DAYS END FARM HORSE RESCUE - DEFHR

October 7, 2005
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Louisiana

Allan is packing up today along with the rest of the team and will be heading home tomorrow. Tomorrow, a new team will take their place. He is very excited to be returing home but also sad to be leaving the other animal rescue workers that he worked with and depended on for so long. He said they worked together like a fine tuned machine and it will be like leaving part of his family behind. He said there were some good times had in between all the misery and destruction he saw. Despite having so little the people of LA and MS had spirit and were willing to share what little resources they had with the rescuers who were there to help.

Allan and Ed spent many days in zero resource areas where there were no McDonalds to pop over to for a snack. In fact there were no restaurants. Whatever had been there was gone. They spent most days eating Peanut butter crackers and slim jims that they had brought with them. At times they would get back to camp and David, the Animal Control Director they worked under would have had time to make a meal for them. Last night, Allan said, David made Jambalaya. A few nights before he had Chili and once a stew. Most times they just sat around and talked to the other rescuers and then crawled into their respective tents to get some shut eye before the next day began. The one resource they were grateful for was that the Animal Control Facility had a shower. The downside was that there was always a line but they did manage to get a shower about every third day. Allan said this experience will not be one he will forget very soon.

October 6, 2005
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Louisiana

Today before he left the shelter he discovered another flat tire. Apparently the terrain down there is real bad. Once they had the tire fixed fixed they once again went out to calls of need for food and water. Ed and another volunteer spent time making calls trying to get more supplies sent out there for hte animals. Most of the people were unable to travel around to go "Shopping" for food for their animals. They say they needed 3 tones of feed to keep the animals fed. Allan told me today that there is 15 tons of feed being shipped down there after the phone calls that was donated from nuumerous companies. The next team will be finding places to place the food where it is more easily accessible to owners who need it for their pets.

October 5, 2005
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Louisiana

Today after soaking and re-wrapping the horse with the abcess, ALlan and Ed traveled back to the Wildlife Sanctuary and refed the pigeons and brought more food and water. Their next call involved pony, 5 goats and some stray dogs which they watered and fed. Anotehr was 3 horses, 4 dogs and even some goldfish. APparently someone had told the owner that goldfish help keep the troughs clean. It certainly did not work in this instance. The water had just recently at the next farm where he fed and wateres 8 cows and 2 horses. They had been under 2-4 feet of water for quite a while. Ther last call there was another 4 horses.

October 4, 2005
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Louisiana

Ed and Allan had a number of call outs today as well. Their first call they fed and watered 4 horses and 1 dog. They responded to an emergency call on their second call out next where a horse was down. When they arrived with the Animal Control Officer from Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Allan and Ed examined the horse before trying to get him up and discovered that the horse had a possible break above the knee and recommended a veterinarian be called before they try to transport the horses. They were concerned this horse may need to be euthanised. Once the vet arrived on the scene he determined that the horse had fractured his tibia and fibia right above where those bones meet the knee. The horse was humanely euthanised. They had two more calls for feeding and watering that night including 7 more horses and 4 dogs.

October 3, 2005
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Louisiana

Today was a busy day. Allan started the day with soaking and wrapping the horses abcessed hoof. Animal Control told him they had received a number of calls they were going to send his team on when he was done. Apparently People were returning to their homes and noticed stray animals or realized that their feed resources for their naimals had been depleted and called animal control. ALlan & Ed were send out on the calls to deliver supplies as needed.
Call #1 - They fed and watered 4 dogs, 4 cows and some chickens.
Call #2 - Fed and left hay for 3 horses
Call #3 - Fed hay and water to 5 horses and a donkey
Call #4 - Fed and watered 3 horses. and so on. In total that day, working from sun-up to Midnight they fed and watered: 1 donkey, 18 horses, 9 dogs, 70 pigeons, 4 cats, 3 chickens and themselves before returning to their base camp at Calcasieu Parish Police Jury.

