10.07.2005

Adoption Deadline petition - Please Support

No Animal Left Behind is a coalition of individuals, shelters and rescue groups that believes that the animal victims of Katrina not be allowed to be adopted until no sooner than January 1, 2006. We believe that there are enough people willing to provide long-term foster homes to these animals in order to give the owners sufficient time to locate them. Many of these pet owners are still without reliable and consistent internet access and/or phone service. Further, many of the animals who are labeld as "hard-to-place" are those most likely to belong to someone. Pets who are older and/or have chronic health problems have someone out there who has loved and cared for them for a very long time. We are concerned about getting all pets back home and need more time, especially for those most likely to be disposed of by overcrowded shelters.

Photos of RESCUED Pets in St. Bernard

The St. Bernard Parish Animal Shelter is now operating at Rebel Field behind Chalmette High School. The animals that have been photographed are posted on a new website. They will begin trapping animals that are roaming around so if you believe your pet was rescued from, or found in St. Bernard Parish, visit this site often. The photos are much better than those on Petfinder. They also have a turtle, snake, horse and some chickens.

Tips and Suggestions for Finding Your Lost or Missing Pet

Some helpful websites:

www.craigslist.com
Post a listing about your pet. Be sure to include your email address and at least one phone number. Be as specific as possible in describing it. Post a photo if you have one. Request that it be cross-posted elsewhere. Be sure to click on the New Orleans link, and from there the Missing Pets link. Put your full name or the full name of the person the pet can be traced to in the posting. This will also allow your name to show up in a Google search which is helpful if the pet was rescued from your house.
http://petharbor.com
http://disaster.petfinder.com/emergency/rescue
There are problems with both of these sites; many of the photos are bad and much of the information is wrong. Check both often. If your dog is a 50/50 mix, Lab/Boxer for example, be sure to search under both breeds as well as "pit bull", "mix", "Rottweiler", etc. Sad but true but a lot of the people entering information into the database had no idea about breeds. I’ve seen golden retrievers listed as yellow labs; lhasa apsos listed as shih tzus; an all black cat listed as a grey tabby and a small fuzzy kitten described as a Rottie mix. And for reasons I can't figure, some aniamls are of undetermined sex. There have even been a few times when a found pet was posted under "Lost Pets", so leave no stone unturned. Start off with a narrow search in case you get lucky and expand it as needed.

Both sites allow you to search by the address the pet was rescued from. Use only the name of the street, not the words st., rd., ave., blvd., etc. If you see a FOUND pet listing that may be yours, save the entire listing in a file on your computer because listings change and even disappear!

If you don't get a resonse to your inquiry to the contact person who has posted the FOUND listing, please contact us here.

http://www.findkatrinapets.com/pages/1/index.htm
They have compiled a comprehensive list of shelters around the county where animals have been taken to. They also have lots of other ideas and suggestions.

http://www.dogdetective.com/
Search for found/rescued dogs here.

http://www.alleycat.org/
Search here for found/rescued cats here.

Other Useful Suggestions:
If your dog is a purebred, contact as many rescue groups as possible for that breed, especially those in and closest to the Gulf region. Send emails. Enclose a photo and description of you dog if you have one. Breed rescue groups are more likely than many shelters to provide long term fostering while continuing to look for you. We have Breed Coordinators who will work with you to find your pet.

Send us an email and include complete and detailed information.

Even if you don’t have a photo, find one on the internet that looks similar to your pet and post it, stating that it is not an actual photo but close to what your dog or cat look like. Provide information as best you can about the dog’s height, coloring, weight, condition of teeth. State if it was spayed or neutered. Was it micro-chipped and if so, do you have the number? Many animals personalities have temporarily changed due to the stress and conditions they’ve experienced, so it may not be helpful to say that your dog loves to catch a Frisbee or roll over.

Just because your dog was wearing a red collar when you evacuated doesn’t mean it will be wearing it now. Collars were removed from dogs. Your pet may have lost weight, gained weight, been injured. Some animals have been shaven to remove mats and gunk. Some animals may have “aged” a few years during the past month so be careful how you describe your pet. Someone who may have your pet may not realize it if you describe it as it was pre-Katrina.

If your animal can be traced in any way to your former home phone number, even if it is now out-of-order, call the phone company and request that your number be transferred to another number. If you have voice mail through your former NOLA phone number, change the greeting to include a number where you can be reached now. If you don’t have voice mail, call the phone company immediately and sign up for it. Also make sure to have your mail forwarded someplace where you can get it every day. Rent a P.O. Box if you need to.

Contact someone at your former place of employment to let them know how to get in touch with you if necessary and to see if there is a message or information relay/ response system in place.

There are a lot of people willing to help.

Send us an email or call toll-free 877-680-0090.

Welcome to No Animal Left Behind

Hi everyone and welcome to this site. Please join me and the hundreds of others who have come together over the past 37 days in a cooperative effort to help rescue and reunite thousands of Katrina evacuees and their pets. The task is daunting and exhausting but the most exciting and rewarding experience I’ve ever had. In these 37 days I’ve cried many tears of sorrow and some tears of joy; I’ve made great friends, I’ve met some of the coolest people from all over the country, Canada and even Germany. Over the next few weeks and months please check back often for photos of lost and found animals, ways to get involved in your local community or within this virtual community and much more.

Please read the following statement to extend the deadline for adoptions of the animal victims of Katrina. If you agree with this, please add your name to the list by sending an email to noanimalleftbehind@gmail.com and include your full name, city, state and affiliation (if any).

No Animal Left Behind is a coalition of individuals, shelters and rescue groups that believes that the animal victims of Katrina not be adopted until January 1, 2006. We believe that there are enough people willing to provide long-term foster homes to these animals in order to give the owners sufficient time to locate them. Many of these pet owners are still without reliable and consistent internet access and/or phone service. Further, many of the animals who are labeled as “hard-to-place” are those most likely to belong to someone. Pets that are older and/or have chronic health problems have someone out there who has loved and cared for them for a very long time. We are concerned about getting all pets back home and need more time, especially with those most likely to be disposed of by overcrowded shelters. Finally, we request that everyone who fosters one of these animals agrees to actively try to locate its owners. We are here to help.