Hurricane Katrina's Other Victims

A few weeks after Hurricane Katrina did her damage,
Dr. Paul Levitas and veterinary technician Kim Moore
spent a week in Louisiana and Mississippi, caring for pets
that were left behind. Updated 09 March 2007.

Click here for photos of the rescue operations

(Click on the pictures to see them full sized!)

With one exception these animals brought back to our animal hospital are from St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana.
Some of their stories are sad, some are heroic. Most survived weeks of fending for themselves in areas flooded
with putrid water. Some of these animals still need foster homes; after 90 days ( the amount of time the owners have to
claim the pet), the foster parents may keep the animal. We believe that most will not be claimed, so keep that in
mind when fostering. We have had, however, one animal claimed by its original owners!

It's been fun so far, especially at feeding time:

Yes, even bunnies are hurricane refugees!
This sweet little girl still needs a home:

All of the other rabbits are in foster homes! And yes, the pair stayed together!

Mama Dog is about two years old, from St. Bernard Parish, and found with a wounded paw.
She gave birth to seven pups in our hospital! She's a healthy adult, great with people, and
she's been spayed. The puppies have found homes, Mama is still available. She's a high-energy dog!!

These three orange little boys are four or five months old ... from St. Bernard Parish.
All of them have found happy homes!

Three black and white kitties, (two boys, haven't decided about the third!), about 3mos. old,
 found in St. Bernard Parish underneath a car being guarded by a dog. All have found a happy home!
(Unfortunately their guard dog was too wary to be captured.)

Clementine, a Mexican Hairless/Chinese Crested Mix (that's a joke, we don't know her bloodline!), female, age unknown.
Found in New Orleans along the highway, she was picked up and handed to an animal rescue volunteer. You can see she was
nearly bald. She was treated for skin conditions, and her hair just is nearly all grown back! And the volunteer who first handled
her ... flew in from New Mexico and adopted her!! As you can see, she is a princess!

Regal Beagle, and adult female, was found in her yard in St. Bernard Parish
3.5 weeks after the hurricane. After a can of cat food, she warmed up very
quickly, and is the sweetest dog you've ever met. She was heartworm positive,
and after treatment at the hospital has found a great home!

Julie was found wandering St. Bernard Parish, with a shattered leg caused by a bullet. The damage was too
severe to repair, so she lost her leg and was spayed at the same time. She's also heartworm positive, and will
begin treatment after she heals from surgery. Julie was adopted by an employee.

Chippa was found in St. Bernard Parish caught up in debris. To escape he chewed off his own leg.
We fixed things up a bit, and Chippa runs around better than most four leggers. He is extremely sweet, and doesn't mind cats
or other dogs. He has a special place in our hospital ... he now lives with an employee!

Remmy, a rotweiler mix, is five or so years old, found in St. Bernard Parish,
chained to a washing machine inside his house, his doggie friend nearby dead.
He was dehydrated and urinating blood, not long for the world. He is still a bit
nervous, but very sweet boy, ready for a new life with his new owners!

Georgia is a mixed breed girl about two years old. She's energetic and very sweet.
She's been spayed. She appears to have chemical burns all over her body, which have
caused her coat to be spotty. (It seems to be growing back!) A wonderful dog! Georgia
is happy in her new foster home!

Goober is a male neutered lab mix about a year old. Very energetic, very sweet,
still skinny after his three week fast. Was very sick with vomiting and other gastro-intestinal
maladies ... turns out he had some foreign substance, maybe some sort of plastic or glue,
in his belly. We removed the blob, and Goober is back at home with his foster mom!

Ginny is a spayed female about five or so years old. She very sick with vomiting and
other gastro-intestinal maladies but recovered nicely. Sweet and friendly with all people
and most dogs ... she's at her new home now!

Taffy is a female spayed chocolate lab, who is heartworm positive and being treated.
She also had a severe upper respiratory infection. Amazingly, her family has found her
through a PetFinder listing put on by BestFriends, the rescue responsible for organizing
the rescue, but they were unable to take her back; she's already found a new home!

This skinny and scared baby was found in the bathtub of her home in St. Bernard Parish after her owner called
BestFriends to report that their dog had been left behind. She was near death from not eating and extremely dehydrated.
She weighed 17 lbs. (left photo) after eating for a week! She's more than doubled that now, as you can see from the second photo,
and has a wonderful home.

This beautiful white male pit bull mix was found wandering in St. Bernard Parish. He had a skin infection from the
bacteria in the water. He is wonderfully sweet ... forget anything you think you know about this breed! His owner
found out about him on the internet, and he's back at home!

Gussie is a spayed poodle-and-something-else (dachshund?) mix who had a huge inguinal hernia
which we repaired. She's about three years old ... and is back home!