October 2, 2005
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Louisiana

On SUnday Allan & Ed traveled down to Sulfur, LA to a Tribal Nation Property. There were two people living on the property and 70 horses housed there. The horses and people were apparently doing well there except that they could use some volunteers to help with cleaning the stalls etc because the rest of the staff evacuated and they could use some hay. The people had been so busy taking care of the horses they had not had time to replenish supplies/ Allan and Ed went back to the camp and returned with hay.

The went out on a call for two strays after bringing hay to the tribal nation and were able to contain them. One of the horses appeared to have an abcess. The vet was called out and confirmed the diagnosis. Apparently the owner had removed the nail some time ago and the horses hoof had become infected. ALlan & Ed trailered it to the shelter under the advise of the veterinarian. The veterinarian asked Allan to soak and wrap the hoof daily until it's healed and said he would check back in a few days at the shelter and see how it was doing.

October 1, 2005
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Louisiana

Early morning Allan and Ed first had to get his tire fixed. During all the traveling yesterday one of the tires ended up with a hole in it. The police / animal control officer they are working with had it fixed for them and even filled up their tanks with gas. Allan said the locals are very appreciative about having their help to answer all these animal calls. The locals have even been bringing them food.

Once the tire was fixed Allan & Ed took some hay to a horse where the owner was unable to return to feed the hroses. His neighbor was helping him but had run out of hay.

Following the delivery of hay they were dispatched to round up another stray horse that was running through the streets in the city of Westlake. This little guy (chestnut colt) was apparently a little bit more difficult to contain than the preivous stray. He, of course, did not have a halter on either and was only about 9 Hands tall. After much perseverence from Ed & Allan they were able to load him on the trailer and get him back to the shelter. The colt had some scratches and open wounds that needed tending to at the shelter from his romp through the rubble following the hurricane.

No sooner was the colt dropped off at the shelter and they had another call on a stray. This horse, a large chestnut gelding was easier to catch. His legs were swollen and looked like he had been stading in water for some time. Allan was also concerned because his breathing was labored like a horse with COPD (asthma). This guy they will be taking directly to the veterinarian for immediate treatment.They took the horse to Delta Equine in LA and he was able to get his breathing under control and tended to his legs.

Apparently there were some pretty high winds causing massive destruction in this area. According to the locals, they apparently had 120 mile and hour winds in this area that were sustained at that intensity for hours causing major problems. This may explain all the stray horses. They have seen downed fences evrywhere they go due to trees falling on the fences.

September 30, 2005
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Lake Charles, Louisiana

After the morning meeting, Allan and Ed headed out to assess the area and found many animals that they were feeding and watering the animal in place in the Calcasieu area. Late in the afternoon they were sent on a horse call. Apparently there was a report that there were two horses standing in stalls for a number of days under three feet of water. When they arrived, the horses had apparently rescued themselves from the water and were roaming on the streets. The pregnant mare did not have a halter and the young colt appeared to have never been handled or haltered. Allan and Ed managed to get them contained in a building along the street. Ed was able to halter the mare and Allan finally got a halter on the colt. Once the mare loaded the colt jumped on with little fanfare.

Once the horses were on the trailer, They transported them back to the shelter. AHA had a helicopter which went over the area yesterday and noticed a number of horses running loose. Allan,Ed, Connor and another team member will be headed out to the Calcasieu Parish area again today to pick up the stray horses and try ro determine if there are local owners. If not they will be brought to the shelter until the owners can be found. They will also be distributing water, hay and feed to the any animals or horse farms in the area.
In the evening they awoke to explosions. Allan said it looked like a fourth of July with multicolor firecrackers going off in the sky. Later they determined that there were two transformers that exploded about 1 mile away from where they were camped out.
September 29, 2005
Lake Charles, Louisiana

After the morning meeting, Allan and Ed headed out to assess the area and found many animals that they were feeding and watering them in place. They found one dog that required medical treatment and brough him back to the shelter.
After helping to assess the issues in the Lake Charles area, Allan and Ed met up with Dick Green from AHA who is the IC (Incident Commander) at the Calcasieu Animal Shelter right outside of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Allan & Ed are the HSUS representatives for the area and will be working with Dick Green and other AHA & IFAW representatives to help the animals in this area. Allan says the devastation is unbelievable and many animals are in need of help. He says Other resources may be brought in as they find they are needed.
September 28, 2005
Lake Charles, Louisiana

