| October
2005 NOLA Volunteer Trip Journal
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here to view photos with captions.
Most
of the animals were severely emaciated, to the point where
hips were jagged points and you could count every rib at a
quick glance and see every single bump in their spine. They
had all been through traumatic experiences -- many losing
their families, some nearly drowning, most going weeks without
food, and finally being taken to a strange place where they
were kept in crates surrounded by other frightened animals.
An emaciated Great
Dane rests his weary head.
His cage warned approachers to "Beware: Food Aggressive!"
I
would read their paperwork hoping for a happy ending. Sometimes
their owner was alive and would be returning to get them,
other times they were a nameless, homeless animal found on
an intersection. Many were heartworm positive, none
of them were spayed or neutered and all of them had a story.
My heart would break time and time again. Especially for the
black pitt bull puppy covered in ringworm whose chart read,
"Found in home. Companion pet eaten. Corpse scattered
throughout the house."
Walking
the Dogs
The vast majority of the dogs were large pit bulls, many of
whom we suspect were raised for fighting which is illegal
in all 50 states and a felony in most. The dogs were housed
in long rows of crates in the barn, and they would try to
tear each other to shreds as we paraded them in and out like
tuna rolls on a sushi bar conveyor belt. This meant using
every muscle in my hands, arms and legs to control them and
guide them safely outside for their walks.
Much
of this aggressive behavior was circumstantial.
They
have all been through hell. Their crate, their 3 x 4 space,
is all they have left. Guarding it to the death is an instinct
that affected even the smallest, sweetest of dogs. But once
we got them outside, they were like any other dog: happy to
be outside, playful, eager to please and desperate for love
and affection.
It
was common for these vicious-looking dogs to give us hugs,
lick our faces and even roll over on their backs so we could
rub their bellies. We worked very hard coordinating efforts
amongst other volunteers to establish a more unified routine
from morning till night. Consistency will do wonders for a
dog and by week's end, it was evident that our efforts paid
off. They were bonding with us and relaxing around each other.
The moments of pure quiet in the barn were beginning to outweigh
the frantic, frenzied barking of a hundred dogs.
Help
of All Types From Around the World
Donated
food and supplies of every imaginable kind were delivered
each day via FedEx. Many
care packages were sent for the volunteers containing such
coveted items as fresh socks, nail clippers, Q-tips, lotion,
bug spray, you name it.
We
had hot vegan and vegetarian meals paid
for by donors from all parts of the U.S. prepared and delivered
by a local caterer. One night the dinner came courtesy of
two women, one in Oklahoma and the other in Colorado, who
share the same birthday. Instead of throwing themselves birthday
parties, they used that money to have the caterer provide
the dinner, birthday cake and card included. We sang them
happy birthday in absentia and listened as the caterer read
their card aloud. It was so very thoughtful and touching everyone
shed a tear.
Remember that laundry I folded? Someone had to wash it. Hundreds
of pounds of filthy animal bedding was bagged up and left
for washing. Each day someone would come by and drop of the
bags they had cleaned. Two different women used their own
home washer and dryer. Can you imagine? One woman even folded
most of it for us!
One afternoon the
Sheriff came by. He was wearing cowboy boots. (!!!) He was
there to drop off 20 industrial size bags of of fresh laundry.
I asked, "Did you do all this?" He said, "No.
The warden had somebody do it." Ah, I see! Well, I hope
the inmates felt good about helping the animals.
One
day I sat near the dirty laundry to put on a fresh pair of
donated socks. The barn was exceptionally quiet that moment.
I kept hearing a persistent meow which perplexed me. The newborn
kittens were not any where near me. I asked someone if they
heard it. They did. It was coming from a bag of laundry. We
carefully sorted through it and found, much to our shock,
a puppy wrapped in bloody bedding and screeching loudly for
his mother. The puppy's mom is particularly on guard. Changing
her bedding and tending to her needs is a two or three person
job and a rushed one at that. In their haste and effort to
not be bitten, a puppy ended up in the dirty laundry! I was
so relieved to see him returned to the over-protective eye
of his mom. We made sure to do a head count each time after
that.
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