Farewell at dawn

Submitted by EARS Regional Director Stacey Harris

Yesterday morning we started off at 5 a.m. -- yes, I said 5 a.m.! Atlanta Humane Society had pulled a huge transport bus, two cargo vans and an animal transport van in the night before and wanted to start loading animals at 6 a.m. I think we all thought this would be at least a half-day process, but we were ready!!! We got the dogs fed, walked, loaded and on the road by 9 a.m.

We also discovered that some of our volunteers have some pretty amazing puzzle-making skills. It was truly amazing how many dogs we were able to fit into those cargo vans. And now they are on their way to find new adoptive homes.

We are now down to 89 animals at the temporary shelter, which seems like a walk in the park. We have a pit bull rescue group coming tomorrow to take all the pits -- which of course makes me very happy since I am the pit lover.

Janell regretfully left behind Miss Fang today. But, no worries, Theresa has taken over her care, and we are all trying to find a better name for her!

Strange bedfellows

Sumbitted by EARS volunteer Roxanne Quinlan of Austin, Texas (pictured below with Ugly Betty)

We had a heartwarming amount of return to owners on Saturday! Not as many as we wanted, but more than we have seen before. The guinea pigs were whistling while they went home. A Chow Chow mix who was a "problem child" also went home. Any time you went near his run, he would warn you off. But when his human showed up, his tail never stopped wagging! A couple of black Labradors were reunited with their families, and a small Aussie puppy left licking his boy's face. We decided that one of EARS supplies required should be confetti, to throw in the air to celebrate.

One of the hardest things for me while on deployment is missing my own pets. Yesterday, I woke up smiling, snuggling my kitten. As I became more alert, I realized I really wasn't in my own bed... how did my cat get here? The clinic cat had figured out how to open the exam room door, and curled up on my air mattress with me. She and I were curled around each other, and I could feel her purrs all the way through my chest. I've slept better in the last two nights. I wake up and every morning, she has joined me.

My poor husband, I called him three days ago saying I had been "mugged" by a hyena. We have a cute little unclaimed female dog who has the non-contagious mange. Then last night, I found out she was heartworm positive. So it looks like I'm taking my "Ugly Betty" home. The plan is to get her looking good, over the heartworms, and then find her a forever home.

Let me tell you about the "shelter dogs." They are the dogs who live at the HSSET, or belong to employes and come to work with them. Shaka is a tan female great dane. She alerts us every time a male comes anywhere near the front office. Belle Star, a female Shepard mix, takes a while to warm up to people, but has been known to sneak up and sniff strangers' hands. Tiny, a small tan Lab mix, looks like a miniature of Shaka. Then there is Jo, a long-hair black collie/Lab mix, who has the run of the shelter and surrounding area. He makes a security round at least twice a day, stops and says "hello" to all the people he knows, and checks out any strangers. All in all, a very loving group of shelter mascots.

Back to filling out rabies and health certificates. Need to get the paperwork for tomorrows transport done (when 99 animals will be moved to other shelters and rescue groups)!

Feng Shui, animal style

Submitted by Janell Matthies of Sacramento, California, EARS leader on site

EARS volunteers Terry Atwater and Barb Giddo have transformed what was once referred to as the Auditorium into the Feng Shui room. They did something in there that has made this the most peaceful room in the shelter. Even more than the cat room, which is saying a lot. The lights are dim, the dogs all sit quietly watching them work......it's very zen. We've been moving some of the more stressed out dogs into that room today and you can see an immediate effect. We have now renamed the room to the Feng Shui room.

After lunch today, we had some down time while the dogs were all napping and Julie and Phil decided to test one of the German Shepherds for search and rescue potential. She quickly caught on to what they wanted from her, responded enthusiastically and passed with flying colors. She just went out for her evening walk and is still nose to the ground....sniffing , sniffing, sniffing.

As you can see, our temporary resident swans are still swimming all day and very unbothered by all the dogs and commotion. I sit and watch them on my breaks and pretend like I'm at the spa. It almost works.

Suckers for the animals

Submitted by Janell Matthies of Sacramento, California, EARS leader on site

This morning started the same as the others. My roommates waking and cheerful at 6:20 a.m. Do they not realize this is the middle of the night for us Californians?! I rolled over and pretended to go back to sleep, but then images of the dogs (like Miss Fang, a three-pound Chihuahua who cowers in the corner and shows her teeth to anyone who comes near her cage) waiting to go for a walk and get breakfast started going through my mind. I'm such a sucker.

I stopped for the coffee in a box that I promised the volunteers and got to the shelter to see everyone already busy at work -- cleaning cages, feeding and walking dogs. When I walked into Miss Fang's room, she cowered, growled then saw it was me. She started the whole-body wag and approached the front of the cage. I got her out to snuggle and took her for her walk. Some of the others saw her and commented on how cute she is. Miss Fang responded by glaring at them, then hid her head under my arm. And I always thought I was a big-dog girl.

Big news! The German Shepherd dubbed Sarge by EARS volunteers Julie and Phil (Castenada of Topeka, Kansas) went home just now with his mom. Brandi Furr (staff with the Humane Society of Southeast Texas) had mixed emotions as she handed him over to his very, very happy mom. This is the dog who was obviously very fearful and stressed when he first arrived.

Julie, Phil and Brandi all felt an instant connection to him. Phil and Julie worked with Sarge, using their extraordinary animal-handling skills and experience and passed on their techniques to Brandi who took over his care and handling. They were best buds for the past few days and could be seen playing with the other dogs and getting lots of attention from each other.

