Hurricane Katrina
I dont know where to start other then to acknowledge Lisa Lightfoot for her selfless and absolute heroism in rescuing hundreds of animals from the remnants of hurricane Katrina. From humans to hamsters, she showed physical agility and heartfelt compassion for those who were left helpless to survive on their own. Swimming in a cesspool would have been preferable to what the conditions were in New Orleans. Although we wore drysuits while doing water operations, there were times when you had to wrestle or comfort dogs that had spent the previous week in the stench of their surroundings. Many times we were wading through waist deep water, sometimes jumping into sludge over your head to rescue dogs that were possibly paddling their last strokes on this earth. Whether making a forcible entry into a house with chest deep sewage searching for animals that had been reported left behind or going door to door through blighted neighborhoods in the Zodiak inflatable raft packed with kennels looking for strays, the conditions never improved above abominable. You motor past dead bodies of both man and animal. You spent hours searching for animals to rescue in 95-degree temperatures with 95% humidity. By the time you get back to base youre hauling around 2-3 liters of your own sweat in each leg of your sealed drysuit. On one particularly hot day, I was taken off the water by a Phoenix Fire Captain due to heat exhaustion. I want to again thank Lisa for piloting the boat back to medical aid. The constant noise of helicopter gunships searching for stranded victims on rooftops is with you all day long. As Marshall Law was declared in New Orleans, our curfew was 5:30 PM. If youve not left town by then, the gunships took on a new menace. They flew much lower in the evening.
As human victims were found, they would come to us with their pets. Most fell to their knees through either joy or exhaustion. One small child had only a piece of gum left to her name. She had her father cut it into 3 pieces and gave it as thanks. Emotions ran the gamut from exhaustion from doing a technically difficult high angle rescue to tears from holding a dog who has willingly just put its fate in your hands to extreme aggravation from the political positioning of groups who show up just to be able to say they were there. There were many days when the frustration of the heat and humidity would tug at you to give in and take a rest. This would not be the case for our team. Perseverance and the knowledge that we were one of only a very small handful of teams looking for animals made giving up an option that would not, could not exist.
Though he wont read this, I must acknowledge another team member, Goose. He is the driver and caretaker of B.A.R.T. (Big Animal Rescue Truck). B.A.R.T. belongs to Code 3 Associates (www.code3associates.org), which is a rapid response disaster team out of Longmont, CO. Goose became a member of Lisa and my team out of necessity when our other member had to leave. Though he had no formal training in animal rescue techniques, he quickly became very proficient in the fine art of breaking down doors or tearing out window frames to gain entry into a house. He acted as a ladder that got me to the rooftops to get dogs off. He expertly worked the catchpole that brought many a dog through the muck and the mire to safety. In so many instances his own safety was put aside for the sake of the animal. He too, was a hero in every sense of the word. In the 11 days that we were there, our boat crews brought in over 400 dogs, cats, a hamster a pig, and an iguana. Because of the efforts of Emergency Animal Rescue, they will all get a second chance at life.
All in all, Emergency Animal Rescue represented itself magnificently in the face of this countries worse natural disaster. From the team in the water to the support of Jan working endless hours on the phones and answering emails of literally hundreds of rescue requests a day to everyone who made it possible for us to be there for the animals, I cant thank you enough for your support.
