In the last couple of days, rescuers ...

have been receiving reports of many of the animals in the streets of New Orleans not looking as good as they have in the past when there were more volunteers in New Orleans putting out food and water. They are still rescuing – unbelievably they are still pulling some animals out of homes. They are in desperate need of more volunteers.

Due to the fact that The Humane Society of the United States had to evacuate Lamar Dixon Expo Center on October 15th and the prowler trailer will be taken away, we must make the following changes to keep the search and rescue operation running and efficient to find the remaining animals still trapped in homes, and to be allowed to continue to operate without interruption.

• Any questions about any of these changes should be directed to either David or Jane at the phone numbers listed below.
• Morning meetings will now be held at 7:30 am in front of the Southern Animal Foundation at 1823 Magazine, in downtown New Orleans . You will need to sign up each morning with your contact phone number so we can reach you throughout the day as needed.  That meeting will be led by either Rob Stove or Matt (who you will meet).  We will continue assigning lists for rescues each morning consisting of a map with specific locations or a section of the city in to "feed and patrol."
• Maps and assignments will be emailed to Rob each evening to print and distribute at the morning meeting. Rob or Matt will also be reading a briefing from us each day. This briefing will keep you abreast of any changes to the rescue operation or any other information that is pertinent to your rescue efforts. This will help prevent any rumors and keep you up to date with the facts.  It is very important that you receive correct information through us about the changing legal issues as well as safety concerns that we are keeping up to date on.
• Dispatch will now be done directly from the Jane and David. This means that we will be calling you with specific rescues throughout the day and ask you to call us directly with any questions or concerns (at the numbers below).  The prowler will no longer be ours to use, and the dispatch will be done from land lines and with internet/mapquest access.
• The most critical animals that cannot survive transport to a rescue facility such as Best Friends will be brought to SE Veterinary Specialists, 400 N. Causeway--Metarie, 504-219-0444.  We have an account set up so you will not need to pay any bills.
• All other animals will be dropped off each day to Southern Animal Foundation and be transported by small truck or van to Best Friends in Tylertown (volunteers needed each day for this transport). They must be dropped off at Southern Animal Foundation by 4:30 pm . In order to reunite the animals with their families, you will need to be extremely diligent about writing down exactly where the animal was rescued and any info you have about the animal's guardian. You must also leave a notice on the door telling the family where they can find their animal.
• After you drop animals off at Southern Animal Foundation, please go around the city and set up feeding stations. Most animals come out after the sun goes down. Any donations of supplies should be sent to Southern Animal Foundation (they are storing all dog/cat food and supplies for us).
• To end the problem of going to repeat addresses, all completed maps and logs must be turned into Rob each night by 6pm at the Southern Animal Foundation or at his home, so he can fax the maps to a team of data entry people and the database can be updated!!  All database entries will be done from outside Louisiana .
• Volunteers are responsible for finding their own lodging. We are working to make a list of campgrounds and affordable housing if you need it.

We are currently setting up a web site for this operation. It will have all updated information if you can stop by a Kinkos or other location to check the internet.

Until we have a downtown place to keep supplies, Rob will bring supplies into the city each morning in his truck if he has them. We should have a place by the weekend.

Thank you and let's stay organized and effective and rescue those remaining trapped animals!