that is fixing to be done all over down there. he is home now and it looks like it will be around 2 wks before flooring will really get started maybe longer. i truly do think he was overwhelmed with it all. he went all the way across ms and though he could not get into new orleans he went across louisiana. i really didn't think he could be overwhelmed but i think i was wrong.

kim

Yeppir! That looks like what I have been through too many times.
The storm gets close, everybody is nervous, the animals start pacing. The storm comes on shore, things get busy and your world gets real small. Afterwards, shock. It is all gone, and what is left is destroyed by being outside of its normal environment. The few things, memories, get trashed by the moisture. Pictures disappear, tools get completely rusted, water is in everything. Chain saws do not start, autos do not start if they were not completely flooded.
After that, you look around, and realize how dependant you were on "things", how much of your life oriented around a routine, and the "things" and routine are gone. Then everything is damp. For a long time. People get cabin fever, and even if they are ok, they start fighting with each other. Over little things.
Then you have something like Katrina.
I am glad you guys are doing what can be done. It is great to see photos. Some people there have worked all their lives and in 12hrs it is all gone, nothing left, except having strangers with firearms telling them what to do. Their suffering is unimagineable.
Then there are those who thought they were prepared, only to find out otherwise. The strength of a plan of action is only as secure as the weakest point/source. They had food, water, they never figuired on the humidity, or heat. They had food/water/secured clothing, only they never saw what 10' of water does to a structure. They had everything, just in case only they never saw what a simple wound can do, or not being able to wash their hair, or just get clean.
Thanks for the photos. A picture is worth a thousand words.