When we brought Sarge (real name Taaka) to his mom, he jumped all over her, then turned around and sat on her feet. We all agreed he was telling her he had been so worried about her and was back with her to take care of things. It was a great reunion. (Taaka is pictured here with Janell, his mom and Barndi)

Helping animals after Ike

It appears that the 2008 disaster season will never end. Just two weeks after Hurricane Gustav displaced thousands of people and pets in Louisiana, Hurricane Ike wreaked havoc on the Texas coast. On September 18, United Animal Nations began deploying a team of Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) volunteers to Beaumont, Texas to help shelter dogs, cats and other pets displaced by the large and damaging Ike.

More than 30 EARS volunteers from across the Gulf Coast have already deployed to the Humane Society of Southeast Texas in Beaumont to care for more than 200 animals who were rescued from flooded communities until they can be reunited with their families or transferred to other facilities for long-term sheltering. Wah Wong, pictured above, of Houston was one of the first EARS volunteers to arrive in Beaumont and said that the animals "are all very sweet and loving despite the traumas of their experiences ..."

As of Saturday, the shelter had 150 dogs, 82 cats, 7 guinea pigs, 2 swans, 2 ferrets, 1 horse and 1 fish. Pictured here with EARS volunteer Lyle Varnes and a Humane Society of the United States representative is an emaciated, four-month-old pony who was rescued.

EARS volunteers are doing their very best to care the animals despite living and working in primitive conditions. For example, the shelter has electricity and running water, but no showers, beds or cots. Someone jerry-rigged a shower in one of the dog kennels, but on last report a sweet bull mastiff was living in it. A group from a local church has been donating home-made food to the EARS crew and providing sleeping and showering arrangements.

Please check back periodically for more photos and updates. You can also support our efforts in Beaumont by donating to our Disaster Relief Fund.

Saying our goodbyes...

Submitted by EARS Regional Director Karla Schulte

Well I'm back in Cedar Rapids. I intended to update the blog sooner, but things have been very busy here. Why would I expect any different? It is 6 a.m. on Saturday. Today is our last day. At least I think it is Saturday ... it's funny how you lose track of all sense of time when you are deployed.

I got back to Cedar Rapids on Monday. Terri Atwater came with me from Kansas. We were shocked at what we found. Walking through the Equine Building (where the owned and rescued animals had been kept) were row after row of empty stalls. Apparently the day before we got there, two shelters came and took several of the remaining dogs. It is mostly kitty city now.

It is amazing that almost 1,200 animals were processed through Cedar Rapids in just over a month. Anyone who was here in the beginning would be astonished at the difference. It is like a different deployment. By the way, several people who were here at the beginning have been here this week. In addition to Terri, Janet Hoover, Cynthia Brandes, Paige Grossman and Amy Greene have all returned. It's like a reunion!

On Wednesday, we began adoptions with the remaining animals. What an experience! We had approximately 19 adoptions each day on Wednesday and Thursday. All the dogs were adopted by the end of the day on Thursday. This was quite a feat because most of the remaining dogs were big dogs.

The last dog to go was the black cocker spaniel that several of the EARS volunteers had gotten attached to. Some of you may remember him. He has a growth on his left eye and when he came in he was so matted he had to be shaved. He is such a sweet boy that you could not help but fall in love with him if you spent any time with him at all. Unfortunately no one was willing to that. They would look at him and walk away. It seemed like his heart would break a little more each time that happened, but I know it was really my own heart that was breaking. Finally, toward the end of the day on Thursday, a mother came in with her two little boys, ages 11 and 7. It was love at first sight for dog and boys. It's funny how the kids looked past his growth and warts and only saw a wonderful loving pet. There were more than a few tears in the eyes of all when the family left the shelter.

Yesterday the Equine Building was shut down. All animals are now in the Tippie Building or Animal Health Technology. EARS volunteers are now the cat ladies in Tippie. At the beginning of the day we were caring for about 65 cats. By the end of the day I'm estimating that number was down to approximately 35. I didn't get final numbers, but I'm guessing we had about 10 adoptions and then a transport from DeKalb, Illinois that took 20 cats at the end of the day.

Today is the final day of our deployment. We've come a long way since the beginning. We are all tired, but there is definitely a sense of satisfaction knowing we helped get almost 1,200 animals return home or get into new homes and shelters.

Adoptions galore!

Submitted by EARS Regional Director Karla Schulte

On Wednesday, the animals who were remaining at the temporary shelter in Cedar Rapids were made available for adoption. We did a brisk business all day!

Here are some photos and their descriptions, from top to bottom:

This little kitty is hilarious to watch. He can fall asleep anywhere, even in his litter box. At least this time he is lying down. Yesterday he was sleeping sitting straight up in his litter box.

Gray kitty was a favorite of the volunteers. He has a lot of energy and personality. He wasn't available for adoption on day one because he was recovering from some health issues. The first day he was adoptable, he was quickly whisked away by the happy woman.

This is a local volunteer who worked with EARS volunteers a couple of days. She said that after working with us, she "grew a bigger heart" and had to come back and adopt a cat. She picked out this black kitten but he was not available for adoption right away. The day he became available, she was at the shelter first thing in the morning to pick him up.

This was a wonderful match! The young lady in this picture was in a wheelchair. Her family had other animals, but none really took to her so she was looking for one to call her own. This little kitty fell asleep right away as she held him. The two of them were very happy to find each other.

This was the last dog to be adopted. He is a black cocker spaniel, approximately 10 years old. He is a wonderfully sweet dog. He would get so excited whenever anyone came to visit his kennel. The problem is that he has a large growth on his lower left eyelid and no one was willing to take a chance on him. It was very sad to see people walk away from him time after time. Finally a family came in with two little boys, ages 11 and 7. The boys loved the dog and were able to look past his ugly eye. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure they even saw the growth. After the adoption was final and they were walking away from the shelter everyone was is tears. It was definitely the highlight of our day...maybe even our week. This is why we do what we do. It doesn't get any better than this!