Gonzales, La. – First came the flood, then the animals – and not two by two.
There are 200 dogs here. There are 50 cats. A pot-bellied pig sleeps in the hay. Parrots and cockatoos flutter in cages. An iguana stands as still as a statue in a glass aquarium. There are goats, snakes, rabbits, guinea pigs, a pet rat and even a flying squirrel.
There are horses and mules too, chestnut miniatures and massive Belgian draft horses. White stallions that used to pull newlyweds through the French Quarter and Arabian racers. Altogether, there are more than 220 equines here.
The stables of the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center and 4-H Center in Gonzales have been transformed into a zoo of refugees – home to many of the animals that were lost or abandoned during the flood. Animal-care organizations from across the United States have poured into Louisiana to assist in the rescue and care of pets and workhorses.
“We’re trying … to get more of them,” said Kathryn Destreza, the director of New Orleans’ Animal Services Department. “These people have lost everything, so if we can at least give them their dog or their horse, it won’t be so bad.”
Pets have become a hindrance for rescuers, as many survivors of the flood are refusing to leave deluged homes because they want to care for their animals. Many rescuers have stopped residents from coming aboard boats with their pets, and most evacuation shelters do not have facilities for animals.
Destreza said that animal-rescue efforts could help persuade people to leave their homes.
“It blows my mind that FEMA and the Red Cross don’t think about that,” she said.
The expo center is set up alongside an evacuation center between New Orleans and Baton Rouge housing about 2,000 people.
Many of the animals there were brought by evacuees. Others were found by volunteers or even soldiers and police, who aren’t supposed to recover animals but have been bending the rules.
Before the storm, state veterinarians and Humane Society officials plotted the location of veterinarian clinics, stables and other locations where animals could be trapped.
Renee Poirrier of the Louisiana State Veterinarian office said the animals will be photographed and the images posted on the Internet (www.vetmed.lsu.edu).
