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September 19, 2005, 12 p.m.: Potbellied Pig 'Snorts With Happiness' After Being Rescued by PETA Team
PETA's team in New Orleans once again began its day by finding the remains of a dog who had been left with—as team leader Laura Brown put it—"no chance ... to survive" after enduring Hurricane Katrina. Sunday's first discovery was of a dead German shepherd who had been left chained to the front porch of a house.
Laura and the team then found a thin Shar-Pei in obvious distress inside a filthy home. The dog was found in a bedroom spinning in circles and attempting to mutilate herself there. The team's patient approach with the dog paid off when she was able to be led into a carrier and rescued. Once inside our van, she drank two bowls of water and settled in for a rest.
National Guard officers directed our team to a neighboring house, where a potbellied pig had been left without food in the backyard. Laura happily reported that the team had been able to convince the starving animal to enter a large dog carrier, where granola bars and potato chips awaited her. The pig then "snorted with happiness" as she lapped up water in our van, Laura said.
The team then rescued yet another Chihuahua, whom Laura called "an absolute sweetheart" and said was "very excited" to leave her guardians' filthy house. Next door, the team plucked a hound dog and her six dehydrated puppies from under a crushed house.
After finding a German shepherd who would alternately approach her for food and then growl and back away, Laura said, "It's terrible to see the mental distress in these dogs. They're hungry, thirsty, and scared." The team is heading back to live-trap and rescue this dog from her guardians' home.
"As time goes on," Laura said, "we're seeing more packs of dogs and highly aggressive animals," whose rescue can require hours, in some cases. The team continues to set up feeding stations on every street in its assigned section of New Orleans with the hopes of keeping the animals in good body condition and being able to rescue them in the days ahead.
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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
