LSU vet students learn much after hurricanes

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

By KRISTIN GRANT
Special to The Advocate
Published: Feb 5, 2006

After Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast, Caren Carney and a few other veterinary students gathered 15 pet carriers from friends and family, then waited in what would become one of the largest makeshift animal shelters in the nation.

“There was a handful of us there before the shelter was open,” Carney, a third-year veterinary student at Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine said on Saturday during the school’s open house. “We had about 15 carriers, and we were told we had about two hours to make this thing happen. Twenty-four hours later, we had over a hundred cats in the cat section.”

The number of animals housed at the Parker Coliseum would reach 2,015 within a matter of weeks. With limited resources and media attention during the initial days of the shelter’s existence, students worked long hours to care for the animals.

“I was there between 14 and 17 hours a day the first week,” Carney said. Animals at the shelter received food, water and medical care. However, the unique situation of housing pets displaced by Katrina warranted efforts beyond caring for the animals.

“From day one, we came over to help set everything up, and then realized we needed to have some way to keep track of everything,” said Mike O’Brien, coordinator of information technology for the emergency animal shelter, “so I designed a database to keep track of the animals.”

Educators soon recognized that vet students gained valuable experience from setting up and working at the shelter after Hurricane Katrina.

“We scrambled and set up a special training block for the students so they were able to get credit for working in the shelters,” said Becky Adcock, director of public programs for the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. “And it trained them in emergency medicine more than anything else could have.”

In addition, students learned about things not taught in classrooms. “It changed me for better and for worse,” said Carney, of her experience at the shelter. “We had animal after animal suffering from starvation and heat stroke — things that you wouldn’t see very often were coming in one after the next.”

But the gut-wrenching feeling of seeing sick animals was tempered by an overriding hope for Carney. “At the same time, people told you they walked 10 miles with their cat in their carrier to get them out of New Orleans through waist-deep water,” Carney said. “You saw a very human aspect to it.”

More than 1,800 of the 2,015 animals housed at the Parker Coliseum were reunited with their owners.

The effect of last year’s hurricanes on the LSU Veterinary School of Medicine is even evident in the theme of Saturday’s annual open house. “Our theme this year is ‘United We Stand,’” said Lawrence. “We wanted to emphasize the veterinarian’s role in our community in the wakes of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”

Between 5,000 and 6,000 visitors attended Saturday’s open house, which showcased the range of capabilities the school offers. Exhibits included equine treadmills, a petting zoo, a parade of breeds for both horses and dogs, an actual cow’s lung, and a display showing the vet school’s response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The vet school’s response to the storms did not end with caring for displaced animals. “We actually have stored here in Baton Rouge a large trailer full of durable medical goods, and housing needs for pets. We have the kennels and bowls, and the leashes. We’re ready,” Adcock said.

Another lesson learned involves what people can do for their own pets to prepare for emergencies. “Have a hurricane package prepared for pets just the same way you do for the rest of your family,” said Adcock.

While long-term planning may help divert future pet displacements, stories that emerged from the Parker Coliseum after Hurricane Katrina will stay for years to come with at least one young man who worked for 36 hours straight at the shelter immediately after the catastrophe.

“There was one guy who came into the shelter, and he said he knew his dog was there because we had called him,” said O’Brien. “We walked back to the kennel where the dog was supposed to be, and it had been moved because we were shuffling and trying to organize the animals, so, when we looked in the kennel, his dog wasn’t there.”

“The guy said, ‘not a problem,’ ” O’Brien continued. “He yelled the dog’s name, and the dog started jumping and going crazy at the far side of the barn. And just to hear the reaction from that dog and see the reaction of the owner, it really was very touching. It made it worthwhile.”