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September 16, 2005, 1 p.m.: PETA Team Saves 18 More Animals, Finds ‘House of Horrors’
In what team leader Laura Brown called early this morning a "very productive" day, PETA's team rescued 18 more animals before finding themselves at day's end in a "house of horrors" on Thursday.
Yesterday, the team began by saving two pit bulls who had been left in their guardians' yard without food or water for 17 days. After breaking into a neighboring house, the team then skillfully plucked a skinny dachshund from under a pile of clothes. The dog had taken refuge in the home's flooded laundry room. As the wary animal "gobbled up" some food, team member Jessica Cochran slowly scooped him up into her arms, where he clung for a time before spending the rest of the day in a carrier on one of our van's front seats—privy to the sad view as team member Jack Shepherd transported rescued animals through New Orleans.
An elderly Rottweiler who was nearly left blind by the infection in his eyes was the team's next rescue. Neighbors brought our team's attention to the apprehensive dog's plight. After feeding the dog by hand and earning his trust, Laura said that the team was able to slowly walk him into a carrier, where he enjoyed some treats and a nap. Later on, the dog was very cooperative as veterinarians examined and treated his eyes.
The team moved on to rescue two skinny dogs running at large, a terrier abandoned in a house, and another stray dog who was coaxed into a carrier along a "path of treats."
A dachshund then came running down the street toward our team, quickly flopped over, and was treated to a shower of tummy rubs and scratches behind the ears. Laura scooped the dog up and found her a safe place in our van to rest.
Our team's animal-handling skills again came in handy when it found an emaciated pit bull suffering from a severe skin condition at the top of slime-covered stairs in an abandoned house. Laura said that the dog's spine could easily be seen through her hairless skin and that the dog "looked so tired and worn down." The dog was growling and would not look at our team members when they found her in her feces- and trash-strewn territory. But after a few minutes of coaxing and treats, the dog was convinced to enter a carrier and later calmed down under a sheet and took a nap. She, too, got veterinary care later that day.
After saving two more dogs who were found running down the street, the team encountered what Laura called "one of the most horrible sights I've ever seen."
After finding and feeding a territorial pit bull in an upstairs bedroom in one house, the team walked through the rest of the house to see if anyone else needed to be rescued. They first found the remains of a canary, whose guardians had evidently left her in a cage when they evacuated. The cage had apparently overturned into the floodwaters that entered the home, drowning the bird.
Next, they broke down the locked door to another bedroom in the house and found the rotting remains of two poodles. Checking on the other side of the bed, Laura discovered a barely living third poodle who "smelled of death." Laura picked up her tiny, limp body and offered the dog water, but she refused it. Laura sat with the dog in her arms while team members secured a carrier for her to be placed in, but it was too late. The dog "took her last breath" and died in Laura's arms.
Laura said in her report that the poodle's muzzle was covered with blood, leading her to suspect that the dog had been cannibalizing the remains of her peers in an attempt to stay alive. It was an "absolutely heartbreaking" end to the day, Laura said. Today, they'll head back to the same house to live-trap the pit bull.
PETA's team has now saved the lives of more than 200 animals and cared for hundreds of others, and it will continue and expand its vital work as more PETA staff members and volunteers arrive in New Orleans today.
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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
