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  • From: pennbo@bbv.net
  • To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Horse rescue success story
  • Date: Sun, 04 Sep 2005 20:52:32 -0700

Animals in Kenner had to be left behind Monday as water rose

By LISA TRAMONTANA

(http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/090305/new_horses001.shtml#)

Advocate staff photo by RANDY BERGERON Lucy Rogers tends to Native
Showboat, one of her horses rescued by the State Veterinary Office. The
horses are
being cared for by LSU Veterinary School students and volunteers at the

Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales. When she arrived in Baton Rouge on
Tuesday
night, all Lucy Rogers-Joseph could think about were the 64 horses she
left in
Kenner. Four were running loose, searching for high ground, and the
rest were
standing in 2 feet of water, trapped inside their stalls.
She had written her telephone number on their harnesses. She assumed
they
would all drown.
Rogers-Joseph had just started a new business, Legacy Stables, in the
weeks
before Hurricane Katrina hit. She and her family, who lived in the
Uptown
area, had made the decision to ride out the storm at the stables. But
by 4 p.m.
on Monday when flooding started, they reluctantly abandoned the
animals.
"At that time, the mayor (New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin) was saying that
the
pumps had failed, the levee was breached and everyone had better get out
now.
They had their hands full dealing with the human situation, which of
course,
was the right thing to do.
"But it broke my heart to leave the horses. I knew there was no way to
get
help for them. And we had run out of time to get ourselves out of
there," she
said.
Although she and her family made Baton Rouge safely, Rogers-Joseph was
unable
to sleep that night. Another couple had stayed behind in Kenner with
their
own horses at a nearby stable, and had told her they'd rather kill the
horses
than watch them suffer and eventually drown. But Rogers-Joseph made
them
promise to wait a couple of days and give her a chance to send help.
Help finally came on Thursday, when several organizations joined
together to
rescue the horses and deliver them to the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in
Gonzales. Only one horse didn't make it, and Rogers-Joseph assumes that
it died
before help arrived or was euthanized because it was too ill to make
the journey.
The rescue effort was coordinated by an alphabet soup of agencies -- the

Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, which oversees the
Office of
the State Veterinarian, the United States Department of Agriculture,
which
oversees the Office of the Federal Veterinarian, and the Livestock
Hauler's
Association, which provided 12 trailers to transport the animals.
"We sent veterinarians and animal health technicians," said assistant
state
veterinarian and emergency planner Dr. Martha Littlefield. "Our people
revaccinated the animals, checked their feet, fed them and gave them
medical care
right away."
Luck played a part in the rescue, too. "We were able to do this only
because
so many conditions were right," said Bonnie Clark, who coordinates the
horse
unit with the Office of the State Veterinarian for the Lamar-Dixon site.
"The
horses were located just off the interstate so they were easy to get to.
The
water level was low enough to work in, and the situation didn't present
a
threat to the rescuers, so we could go in safely."
Although the horses had been standing in water for nearly three days,
they
were in remarkably good shape, Clark said. "I can't say enough about the
team
that actually went in there and brought them out," she said. "They did
an
unbelievable job."
Littlefield says animal rescues will continue in the coming days and
weeks.
Her agency and the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine have established a
horse
hurricane helpline to assist owners with questions regarding rescue,
shelter
and medical care for their animals. The number is (225) 578-9501.
On Friday, equine veterinarian Dr. Ashley Stokes answered the hotline
and
said the calls have been steady since Katrina hit. She said anyone who
can help
provide supplies, feed or pasture space should call the hotline as well.

"A lot of animals will be lost," Littlefield said. "But there will be
many
that live and will be displaced . They will need homes, and we'll try to

reunite them with their owners."
She said her agency is working closely with the Society for the
Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals, which has been cooperative on every level.
Unfortunately, other humane groups from out of state have come into
Louisiana and
neglected to get approval from the appropriate state office, making
rescue efforts
more difficult.
Littlefield said owners of small animals can call (225) 578-9900. A
phone
call to that number Friday instructed evacuees to take their animals to
the John
M. Parker Coliseum at LSU for temporary shelter.
In the meantime, Joseph-Rogers can sleep a little better at night. Her
own
horses are safe, and she kept her promise to send help for the others.
"The
people who rescued these animals are my heroes," she said. "I'll be
forever
grateful."





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