Allan and Ed were directed early that morning to respond to a call from Hean Haven Wildlife Refuge. The facility was located in the Lake Charles area under 3 feet of water. They sanctuary had already lost some animals to the hurricane waters and needed to have the balance of her animals moved to higher ground. Allan and Ed had to move the following animals to another sanctuary in Illinois. Some of the animals that were relocated were a Bobcat, a Raccoon, 2 Pelicans, 3 Fawns, 2 Iquanas, 12 Sugar Gliders, 1 Otter, A few dogs, an Armadillo, horses, a hedgehog, 4 ferrets, quail and a bat. Allan said it was quite an interesting experience. I talked to him last night around 10:30 and they had finally finished off loading all the animals and were returning to camp for the night. Apparently Ed was able to get some great pictures which I hope to post as soon as he can send them. Ed managed to bring his Digital camera and his laptop so if they ever end up in a place where he can hook up to the internet he will send them by e-mail.

September 27, 2005
Hattisburg, Mississippi / Gonzales - New Orleans, Louisiana

Allan and Ed were briefed by Laura Bevans and sent out to return a horse to it's owner. The horse had been boarded in Hattisburg because his farm had been destroyed in the hurricane. The owner found new boarding accomodations where she could keep him safely and was ready to take him back.

Following the delivery of the horse Allan and Ed were sent back to back up the gear in Hattisburg and they were dispatched to Gonzales, Louisiana where they, one again, had to set up camp.

September 26, 2005
Hattisburg, Mississippi

Allan and Ed arrived in Hattisburg late in the evening and set up camp.

September 25, 2005
Hattisburg, Mississippi

Allan packed up his trailer again and headed out to Hattisburg, Mississippi again with Ed Tucker, Director of Charles COunty Animal COntrol. They spent their night in Arkansas and made sure they ate well and showered knowing that it may be a while before they can shower again or have a good meal. Their destination, once they got back on the road in the morning was to meet up with HSUS, Disaster Services Coordinator, Laura Bevans in Hattisburg, Mississippi to be briefed on where they were needed.

September 15, 2005
Mississippi

Allan delivered Tabasco to the vet college and started for home. He returned home on September 16th for a much needed rest only to be deployed again on September 25 to help with the animal rescues following Hurricane Rita. See Rita Situation updates for future animal rescue (To come soon).

Allan left Hattisburg early in the morning to head home but was tasked with two addition duties on his way home. He was asked to trailer the paint horse, Tabasco that he had rescued on September 8th to Mississippi Veterinary College and he had to pick up a dog that was going to be fostercared in Maryland. This paticular horse had an amazing story. His owner explained origionally that she had 4 horses that were in a barn. One of the horses was pwned by her cousin and that Tabasco was the only one to survive as I mentioned in the Sept 8th update however, as they say, they is more to the story.

Apparently with the storm surge that came up where she lived, and the horses were forced to swim to stay alive. Tabasco swam and swam as his other horse mates also tried to do. Tabasco had a will to live and continued to swim until the water had receded. Unfortunately his friends did not have his determination and unfortunately did not make it. Tabasco had multiple injuries both on his withers, his neck and above his leg as depicted in the pictures. It was assumed that once the floodwaters had receeded that a tree or other flying debris must have fallen accross his back causing the injuries.

After bringing Tabasco to the shelter the veterinarian determined that Tabasco would require more medical treatment than he could offer at the makeshift shelter. Because Tabasco showed such a will to live, the HSUS staff contacted Mississippi Vet COllege to ask for their help with this special horses. The vet college agreed to assist Tabasco with the necessary care he would require to recover from his injuries.

Allan spent this day reloading his trailer with his equipment, tent and other items and saying his goodbuys to fellow rescuers at the Hattisburg Complex.

