The spca where I volunteered received 140 dogs and 36 cats from the hurricane rescued dogs. They came from the Houston facility.

The dogs were flown in on a private chartered flight that was paid for by a spca board member.

The animals arrived at the airport at about 10:30 p.m. Firday. They were transferred from the plane to three semi trucks. They all arrived at the shelter around midnight.

Before they arrived, we got their kennels/crates ready. They had water food, toy, and a treat.

The cats were unloaded first then the dogs. As the crates were unloaded, we placed each dog in a crate/kennel suited to its size. All of the dogs immediately drank the water bowel dry. Because of the large number of dogs and small number of volunteers, we didn't have an opportunity to walk each dog. So the poor babies started messing in the crates. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get the dogs all situated and fed. Then we spent time cleaning their crates.

I was one tired person when I left the shelter at three a.m. I was back at the shelter Saturday morning at nine. All of the animals had to be bathed and vet checked before they could be turned over to the foster families.

Before each dog was bathed, we walked it outside. Some of the dogs hesistated when stepping into the grass, like thay hadn't seen that green stuff for awhile. Some dogs got some quick clipping to remove their matted hair.

Each dog/cat had been microchipped before leaving Houston. This was good since their records were linked to the microchip. What was sad was to find out that about 75% of the dogs had tested positive for heartworm. Happily, they are all going to be treated by local vets for free.

After getting vet checked, each animal was photographed for posting on the petfinder hurricane dog site.

After all this, we finally were able to start matching the animals with their foster families. More than 360 people registered to foster the animals. This was the only way we could deal with the large numbers. There is no way that the shelter could house all these animals at the facility. We already have close to 400 dogs housed there.

I am now acting as a case worker for 30 foster families. If they have any questions about their foster, they will call me. I will do my best to get them answers. So far, one kitten has developed an extreme case of diarrhea. We got it to the vet last night for treatment.

The fosters are to care for the animals until October 15th to allow people to search for their missing pets. After the 15th, the foster have the option of adopting the pet or bringing it back to the shelter so it can be placed for adoption to the general public.

The first week is going to be rough for the fosters. Many of the dogs will require a lot of TLC since they still exhibit a lot of shyness and head aggression. They will allow you to pet them but get all upset when approached from the front with a leash in your hand. I can just imagine how many times a leash was thrown over their face when being moved from place to place. Many dogs had three/four different shelter collars on them so they had been moved many times.

That is so sad! (about the collar thing) that is soooooooooo awesome you got to do that! Even if I was half dead I would LOVE TO DO THAT!!!! I foster labs and each time we get them they are filthy, we give them a bath and get one ourselves, skinny, we feed them and see if they are food aggresive, have matted hair, we brush them and see happiness fill their eyes, have soar legs from being in a crate for days, we walk them and see how awesome they are walking side by side to you, and finally adopt them out to an even more loving family.
it truelly is great,so far I have had 1 katrina animal and I loved her very much,