From: "Laura" celeryhead@verizon.net
>
> I was a volunteer rescuer, at the Hattiesburg, Mississippi Katrina rescue
> site, between 9/13/05 and 9/17/05. I was accompanied by a veterinarian.
>
> This rescue site was run by HSUS. There was an HSUS banner hanging across
> the main barn, where all the supplies were kept. HSUS crew wore blue
> shirts, labeled HSUS. Volunteers wore yellow shirts. I state this to
> clarify which organization's workers made the decisions that I believe
> caused suffering and death to the animals at the site. Whether the
> decisions were made by individual workers at this site, or were policies
> set at the national level, I do not know, but the national office of HSUS
> must address these matters immediately.
>
> I returned home, in tears, not just because of the suffering and death
> caused to the animals by the hurricane and by the people who abandoned
> them, but also because of the policies of HSUS, which ran the rescue site
> at which I volunteered.
>
> There were dozens of wonderful and caring folks, who had traveled from all
> over the country, ready and willing to work hard and cry hard. More
> importantly, they came with the ability to take animals back home with
> them, having previously arranged for these dogs and cats to go directly
> into either foster homes, permanent homes, or to veterinarians' offices
> for treatment.
>
> Arriving after 17 hours of travel (from Virginia), one of the first things
> I was told was that there had been vets, techs, and rescuers there,
> previously, who had "walked" off with dogs and cats when they were
> scheduled to leave. I soon found out why.
>
> I was assigned to work in one of the rows, in one of the barns, in which
> some of the dogs were being housed. I was assigned to care for 100 dogs
> with one other volunteer, Terry. One of us walked the dogs, while the
> other cleaned the cages and put fresh food and water in the cages.
>
> I thought this system was simple, made sense, and we were anxious to
> begin. We were, however, required to attend a 1 1/2 hour meeting, in the
> morning, to discuss such questions (depending on who the barn manager for
> the day was) as whether to walk or feed the dogs first.
>
> Terry and I left the meeting and started taking care of the dogs assigned
> to us. Many of the dogs were laying in their feces and urine.
>
> As Terry has problems walking, we decided that she would clean the cages
> and I would walk the dogs.
>
> When I came back from the walks, we used a hose to try to clean and cool
> off the dogs. Unfortunately, we had to return them to their cages. We
> were a good team and worked efficiently until we got chastised by HSUS
> staff for walking the dogs in the morning. HSUS insisted that the dogs be
> fed first, even if they were standing in urine that was burning their open
> sores.
>
> I was also told by HSUS that they did not care if the dogs were walked
> only once per day. Most of these dogs were large dogs, confined in very
> small crates. With only one walk per day, the dogs were forced to lay in
> urine and feces for up to 24 hours. The cages were too small to permit
> them to move away from their waste. One skinny dog had urine burns on his
> legs.
>
> Most of the dogs ate very little, due to the extreme heat. The HSUS
> feeding policy, therefore, did not maximize eating and weight gain for
> these emaciated animals.
>
> When I inquired why HSUS wanted the feeding done this way, I found out it
> was nothing more then "an old shelter trick" that makes it easier to keep
> the cages cleaner, but makes it more uncomfortable for the animals.
>
> I refused to do this and kept doing things as I had been. I was yelled at
> and yelled at, but I just ignored them. Other volunteers from other barns
> left to go home because of the additional stress of being yelled at.
>
> Everyday I saw more and more people crying, both from great sadness for
> these babies, but also greatly due to the fact that HSUS was preventing
> groups from removing animals.
>
> One woman whom I met, came with a group from Orlando Florida, with 4 large
> horse trailers and the ability to take 100 animals with them. They filled
> out all the required paperwork, as many, many groups did.
>
> The person who was supposed to be processing this paperwork was never
> around. We were told that HSUS was going through these applications
> between 12am and 4am, but I saw no applications getting approved.
>
> Each day the pile of applications was larger. No one received approval to
> take animals, so rescuers went home without the animals whose lives they
> had committed to saving.
>
> Just the small group of folks I had met had the ability to remove 250 dogs
> and cats.
>
> People were literally on their hands and knees begging HSUS to PLEASE,
> PLEASE let them remove some of the animals, especially the ones who were
> old, weak, and sick. Rescuers were crying, crying, crying, while hugging
> and kissing these precious babies.
>
> A Saint Bernard mix was labeled "VICIOUS, WILL BITE," though he
> neverseemed to move much or come out of the cage. My rescue partner,
> Terry, opened his cage and we both sat down with him. He seemed very
> confused, at which point, we realized that he was BLIND and could not walk
> well. He was not vicious and not a biter - he was extremely frightened.
>
> Terry and I worked on gaining his trust and he came out of his cage. He
> could not walk well, and neither could Terry; they were a match made in
> heaven. This handsome boy was the only dog Terry could walk and they
> looked like they had been together, forever. He was her dog and she
> wanted to take him home.
>
> The vet with whom I had traveled from home deemed his paperwork a medical
> priority, due to his age, blindness, and lameness and she said that he
> must be released to a home. Terry was so excited to take her new boy
> home.
>
> HSUS denied Terry's adoption application.
