Dr. Hollis of Village Vet in Mount Juliet is recruiting some other fellow animal rescue workers and is heading to LA. She will either be going Wednesday morning or this weekend. She will be heading down for a week to help Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and will be working at St. Francis Animal Sanctuary in Tylertown, LA. She will be processing stray and sick animals there. From there, they will be fostered and adopted out to area families.
Right now, they have less than 24 hours worth of food left, no electricity, and no running water. Even worse, there is talk of a "shoot to kill" order to be set in place with regards to stray animals. Please realize that some of these stray animals are ones that either got separated from their families during the storm or were "cut loose" as shelters for people would not allow them to come along. This could be your pet, the pet of someone you love, or a friend's pet as easily as it is happening there.
She has been receiving donations of medical supplies (Animal Care in Mount Juliet donated cases and cases of IV fluids), but needs much, much more. We went to the Dollar General Market Monday and bought clearners, sponges, bleach, paper towels, toilet paper, dog food, cat food, food bowls, litter pans, litter, garbage bags, and a garbage can.
These animals not only need help to survive, but they will contribute to the sickness and disease that is already taking hold if not tended to. They will pollute the water supplies if they die and decompose in lakes, streams, and rivers. The pain and suffering of these little creatures is probably equal to that of the human component.
There is talk of a "shoot to kill" order being brought forth for any stray animal that is seen roaming free. Imagine you are lost and cannot find your family. Imagine that you see someone and think they are there to help you, but that person is only there to shoot you. These animals are confused, scared, and lost... this does not mean they are dangerous or aggressive. But they would rather shoot them onsight not even knowing who they belong to or what kind of personality they have. Dr. Hollis wants to help the effort to save some of these animals from this inhumane action.
This whole situation, both people and animals, has simply overwhelmed me. I was brought to tears last night thinking about it and feeling so unable to directly cause change or help. I grabbed Cajun, our little Catahoula, last night and hugged her tight thanking my lucky stars that she was safe and sound. I looked at her and could not even imagine for a moment if she was lost, scared, and hurt, and no one was there to take her in and care for her. It broke my heart.
As everyone may know, I do rescue out of our home and with my best friend. There is no greater satisfaction than looking into the eyes of a little creature with no voice who is on the verge of death, wrapping them up, and taking them home only to see relief in their eyes when they realize that they are safe, loved, and fed.
I would foster for some of these animals but we do not have the room, as we already have several fosters at our house now that have been pulled from euthanasia rooms by us personally. I am working with several rescues to initiate fosters of some of these animals though. There is a foster program available for pets of those people who are displaced and if anyone would like information on that, I would be happy to provide it to you.
