Help For Hurricane Katrina's Victims

[flyndog]

In addition to the below info, visit the Humane Society's secure web page for donations. http://www.hsus.org

From Responsible Pet Owners Alliance,
the reasonable voice regarding animal issues.
Responsible Pet Owners Alliance is an animal welfare organization,
not "animal rights" and, yes, there is a difference.
Permission granted to crosspost.

From Carol Williamson,
Houston Kennel Club
Subject: Katrina - AKC's actions / More

AKC is already working on organizing help to Katrina-affected areas.

Stephanie Lane called me last night because there was a media report that
animals from the New Orleans SPCA had been evacuated to Houston
SPCA. AKC staff members have also been working to contact the delegates or
presidents of the member clubs in the affected areas or any other active
club members AKC staff may know on a personal basis to try to get in touch
with folks involved with rescue efforts so that the best help possible can
be given them.

I was successful in getting in touch with the Director of the Houston SPCA
today. The Director of the New Orleans SPCA ("D/NOSPCA") and
approximately a dozen of the staff had driven around 300 animals to Houston
on Sunday and stayed until today caring for the animals. Some of the
animals that are adoptable have been sent to San Antonio and the College
Station area. Houston's Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP) also took
some. The balance, including some who are being held pending court cases,
remain with the Houston SPCA.

The D/NOSPCA and around half of her staff were heading back to Baton Rouge
this evening after purchasing a change of clothes. She is working with the
Louisiana state veterinarian and will begin planning and preparing a staging
area. She will contact the Houston SPCA by Thursday and will let them know
what the needs are going to be. The Houston SPCA is going to act as a
communication point for the New Orleans SPCA until the New Orleans SPCA gets
dependable communications.
The two SPCA Directors have been advised that AKC has assistance available
as soon as they let us know their needs. Lanie Cantrell at the AKC seems to
be taking the point on AKC's efforts at this point. Lanie and the two SPCA
Directors now have contact information for each other and I will stay in
touch with them and will try to post info here from time to time as I know
more. Contact her at : Lanie Cantrell: Phone - 212-696-8228 / e-mail:
lwc@akc.org.

HKC sent a check to the Houston SPCA to assist with the current expenses of
the evacuated animals. I believe the amount we are sending should cover
their needs for the present. We will discuss additional assistance as
soon as we receive the information on their needs. A lot more help will be
needed from others, as well. If I hear of any plans to transport crates,
medical supplies, leashes, etc. into the affected areas, I will post that
information, also.


Stephanie Lane advised me that she had no records of state federations or
state kennel club organizations in either Louisiana, Mississippi, or
Alabama. If you know of anyone starting to organize a response effort,
please let Lanie know. Also please let Lanie Cantrell know if you know of
anyone who can offer assistance. The Houston SPCA can be contacted
directly, also.

Contact information for the Houston SPCA is: Phone: 713-869-7722. Try
ext. 150 for Pat Mercer, Director of the SPCA, or ext. 119 for her
assistant, Kathy Boulte.
E-mail address is: hspca@hspca.org.
Physical / mail address is: 900 Portway Drive, Houston, TX 770245-8022.

Following are two pieces of information I have seen that I consider to be
extremely useful. I will keep you posted as we get further into the
recovery.
/Carol Williamson

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AKC Working To Provide Relief to Canine Victims of Hurricane Katrina

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the American Kennel Club (AKC) is working
to make contact with delegates, presidents and secretaries of AKC Member and
Licensed Clubs in the hurricane-stricken states. Additionally, the AKC is
working with the Houston Kennel Club and the Florida Association of Kennel
Clubs
(FAKC) to determine where shelters and staging areas will be established. If
your club is in need of assistance or you know a shelter that needs help,
please
contact us at ajs@akc.org or call 212-696-8220. You may also call Diane
Albers, FAKC, at 800-597-2987.

"The AKC is greatly saddened by the devastating hurricane that continues to
leave a path of destruction across the South," said Dennis B. Sprung, AKC
President and CEO. "Notwithstanding the human tragedy and untold billions of
dollars in damage, we expect there are untold numbers of canine victims that
are in
desperate need of our assistance. We will do everything in our power to help
them."

The AKC will continue to post frequent updates to our website at
www.akc.org.

Donations
In anticipation of the needs of the canine victims, we are accepting
monetary donations. If you wish to make a tax-deductible donation, you may
send it to
the AKC/CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund at the address below.
Contributions made to the AKC/CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund are used to
immediately
purchase needed equipment and supplies and deliver them directly to contact
centers.

AKC/CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund
American Kennel Club
260 Madison Avenue - 4th Floor
New York, NY 10016-2401
Contributions to the AKC/CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund can also be made
online. AKC/CAR is a permanent charitable fund which provides resources,
support and other assistance to not-for-profit animal shelters and similar
not-for-profit organizations providing care for domestic animals orphaned or
displaced as a
result of natural or civil disasters.

The AKC CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund has been established as a
permanent charitable fund with the goals of providing resources, support,
funds, and
other assistance to: Not-for-profit Canine Search and Rescue organizations.

The not-for-profit veterinary units providing support to the canine rescue
teams.

Not-for-profit animal shelters and similar not-for-profit organizations
providing care for domestic animals orphaned or displaced as a result of
natural or
civil disasters. Please note that funds may be requested or granted to
support Search and Rescue Dog organizations in relation to past or current
crises, disasters, and/or actual Canine Search and Rescue missions.