>
> I found Terry collapsed on the ground, holding onto this dog. Her arms
> were around him and he was wet from her tears. I dropped on the ground
> with her and we cried together, holding this precious boy. Terry had to
> leave the next morning without him.
>
> A rescuer in his mid-twenties, Brandon, was working in the same barn (but
> one row over) as I was. He showed me a cage holding 2 little girl beagle
> babies who came in together. The little girls were sleeping with their
> legs all entwined; it was adorable. Brandon said that he was going to
> request these little girls and he thought his chances were good. His
> father was a veterinarian and they lived on 12 acres.
>
> HSUS denied Brandon's adoption application.
>
> I next saw him with the 2 little angels in his lap and he was crying. I
> sat with him and we cried together.
>
> I met a group of volunteers from Richmond VA. One of the group, Randy, had
> been given $25,000 to donate to HSUS, by an elderly neighbor who had
> recently lost his little Bichon. The elderly man had only asked Randy
> that if there was a small white dog available, that he bring this dog home
> to him.
>
> I told Randy that there was a little white dog in stall #1 - possibly a
> Maltese. The little dog was happy and had a great disposition She needed
> only a good bath and grooming (and, of course, a home). She seemed
> perfect. The little dog had hope in her eyes and wanted to go home with
> Randy.
>
> HSUS kept the money and the dog.
>
> HSUS insisted that the dogs be reunited with their owners, rather then
> going to safe and loving homes. All of the dogs were micro-chipped as they
> came in, and there were representatives from Petfinder present, taking
> photos of these micro chipped dogs to put on their site. Everyone wanting
> to adopt/foster an animal was willing to sign a form, agreeing to foster
> and hold all dogs 30 days from the day they left, and should the owner
> come forward, relinquish the dogs. The dogs were easily traceable through
> their microchips, but HSUS would not let volunteers or rescue groups leave
> with dogs.
>
> During this time, and at this rescue site, HSUS was making a movie about
> reuniting owners with their dogs - one or two reuniting incidents had
> occurred. A misting tent had been set up to provide a cool, comfortable
> environment for HSUS staff involved in making this movie.
>
> The only ones using the tent were HSUS staff (who were not doing the
> hands-on grunt work the volunteers were doing). This tent was not for the
> volunteers, many of whom were passing out from the heat, nor was it for
> the dogs, who were dying from the heat. One dog's temperature soared to
> 107. The tent was to keep the HSUS folks cool and clean.
>
> I (smelly and sweaty) took one of the overheated, stitched up, intact,
> male pit bulls, Scarface, into the mist tent, to demonstrate "the real
> part" of what was going on down there. HSUS staff looked like they would
> faint at the site of me. I gave them a puzzled look and asked, "Isn't this
> really what you should be filming?"
>
> Scarface and I were asked to leave - but not before Scarface lifted his
> leg and urinated all over one of the tent's nice chairs - chairs
> off-limits to the volunteers, who might have gotten them dirty. There was
> no place for the volunteers to sit, should we have 5 minutes to do so.
> There was a cube of hay, approximately 2' x 4' foot in size, on which we
> all alternated sitting.
>
> Anyone coming to this site to claim their animals needed to be able to
> thoroughly describe them - some mark or a word or anything that only they
> would know. HSUS let a group of people in that did not even know the dogs'
> NAMES. These folks came down my lane and pointed to male and female
> Chihuahuas and said, "Oh there they are!" The dogs did not even react to
> these people; the dogs reacted more positively to the volunteers (who saw
> these people lurking around the dogs, a lot).
>
> The women said the female Chihuaha's name was "Sassy ...no maybe Mandy." I
> told her (to be frank, I told her rudely) to leave. I reported them to
> the staff, but they had taken pictures. I believe that they gave the
> photos to another person who later came back to claim the dogs.
> Fortunately, the dogs were not given to this person.
>
> Almost none of the dogs were spayed or neutered. These 2 dogs looked like
> breeding machines.
>
> All of the male pit bulls were intact and many were covered in scars; some
> had wounds that had been stitched or stapled together.
>
> We were told BY HSUS that they were not accepting any more donations of
> cat or dog food, as they had too much. I noticed that a lot of the food
> was prescription food from veterinarian's offices, such as I/D, A/D, etc.
> HSUS, however, fed the dogs (almost all of whom had either vomiting and/or
> diarrhea) the cheapest food available.
>
> I spoke to my vet friend and she said to give all the dogs the I/D, as
> they needed high quality food. I again got into trouble with HSUS. I was
> told that that this was special diet food. I told them that was why I was
> using it on these dogs, suffering from diarrhea and vomiting. I told them
> that the veterinarian with me had recommended this. The HSUS
> representative said that since the vet was not an HSUS vet, her (the
> vet's) recommendations did not matter. I asked why, since they had so
> much extra food, they were not feeding the dogs the good food? Her
> response was a sneer. I continued to feed the dogs the better food.
>
> I also noticed that in the supply barn there were thousands of new pet
> beds, blankets, and rope chews, however no dogs had a bed, a blanket, a
> towel, a toy or chewie in their cages. Once again, I inquired.
