kavery | Еще немного о Новом Орлеане

Интересно, в нашей стране кто-нибудь стал бы этим организованно заниматься в такой ситуации?

http://www.ifaw.org

Организация, занимающаяся спасением животных в Новом Орлеане

The death toll is expected to reach into the thousands a week after Hurricane Katrina, but as the humans struggle to comes to terms with the devastation, thousands of pets have been left to fend for themselves.

Owners that have either died or were forced to abandon New Orleans and the surrounding area have meant that countless pets are stranded, with many starving to death. Now there are howls and barks on the streets of the city from desperate animals.

The lucky ones try and forage for food in the waterlogged city, some dogs having formed into packs, but others have been left locked in apartments or tied up in yards.

Many owners were not allowed bring their pets on rescue boats and buses, but are now bombarding rescue centres with calls in the hope of being reunited with their beloved animals.

A teams of 10 volunteers from the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are now touring addresses where pets were left to break in and save them from starvation. While the SPCA in Houston, Texas, is one shelter coping with the emergency by becoming a temporary home for a whole menagerie of animals.

They have received more than 600 victims of Hurricane Katrina, opening their doors to 263 canines and felines from the Louisiana SPCA before the storm hit, and also accepting animals from evacuees at the Houston Astrodome, Reliant Arena and George R. Brown Convention Center.

In fact, the animals are coming in so fast that they have to be stacked in the waiting area. They come in all shapes and sizes; sheep dogs, poodles, Chiwawas, a love bird called Lola and even an iguana called Roxanne.

To make room for the deluge of animal refugees, the organisation is working with their dedicated adoption partners throughout the area, state, and United States to place any adoptable animals in other shelters. All owned animals will remain with the Houston SPCA to offer a central place for their families to reclaim them.

It is hard work looking after so many displaced animals, but when a lucky pet is reunited with its owner, such as Peter Matuzzi with his Great Dane Malice, the deafening howls, barks, yelps that the staff work among seem worth it.