September 12, 2005
Mississippi

September 12th's horse resuce efforts are best described by Carrie Allan, associate editor of Animal Sheltering Magazine at The HSUS after she followed his team around for the day. This story can be found at:

Some of the towns to date that Allan has visited and provided animal rescue include, Pass Christian, Waveland, Picayune, Bay St. Louis, Gautier, Pascagoula, Grand Bay, Biloxi, Gulf Hills, Moss Point, Jackson Landing, North Side, Kiln, Catahoula, Bulah, and North Beach Mississippi. He is currently in Waveland answering animal call for assistance and addressing horses issues in that area. He is also providing hay to the local farms and dog food. He stated today that for most of hte area he has visited lately, water is not an issue. He said most farms have generators and since the gas situation has gotten better that the generators are running the water pumps that supply them water.

Allan was called out to waveland in regards to a horse on the roof of a house. He through that since there was a Tack Shop arounf there it might be a plastic horse but needed to follow up on the call. As it turned out it was not a horse but a long horned cow. Apparently it had been swimming in the water and when the water receded it landed on the roof of the house. After a while it unfortunately ended up falling through the roof and died.

Allan noted today as he traveled through the devastation that some areas appeared to be untouched. You would see totally devastated houses yet when you walk two houses down there would be houses totally intact that remained untouched by the destruction (although they probably had been wet at sometime) even to the point where the lawn ornaments were still in place on the lawn. Yet this area was under 18 feet of water at one point.

Today, Allan and his teams were involved in rescuing an Emu, and many horses that needed medical assistance in the morning. Some of the call outs he has been receiving have been bogus but still required the time to travel out to the different towns to make that determination.

He delived hay to the Jackson County Animal Control center and supplies so they could act as a distribution center for suppling the local neighborhoods with hay and water.

In the afternoon they arrived at a farm in Pass Christian that was desperate for hay and water. Eight of the horses housed there also required medical attention so Allan transported them back to Hattisburg to be treated at the multiplex center. They had many cuts and bruses from flying debris and had been standing in 18" of water.

This morning Allan left Hancock County with his team to further assess the animal issues. He was told he was going to be assisted by veterinarians from the VMAT teams so he would be able to provide the medical assistance on sight and not have to transport the animals back to the Shelter that did not need to go. Unfortunatley no one arrived before he had to leave. He knew he was going to have to spend a fair amount of time sending his team back to the shelter to treat other horses he had seen yesterday that had medical issues.

Their first call involved rounding up cattle that were all over the roads causing traffic issues. Some of the local horse people had been trying to get them rounded up but needed some assistance. In the process of helping them round up the cattle one of the horses being ridden by one of the locals got stuck in the mud. Allan used the mud rescue kit that he invented to get the horse out of the mud. They finally managed to get all the cattle loaded and moved back to their owners in a better fenced area.

Following the cattle call Allan and his team rescued a pregnant mare with a puncture wound that he has his team trailer back to the shelter compound in Hattisburg for medical treatment wile he and the rest of his team move on to Waveland to answer more animal distress calls.

Below are pictures of Gulfport & Waveland after Katrina. The pictures are courtesy of Kelly Harrington, ASPCA:

Allan did a number of calls today to distribute hay and water to animals in the Gulfport Area. In the process of doing assessments in the area one of his team members rescued an injured Alligator.

Later in the day his team was sent to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Hancock County. He was told by the EOC Official that the Hancock county animal control officers had not reported to work since the hurricane and that their whereabouts have not been determined. He said that there has not been anyone here to run any injured animal or food needs calls. The EOC Official was very grateful that Allan and his team were willing to run the calls.

Their first call took them to a farm with an injured horse. Needless to say The owner was in tears about her injured horse and very happy to receive help for him. She told Allan that she had 4 horses before Katrina hit nad one was her cousin's horse, "Tabasco" was the only one that survived. Apparently they had 30 foot storm surges there and the waves came in at 20 feet. Allan transported "Tabasco" to the sheltering area set up in Hattisburg by HSUS for medical treatment.