>
> I was told that the dogs pee on the beds and blankets and the dogs chew up
> the toys, and that there is no place to wash the bedding. I replied that
> the dirty bedding could be discarded, as there was such a large supply on
> hand.
>
> Wouldn't it be nice to at least give them a night or two of comfort? I
> received another sneer. I took some of the beds and gave them to the dogs
> in my area. If nothing else, one night of sleeping in comfort might have
> helped them feel better.
>
> I still have no idea what HSUS planned to do with this stuff if they did
> not intend for it to go to the animals.
>
> I also took rope toys and gave them to all of the pit bulls and the baby
> German Shepard brothers who needed to chew - something small to help with
> the solitude.
>
> The site that this area was in was also home to the refugees. It is an
> unsecured area and we had to be guarded by the National Guard. We were
> surrounded by gangs of men who were constantly trying to get a look at the
> pitbulls.
>
> There were gangs of men wandering around, looking at these specific dogs.
> Most of the pit bulls had had their ears cut, a sure sign that they are
> used in fighting. Pit bulls were stolen the night before our arrival.
>
> My assigned area had approximately 25 pitbulls.
>
> HSUS told me that if I saw anyone who did not belong there to escort them
> out. I caught 3 men using their cell phones to transmit pictures of some
> of the pitbulls. I could not get them to leave.
>
> I found a National Guardsman and he got them out. Due to the danger these
> men posed to the dogs, the pitbulls needed to be kept in the barn, with
> the stalls chained shut, preventing air circulation for the dogs. The dogs
> did not even have a fan.
>
> These dogs were dangerously overheated.
>
> The refugees stole bedding, and anything that was not tied down, from the
> volunteers. HSUS was already giving the refugees toilet paper, paper
> towels, cleaning supplies, etc., which has been donated/purchased for the
> animals.
>
> Due to the presence of the refugees, the women rescuers were told to never
> go to the bathroom, or anywhere else, alone. Someone was assaulted the
> night before we arrived. There were armed National Guards stationed both
> outside the port-o-potties and the showers. I needed an escort, at night,
> to use the toilet. When some of the volunteers passed out from the heat,
> and were taken to the tents to lay down a bit, they had guards stationed
> near by.
>
> Every morning between 4am and 4:30am, a group of HSUS workers got up and
> left the tent. Although, I did not witness and cannot verify this, I was
> told that they got up to remove any dead dogs and cats who had died during
> the night. I CAN verify that, indeed, when we started out for the day,
> there were empty cages. When I inquired about the empty cages, I was told
> that they probably moved some of the dogs here or there. I walked around,
> but never again saw any of the dogs missing from my area.
>
> The only good thing was that since I was with a vet, we were able to take
> 2 small dogs, who were in urgent need of medical care, out of there. The
> vet had labeled 4 dogs in need of urgent care, but when HSUS looked at the
> 4, they said no to 2 of them.
>
> We were able to leave with an 18 year old Yorkie who had no teeth, was not
> neutered, had a hernia, mange, and fleas - but was so sweet. The other
> little baby was depressed and not eating. HSUS dismissed our concerns
> about this latter dog, by saying that all of the dogs were depressed and
> not eating.
>
> This little baby NEVER ate or drank, threw up constantly, and had bloody
> diarrhea. On the trip home, she sat in my lap, received lots of kisses and
> hugs, and I sang songs to her. We needed to stop many times, as her
> vomiting and diarrhea became more severe in the car. We gave her fluids,
> and other meds, trying desperately to keep her alive until we could get
> her back to the veterinary hospital in Virginia.
>
> She made it through Sunday and Monday, at the veterinary hospital. My
> sweet little angel baby, whom I named Katie, and planned to adopt, died on
> Tuesday. She could not fight the Parvo raging in her due to so much prior
> stress. Her little body could not fight it. I sat with this precious baby
> and looked into her soulful brown eyes - her light had gone out. I will
> never forget her, ever, and have yet to stop crying. Had she been left
> there, her death would have been agony.
>
> I think that what I will remember the most, and what will always remain
> imprinted in my mind, is the sparkle in the dogs' eyes that, as each day
> came and went, died out a little more each day.
>
> == 2 of 4 ==
> Date: Thurs 22 Sep 2005 10:59
> From: Political Animal
>
> A couple of points need to be addressed here in the interest of keeping a
> chaotic situation from turning into a finger pointing match. These are
> just my personal thoughts, but I believe them to be good thoughts.
>
> 1. If you walk the animals first, then feed them, a half hour later they
> will need to relieve themselves and will need to be walked again. If you
> have 50 animals fine, but there are over 1,000 down there. hose who are
> so adamant on walking first will find animals in their cages with yet more
> urine and feces piling up than if people follow the recommended rule.
>
> 2. Of course rescuers shouldn't start taking animals and adopting them
> immediately. Many of their rightful families are still coming in to claim
> their companion animals. What do you say to that family when their dog
> has just been sent to a new home in some other state? The time will come
> for adoptions to new homes, but we aren't there yet.
>
> --- joe miele <jmmiele@optonline.net> wrote:
>
> I know both Susan and Laura personally and can vouch for their veracity.
>