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September 13, 2005, 12 p.m.: PETA Team Saves More Lives
Another 14 animals are finally resting in safety and being cared for in New Orleans, thanks to the PETA team's efforts on Monday. But the team was too late to help some animals, who, sadly, were found dead on their guardians' property after having been deprived of food and water for two weeks.
After rescuing a starving, "terribly matted" Chow Chow who ate ravenously and then fell asleep in their van, the PETA team found the rotting remains of a dog in the front yard of his guardians' home. The dog's guardians had called PETA and asked that our team check on him. Team leader Laura Brown stated that it appeared that the dog had died of dehydration.
The team arrived just in time for a 4-month-old pit bull a few blocks down the flooded street. After breaking into a home there, they found the puppy tied to the kitchen door. Laura said that the dog's fate would have been "an absolute death sentence" had the team not discovered her. The dog had lost so much weight in the two weeks since Katrina struck that her once-snug collar was hanging loosely around her emaciated neck.
The highlight of yesterday's team efforts may have been coming to the aid of the dachshund they found trembling in fear under her guardians' kitchen table. The tiny dog gave a big sigh of relief in Laura's arms after being saved and spent the rest of the day riding on the team members' laps as they drove between rescue sites. Another small dog, a terrified 5-pound Chihuahua, was the team's next rescue. The animal was so frightened and so fast that the team had to toss a net over her in order to secure her. But once inside the van, she—just like all the other dogs the team has rescued—settled in contentedly and fell asleep.
The team's next stop was, in Laura's words, "the hottest place I've ever been in"—the attic of an abandoned home in New Orleans. After working furiously to break down a door covered by wrought-iron bars, the team found a cat hiding amid the insulation and rafters. The matted animal clung to Laura as soon as she was safely in her arms.
The team next came to the aid of two dogs left inside a home by fire fighters days earlier. The barking dogs had apparently frightened the men. When our team arrived, the Rottweiler and pit bull were found holed up in a bedroom with an overwhelming, horrible odor. Some skillful positioning of dog carriers and treats was used in order to coax the animals to safety, and Laura said that the team was "elated" to save them. The Rottweiler later ate more treats out of team members' hands. Before leaving the house, Laura was able to find the source of the smell—in the corner of the bedroom, just feet away from where the two dogs had spent weeks suffering, were the remains of a Chow Chow. Laura couldn't tell whether the dog had died of neglect or whether the two dogs she had just rescued had attacked and killed the Chow Chow.
After breaking into yet another home and coaxing out yet another dog to safety, the team gleefully returned to rescue the two dogs discovered yesterday who had been locked inside a utility shed for days. The two were quickly moved out of the filthy shack and into a van. Hours later, they were resting together in a massive carrier at the temporary animal shelter.
The team also left food and water for a terrified dog they found huddled on a nightstand inside her guardians' feces- and trash-strewn home on the last stop of the day. The dog was growling, and Laura said, "There was no way to get our hands on her without traumatizing her further," so the team is returning today to live-trap her and get her out of the wreckage.
By day's end and in voice-mails that you can listen to here, Laura said that the team had saved another 14 animals, bringing the total to nearly 90 animals plucked from danger and countless others fed and watered.
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PETA's House Government Reform Committee Testimony
Heroes of the Storm
Stars Urge Officials to Take Action to Protect Animals in Disasters in PETA Ad
Read the Latest News From the Gulf Coast
Listen to PETA's Reports From New Orleans
Watch Footage of PETA's Life-Saving Work
See Pictures of PETA's Rescue Work