Allan visited other farms along the way and distributed hay & water. Once he returned to Hattisport they told him they would need to issue him a new badge. Apparently there are people that are impersonating rescue workers in order to go in and vandalize or lout the area further so they are issuing photo ID's now.

I am sure most of you realize that it is very difficult to find your way after a major disaster has struck. There are very few road signes available to tell you what road is what so even if the caller tells him their address it would have been very difficult to find the address. The animals are very lucky that we ( and many other animal organizations) have a GPS system that directs us to their location, thanks to donations made to our "Rescue Fund" previous to this disaster.

September 7, 2005
Mississippi

Today Allan has joined forces with a larger team including US Army troops and USEF volunteers (United States Equestrian Federation) in regards to around 150 horses that are loose somewhere along the Louisiana border in Gulfport. They have many trailers with them as well as portable corrals. Their plan is to round up the horses and move them to Harrison Fairgrounds in Gulfport where a sheltering facility can be set up. Another team has gone out to check out the fairgrounds to make sure it is still in usable condition as a resource. He said that the skilled and vaccinated human rescoures are very thin where he is working. They have two other calls today to deliver water and hay to horses that are already contained. One of the calls has 30 horses and the other 100 horses. He does not expect to be able to update me again until later this evening. They will also be answering other calls as they come in if they are in the area or see a need.

Allan's Accomodations;
Currently they have set up camp which he calls "Tent City." Due to the collective resources of HSUS and other volunteer organizations they are very well equipped. They have their blow-up mattresses and sleeping bags for sleeping. One of the resources that HSUS brough in has a washer & dryer, a refrigerator, a jenn air grill, as well as generators to run lights and other equipment in the compound. They have a port a pot. There is also a port - a - pot that has been made into a very rough shower facility for bathing. The local sherrif has been very accomodating and has brought them fuel for the response trucks daily as well as water for the animals and people.

September 6, 2005
Mississippi

Allan Schwartz is currently working out of Jackson County Animal Control in Mississippi and running animal issue calls as they come in. He had two horse calls he went on. One to provide food and waterto five horses. The other call was in regards to four stray horses that had to be caught and trailered to the shelter. They were body condition scores 2-1/2, 2-3's and a 4. He described the scene as walking through a landfill littered with decomposing bodies of both animals and humans. He described the smell as putrid and something he will probably never forget. The waters are black and filled with discarded waste!

See pictures at the bottom of the page! These pictures show some of the devastation Allan & Patrick Cartwright witnessed while responding to the horse call on September 6th!

Allan and his team are based out of Jackson County Animal Control and responding to emergency calls as needed. Presently his team has started a GRID search to locate any animals in need of help. If you know
"first hand" of any animal issues in the Gulf Port area, PLEASE call this toll free number: 1-800-HUMANE1

September 5, 2005
Mississippi

Allan and his team are headed into Jackson County, Mississippi to help Jackson County Animal Control address animal needs. They will be working under the direction of the county officials based on the calls they have received for animal help in that area. Animals already being sheltered in that area are being moved to the Fairgrounds shelter back in Jackson to allow more room for the animal rescue needs on the gulf.

September 4, 2005
Mississippi

Sunday was spent packing up the staging area in Jackson. By 6 pm all the animal groups in this area set out as a convoy to Hattisburg, Mississippi. HSUS is moving their Emergency Operations center to that area and will be setting up in the multipurpose center outside of Camp Shelby. The Florida DART team headed by Branden Ivy has been dispatched to arrive and help with the sheltering and care of the animals that will need help.

September 3, 2005
Mississippi

9:00 AM Allan and several team members have returned to Collins Roadside Zoo. They are taking Carnivore food that has been drop shipped for the large cats that are housed there. Allan will be working with Dee Thompson, the Director of Okaloosa County, Florida Animal Control and Patrick Cartwright, Chief Humane Investigator for Stray Haven Humane Society in Waverly, NY.

HSUS DART members have been working their way south from Jackson, helping animals in areas from Jackson to south of Hattiesburg. Late Friday afternoon the team was given the go-ahead to proceed all the way to the besieged Gulfport area, which has been waiting for help since the storm finally ended.