The genesis of this fund was the emergency relief fund established by AKC
and AKC CAR, which ultimately raised and distributed over $250,000 to
organizations in the above three categories, as a result of the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The permanent AKC CAR
Canine Support and
Relief Fund will be in place to respond immediately in the future as needed.

The public may contribute to this fund and all such contributions are tax
deductible.
Check donations should be made payable to:
AKC CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund
and mailed to:
AKC CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund
American Kennel Club
260 Madison Avenue- 4th floor
New York, NY 10016-2401

You can contribute to the AKC CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund online
through an account in the AKC online store. If you have an account, simply
log in
and click on the Donate to Support and Relief Fund option. If you don't have
an account, it takes less than 60 seconds to create one.

Donations are processed in the same manner as online report requests. Please
allow a few moments for your contribution to be recorded. After you check
out
of the online store, your generous contribution will be added to our totals.

Help us be there for the service dogs and the beloved pets that are always
there for us.
Inquiries should be directed to:
Fund Administrator
American Kennel Club
(919) 816-3564
e-mail: krm@akc.org

-----------------------------------------------------------

ALBERS ON KATRINA DISASTER - “HOLD TIGHT”

Comments from Diane Albers, President, Florida Association Of Kennel Clubs,

Member Fla. State Agriculture Response Team, Disaster Animal Rescue Team

Don’t clog this line!!!! 800-597-2987 Call only if you can offer:

Shelter – Transportation – Supplies (veterinary, bedding, crates) Specialty
Foods.

In the hurried calls re Louisiana, Mississippi and other Gulf Coast Disaster
Areas, here’s a synopsis as of 8/30/05, Tuesday afternoon:

"Hold Tight. You can’t get in there now, Martial Law has been declared.
What you can and must do is get organized, set up a collection point in your
area for veterinary supplies and crates. Transportation is extremely
important, large vehicles, trucks, and drivers to move the animals to
Shelter." Diane went on to explain that it will not be until after the
worst dangers like downed wires, buildings collapsing, and survivors have
been rescued that animal rescue teams will be allowed in.

Diane advises "Please, don’t add to the confusion or complicate the rescue
efforts, but DO ORGANIZE help!" She is organizing convoys from Florida and
trying to help arrange similar efforts in neighboring states, particularly
Texas. Her Group is "trying to locate people who stayed behind because they
could not or would not evacuate and leave horses and other beloved animals
to die." The reality is, some of those people died and not knowing who
survived, if they are injured, where they are, well, it’s driving everyone
crazy.

Diane is in constant touch with AKC’s Dennis Sprung. As in other times,
help is there. AKC has been magnificent in response to Hurricanes Charlie,
Gene, Andrew and other disasters. Dog food was sent by Iams and Purina and
Diane believes other manufacturers can be counted on again to move food into
the stricken area. What wasn’t anticipated in Florida was the need for
specialty foods! For example, pigs born to be slaughtered can only eat
special stuff and big cats eat 200 pounds of meat per day! If there was
time for a grim smile it was when she explained a situation where she
finally "delegated" someone to do something she didn't want to do - feed
those big cats!

Diane cautions there will be other unexpected problems. The Florida group
rescued over 18,000 animals during the Charlie, Gene, Andrew assault. A lot
of people really gave the most important thing we have - our time! Diane
mentioned one Beagle gal who drove every day to designated areas, worked to
exhaustion, then drove back to her home town long enough to get a few hours
sleep, then back to care for the animals, day after grueling day. No single
hero here. Just people caring for people and for animals. Is there a more
noble cause?

AGAIN – Organization is critical. Diane said "our military will bring out
the animals as they can. Right now, they are the only ones allowed in
there. Obviously they will bring out people first, but our military and
Guard people are great! Most of them love animals and they will get as many
as they can."

Here’s what Diane’s group has learned from experience. Hopefully you are
close enough to aid in a massive effort covering the entire Gulf Coast
region from Louisiana up into Georgia. Whether you are or not - get
organized in your own area!!! If you are a member of any dog club, offer
your services. Agility people, field trial enthusiasts, you are all a
tremendous asset!!! Your physical strength and endurance may be needed.

Crates are hard to come by and vitally needed when rescuers move in. How
can the people move their pets? Diane came up with a great idea. Go to the
airlines (yes now) as representative of _______ Disaster Rescue Organization
and ask them to save the crates that people don’t take when they pick up
pets. Yes, people leave those crates. Get the name of Senior Freight
Agents, ask them to give you even one crate now, and to save accumulated
crates for your group to pick up once a week. Go to the hospitals and ask
for discarded surgical packs, they don't use everything in them and there is
valuable sterile collectibles." says Diane. Collect and store water
containers, crates and supplies in your group’s warehouse. Yes, warehouse.
A moisture-free rental building to start with.

Get local businessmen to donate space and help. They will!! You’d be
surprised.

Contact a trucking firm and ask them to take what you’ve collected down to a
central collection point at the disaster area. This time, next time, and if
God forbid, your area is hit. And now is the time to remind each and every
one of you that it may not be a natural disaster. Homeland Security begins
with home folks. That’s YOU.

Someone must answer the phone. Set up a hotline in your area. It can be
call forwarded around to different volunteers so no one has the whole burden

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