At a little after midnight on October 30, after a fourteen hour drive, the
second group of ARFP volunteers to go to Slidell, LA, returned to Greensboro
-- with 47 pets, including dogs, cats, and bunnies. People who had offered to
keep the pets, either permanently or as foster parents, met the returning
volunteers at the Next Step Adoption Center that very night, and the last
Louisiana pet headed out the door to his new foster home at 3 am.
Pets are unloaded at the NSAC after the long drive from Slidell, LA.
A dog gets a vaccination before going to his new foster home.
This little kitty nuzzles her new foster mom.
A puppy gives his new foster dad a kiss to say thank you for taking him in.
After the long drive, even with periodic potty stops, the dogs still needed to go for a walk.
Two Katrina dogs greet each other outside the NSAC.
A Katrina kitty gets a vaccination before going to her new foster home.
A volunteer takes a cat into the NSAC.
Volunteers helping a dog out of the van.
Now out of the van, the dog is ready for a walk to check out his new surroundings.
Volunteers pet one of the Katrina dogs.
Volunteers unloading pets from one of the vans used to transport them from Louisiana to Greensboro, NC.
Pets that were due for vaccinations were given them before being sent to their new foster homes.
After the cats were brought into the NSAC, volunteers matched them to their new foster homes.
These puppies were glad for a chance to play after the long drive to North Carolina.
A volunteer gives a foster parent the background on her new foster dog.
Volunteers in the adoption center working to match the pets to their new foster homes.
Pets are unloaded at the NSAC after the long drive from Slidell, LA.
Like the group that went to Louisiana in September, these volunteers with the Greensboro-based Animal Rescue & Foster Program (ARFP)
went to Slidell, LA to
offer help to the pet owners displaced by Hurricane Katrina. They joined Terri Crisp and Noah's Wish, a nationally known animal rescue
organization. Crisp's organization, with the help of organizations such as the
Animal Rescue & Foster Program, was responsible for hundreds of animals being
rescued in eastern NC during Hurricane Floyd in 1999.
After disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the goal, the hope, of Noah's
Wish and the individual rescue organizations like ARFP that work with
them is to reunite pets with their families. But in some cases, the pet
owners don't have a home to return to or any way to care for their pets.
When that happens, groups like ARFP can bring the animals into their own
programs to care for them and find them new homes. Visit our
dogs and cats for adoption
pages to read about pets now
in ARFP after their families in Louisiana had to make that difficult
decision to let someone else care for their pets, now that they no
longer can.
The ARFP volunteers who traveled to Slidell worked morning
and night while there. Over 400 rescued animals were being sheltered in the airplane hanger where our volunteers were
stationed when the first group arrived. That number swelled to over 1000
before animal rescue organizations across the country were able to start
taking the pets into their programs. You can read stories
from some ARFP volunteers who went to Slidell and see pictures of animal rescue efforts
here.
Donations are stacked in the NSAC
An ARFP volunteer loads supplies into the truck
An ARFP volunteer arranges supplies in the truck
An ARFP volunteer arranges supplies in the truck
ARFP volunteers load supplies in the truck
ARFP volunteers load more supplies in the truck
Generous donations are staged, awaiting transport
Water and pet food stacked in the NSAC, waiting to be loaded
Water, one of the most needed supplies, lines one wall of the NSAC
Water and other supplies in the NSAC before being loaded on the truck
ARFP volunteers survey the donations, deciding what to load next
Outside the NSAC, volunteers pack items into transport bins
A volunteer carries a bag of food to the staging area
A row of bins, waiting to be loaded
The trailer, loaded with bags of dog food for rescued animals in Louisiana
ARFP volunteers gather Saturday morning to say goodbye to the volunteers going to Louisiana
Final packing preparations before setting off for Slidell
Although there seems to be a lot of empty space, the truck is loaded with so much water that it's at its maximum weight limit
More supplies that will be sent on the next trip
Bags and boxes of food stacked in the NSAC
Donations kept flowing in on Saturday afternoon.
ARFP volunteers stack donations outside the NSAC
The U-Haul truck loaded and ready to go.
Lots of much needed supplies were loaded in the U-Haul truck.
Bins of supplies in the truck
The truck, loaded and waiting for the caravan to hit the road
Supplies loaded in the truck included food, water, cleaning supplies, and medicine
ARFP volunteers make a final check of the items loaded in the truck before the rescue team leaves for Slidell, LA
Volunteers met with a local news crew before leaving for Slidell
Jennifer Hart, president of ARFP, talks with Scott Hunter from Fox 8 News.
Volunteers finish last minute preparations
The NSAC parking lot, filled with vehicles waiting to make the trip to Slidell
In addition to the U-Haul truck, two minivans and two SUVs were loaded with supplies.
Three members of the rescue team load supplies into their vehicles
ARFP volunteers say goodbye to friends who'll be making the trip to Slidell
The rescue team prepares to leave for Slidell
The first truck, loaded with supplies, leaves the NSAC parking lot
The U-Haul truck full of supplies pulls out while a minivan, also loaded with supplies, waits to leave
More vehicles in the caravan to Slidell leave the NSAC
The rescue team leaves for Slidell
The last minivan leaves the ARFP facility. All together, a U-Haul truck, two minivans, and two SUVs of supplies made this first trip
Even more supplies wait to be sent on the next trip to Slidell
ARFP continued to collect donations throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday
Volunteers stack donations outside the NSAC
Many caring pet owners in Greensboro donated food, medicine, and other supplies for rescued pets in Louisiana
These donations will be shipped to Slidell in a later trip
Donations collected outside the NSAC
People donated supplies for all kinds of animals, including dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, birds, and hamsters
These supplies will help the animals rescued from the Katrina devastation over the next several weeks. More donations are still needed.
ARFP volunteers unload donations from a car
Donations were staged by type as they were unloaded, to make it easier to ship what rescuers in Louisiana need quickly
Donations are stacked in the NSAC