The DART teams rescued and transported approximately 120 animals from the Gulfport area and gave relief to a DART volunteer living in Gulfport, who has been giving us situation reports when she can get communication.

Continuing and extending yesterday's efforts in counties just south of Jackson, the DART took a strike team of HSUS, Humane Society of Missouri, and American Humane members, who joined with Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams to conduct assessment and support of animal needs in Jackson County, on the coast.

The logistical unit of the HSUS team, based in Jackson, is preparing the HSUS convoy for two-weeks of totally self-sufficiency in the coastal counties of Mississippi. There are many severe animal needs in the coastal counties and we anticipate a protracted deployment there.

Fuel remains a major problem. Food, water, power, and communications are scarce to non-existent. Even as far north as Jackson, power outages are frequent, fuel is scarce and gas lines long. Some response vehicles stood in long gas lines along with ambulances, other rescue equipment, and the general public.

The emergency animal shelter at the Jackson Coliseum is continuing operation, with approximately 100 animals; the animal owners are staying at the nearby Coliseum. It has served as a base for the HSUS operations in Mississippi.

Veterinary Medical Assistance Team (VMAT)-3 was dispatched to Camp Shelby today and was accompanied by eight HSUS responders, one from HUMANE Society of Missouri, and two from American Humane, who will then team up with other rescuers on Sunday in preparation for advancement into the coastal counties.

VMAT-2 is currently at Keesler Air Force base in Biloxi, MS, and has requested our assistance in transporting an injured animal to a veterinary clinic. Our teams are headed that way tonight and will make contact as soon as possible.

On Sunday, Florida state government animal emergency management personnel are expected to arrive in Jackson to support the Mississippi effort, through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), giving the MS Board of Animal Health personnel much needed relief and support.

Last night, the HSUS Mississippi Animal Response Branch Director, Laura Bevan, has submitted a weblog ("blog") with her observations and information about the response in Mississippi. This is attached below.

WEBLOG FROM LAURA BEVAN
September 1, 2005
Jackson, Mississippi
Night has come to the Jackson Fairgrounds, the location of a pet friendly shelter for evacuees from the coast and the staging area for all relief efforts for animals in Mississippi. Located almost 200 miles from the Gulf, it was dealt a hard enough punch, a frightening prediction of the devastating blow dealt to areas farther south and especially on the coastline.

I am the currently the team leader for The HSUS's Mississippi effort to Hurricane Katrina. But just three weeks ago, I was here, in Jackson, teaching a Disaster Animal Response Team training in conjunction with the Mississippi Board of Animal Health, which has been working on the state's disaster plan for several years. The weekend after I left, they conducted their own pet-friendly shelter training, using the materials I left behind. Now, we are all back together putting those plans into action.

Every year since Hurricane Andrew decimated Florida in 1992, I have gone to hurricane and emergency management conferences on behalf of The HSUS to preach about disaster planning for animals. Every year, there is talk of the storms that took place the year before, but also of the "big one," the one that hasn't happened yet.

Watching Katrina lumber into the Gulf, then grow stronger and larger after battering Southern Florida, I knew we were in for a bad time-but how bad was beyond anyone's comprehension

Today, assessment teams swept through the counties between Jackson and the coast to determine the animal needs in the area. Tomorrow, Melissa Forberg, our National Disaster Animal Response Team (N-DART) coordinator, will take a strike team composed of The HSUS, Humane Society of Missouri, and American Humane Association members, and join the federal Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams (VMAT) in assessing Jackson County, the coastal community that borders Alabama. We have not received even a trickle of information from the area, leaving us all anxious to know if the animal shelters, veterinary clinics, and horse stables survived.

Harrison County, Mississippi-home to Gulfport, Biloxi and other smaller communities-has been virtually wiped off the face of the map. Search and rescue continues for humans, and the death toll rises by the hour. The animal death toll, incomprehensible in number, remains unknown.

