HURRICANE KATRINA ANIMAL RESCUE

HURRICANE KATRINA ANIMAL RESCUE
© 2005 Janice Price
www.jansfunnyfarm.com


Buddy sidles up to the desk and peers at the computer monitor. “What are you doing, Percy?

Standing on the secretarial chair at the computer, Percy responds without breaking stride in his typing. “I’m writing a journal entry for the club about the Hurricane Katrina Relief effort to rescue animals.”

“But aren’t there agencies to deal with helping the survivors?”

“Yes, Buddy, but they deal with rescuing people. There are so many people who need help, the agencies are overwhelmed and help is slow and chaotic for them, at best. Many people are having to abandon their pets to die. They don’t want to; they just aren’t allowed to take them with them to shelters or on buses. It’s breaking their hearts and making a horrific situation even harder for them to deal with. One little boy cried until he vomited when his dog, Snowball, was taken away from him because evacuees were not allowed to take pets on the buses leaving New Orleans..”

“They should let us run the rescue work,” Merci chimes in, standing on her hind legs to see what Percy is typing. “We could straighten that out in no time! After all, we straightened out Jan, didn’t we?”

“Well,” Percy says, fervently, “there are some groups already helping to rescue as many abandoned animals as they can find. Some of them are on rooftops, in trees, or other dangerous places, and they don’t have any food or water either.”

“Jan gets newsletters from some lady named Carolyn who runs a rescue shelter named ….. uh, I can’t remember the name of it.” Buddy looks at Merci and asks, “ Can you?”

“Yes,” Merci says, after thinking for a few seconds. “All Cats. All Creatures Are Truly Special, or something like that. I think they’re in Alabama now. They used to be in Georgia, didn’t they, Percy?”

Percy nods, distracted as he reads over what he has typed. “How does this sound, guys?”

Rescue operations are under way for surviving animals. Carolyn Keeton and a group of volunteers left for New Orleans on Wednesday, August 31st to help the endangered cats and dogs who have been left behind. The Coast Guard has given them permission to enter the city, and the Chief of Police has promised to help as much as possible. A helicopter will be available if needed. If anyone would like to make an online donation for the Hurricane Katrina All CATS Crew, just click on this link for All Cats, Inc.

Buddy and Merci both nod their approval. “It sounds good to me,” Buddy says.

“Do you think you should add that donations are desperately needed to help pay for things like paper products – food dishes, paper towels, toilet paper, etc, since only biodegradable items are allowed to be taken into New Orleans?” Merci asks.

“Good idea, Merci.” Percy’s toes fly over the keyboard. “Drat. Jan really needs to get on the ball and clip my nails. They snag the keys.”

“And,” Buddy chips in, helpfully, “ don’t forget to let people know they can also mail donations to All Cats.”

“Right,” Percy agrees. “If they have any questions, they can e-mail us and we can find the answers.”

“Right!” Buddy smiles. “Merci and I can find anything. We’re good hunters and trackers.”

“Wait, shouldn’t we add something about folks donating to agencies to help the people displaced and stranded by Katrina?”

Buddy shakes his head. “Not really, Merci. Jan already wrote about donating to the American Red Cross or other agencies to help the human victims. She posted that story on Mercy And Percy . But only cats and dogs live on the Funny Farm.”

“And Jan. Don’t forget Jan. She’s not a dog or a cat. She’s a klutz.”

“And it’s off,” Percy announces, hitting the send key.

“You’re a good cat, Percy, “Buddy praises him enthusiastically, as he taps him on the back, the force of his tap knocking Percy off the chair. “I’m glad you’re my friend. If I ever need help, I know I can come to you and you’ll e-mail everyone until you find help for me.”

“Or at least he’ll email everyone until they put a spam block on his e-mails,” Merci laughs.

Percy,
Secretary of The Funny Farm Writing Club