It is in Harrison County where a 30-foot storm surge swamped the Humane Society of South Mississippi, drowning hundreds of dogs and cats drown in their cages. The shelter itself is destroyed, and the survivors are now being collected to be moved from the area as soon as possible. The society is also coping with the tragic loss of a long-term employee who drowned in his home along with family members.

Words are too meager to express the horror and grief all of us here are feeling. We may not have known those animals or the staff member who worked with them. We may not have personally known the distinct personalities of each of those animals, or worked side-by-side with the dedicated staff member who was lost to the flood, but their losses and the survivors of the society are part of our humane family. We grieve for them.

Now, our job is to help the people and animals of Mississippi pick up the pieces and build a new world and renewed lives. Our experiences in Florida's four hurricanes last year have equipped us with the guidance to deal with a disaster larger in scope than all of them put together.

Sitting here as the night quiet settles over the compound of trucks, trailers, big rigs, and tents, I know our work will not end in the next week or the next month. The extent of the animal and human need here is overwhelming, but I am committed, we are all committed, that those needs will be met.

11:00 pm:
Allan and several team members will be starting tomorrw by returning to Collins Roadside Zoo. They will be taking the Carnivore food has been drop shipped for the large cats that are housed there. Allan will be working with Dee, the Director of Okaloosa County, Florida Animal Control and Patrick Cartwright, Chief Humane Investigator for Stray Haven Humane Society in Waverly, NY.

6:00 pm:
Allan's team was sent to Brookhaven, Mississippi where a pet-friendly evacuation center was said to have an animal capacity of 30 animals and there were a reported 90 animals there at this time. They will be bringing food and water along with other needs and anticipate relocating any of the animals in need of medical care or owner give ups to the animal shelters set up in Jackson.

10 am:
Allan Schwartz and team members from the Boston Animal Welfare League are providing help to a Collins Roadside zoo in Jackson that was without water for its animals or gasoline for it's generators. Zoo inhabitants include lions,tigers, panthers, tortoises, snakes and other exotic animals. They also stopped at an Arabian horse Farm called "Discovery Farm" but the horses there appeared well and the owner had sufficient food and water for thier care. Further assessments will be made in other areas throughout the day.

Another team is making efforts to provide rescue to animals in a shelter in Jackson that currently is housing approximately 85 dogs and 30 cats. From what I understand, No one has been able to reach this shelter for a number of days and these animals are without water.

Mississippi:
Allan was part of a team that left to conduct damage and needs assessments from Jackson south to Hattiesburg area, and to provide help as they find needs. His team consisted of Melissa Forberg, HSUS Disaster Coordinator for Fl., a V-MAT 3 member and an animal control officer from one of the local agencies.

(From HSUS Situation Report)
The HSUS team includes about 35 trained responders and 8-10 vehicles (plus trailers and RVs), including the HSUS Disaster Response Unit (truck & trailer), and members from the Okaloosa (FL) DART, Sumter County (FL) DART, Humane Society of Missouri , Day's End Farm Horse Rescue (MD), and others. Team capabilities include companion animals, horses, livestock, and wildlife.

The team leaders are pushing very hard to get help to Gulfport, but at this time Route 49 is open only to state-authorized emergency vehicles.

An HSUS DART member who lives in Gulfport and reports to us daily has told us that the Humane Society of Southern Mississippi (HESS) shelter has withstood major destruction. Early reports that the animals had been evacuated from this shelter were incorrect. In fact, many of the animals appeared to have perished, though some were able to float free. Reports are that people in Gulfport are leaving more animals at the shelter. Our team is pressing to bring relief there. Security is apparently still an issue in these areas of Southern Mississippi, even delaying some government response. More disaster information may be found at www.hsus.org

Thank you to Patrick Cartwright for providing the pictures below of the hurricane devastation he and Allan witnessed on September 6th while answering a horse call.:

For more information call:
301/854-5037 or 410/442-1564
E-Mail: info@defhr.org

Physical Address:
1372 Woodbine Road
Woodbine, MD 21797

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 309
Lisbon, Maryland 21765

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