Need Towels, Sheets, Fabric for Kitty Hammocks

ARNO is running low on Kitty Hammocks, and is asking for towels, sheets, breathable fabric, anything that can be used to make them. They can be used. They have a volunteer who is a whiz at sewing the hammocks out of just about anything.

If you know me personally, I can include anything you’d like to send when I send a box down there at the end of this week. (Later is okay too, I’ll send another shipment.) If you don’t know me or live far away and would like to donate items, their address is 271 Plauche Street, Jefferson, LA 70123.

They were thrilled with the donations of cash and PetSmart Cards that you all sent with us, thank you! And thank to those that have already sent towels our way (Jeanne-Marie, Asta, Rowenna, etc!)

If you have things that you think they might help but are not sure, ask me and I’ll find out.

There is so much they can use that they can use that I never thought of. Anti-bacterial soap. Tennis balls. Concrete. Maybe a crock pot, although I'm not sure anyone would take the time to cook a healthy meal. It seems they content themselves with Pizza or Taco Bell every day. More time for the animals that way. I want to get a group together to work on making cat toys (this could be school kids) and dog coats and blankets for the winter.

Once when I was soliciting for Longmont Humane’s annual food drive a woman got upset that their wish list included bath towels and laundry soap. The explanation and understanding that they have to not just feed the dogs but do things like bathe them was a real “Aha” moment for her.

Jeanne

Jesse (left) and Billie the Kid (below), are brothers. These boys were found on the streets a few months

after Hurricane Katrina along with a third brother, James. Unfortunately, James was ill and died shortly after coming to the shelter. Jesse is outgoing and full of pep. Billie is so sweet and lovable but he is still very frightened by the sights and sounds outside of his crate. As you can see in this photo, Billie hangs on to Jack's leg for comfort. Jeanne and I walked the two brothers together each day and they loved being together in the grass, able to romp and wrestle with each other. Billie's tail was always tucked between his legs and loud noises startle him. On our third day of walking the brothers, Billie's tail floated up and wagged!

Back home and in Culture Shock

We are back home again, culture shocked, jet lagged, sunburned and chigger-bitten. I haven’t blogged enough but I am in a truly weird mind space. While I was there, I didn’t get tired or frightened. Now I am exhausted and think, “What were we doing in some of those neighborhoods?”

Now when I walk my dog and I see a cat, I think, “Cat! Get it! Spay it!…..oh, wait. That’s a pet, not a stray.” I almost thanked a guy at the dog park for having a neutered dog. “Excuse me, sir, but I can’t help but notice that your dog has no testicles….”

I won’t even go into driving by construction sites.

The only thing I would change though, is that I would not have come home, not yet. I’d like to be there still, walking dog after dog, no matter how tired I get or much my feet hurt.

So…let’s start again. Day one, we are driving around looking for ARNO. We stop the UPS man and ask if he knows where to go. He says, “Oh, yeah. Go one street over and there’s a left hand turn. It’s blocked off with a huge barricade and the sign says ‘Do Not Enter.’ Ignore the sign, just go that way anyway.” Sure as he says, big white barricade, pushed out of the way. NOLA.

I don’t know why I like that story so much; it just seems like an appropriate place to start.

Jeanne

Burrito Wrap

Four new kittens arrived on Wednesday. When a cat or dog arrives, they go through and intake process to examine their health and to administer vaccinations and antibiotics for any possible infections they may have. Some cats are put into a "burrito wrap" to prevent the caregiver from being scratched or bitten.

How to adopt a Dog?

This is the pup that Marsha wants.

Someone (I'm not sure who the email address belongs to, but thank you for reading and caring!) asked how much it would be to adopt a dog from ARNO.


The fee for dogs is $150 - I am not sure on cats but will find out. I know that seems high compared to the Humane Societies in Colorado. You kind of have to take into consideration the additional efforts needed with these guys, though.

They get their shots, spay/neuter, and any other health issues dealt with, just as at our Humane Societies, which I think are some of the best in the country. But so many more of these dogs will have health issues when they come in that the care costs are staggering. Even if they have few physical issues these animals sometimes have longer stays due to stress and fear issues, which adds to the cost of thier upkeep. If they are closer to feral it may take months to get them socialized properly.

Also think of how new ARNO is, that they are dependant upon donations, and you get a bigger idea. I'm not sure how she is managing to live since she works the shelter 12 or more hours per day, but a little bird told me that Robin has spent her life savings keeping the place running.

So it's not that much money.

Transport has a couple of options - either you can come get the pup or they can fly him out, which prices around $300 per animal. They go with Continental Airlines because of their high standards of pet transportation safety.

Jeanne

In the lower ninth ward, this kitty showed up within minutes of us putting out the feeding station. It felt great to see the work make a difference. He watched us very carefully and if we got within 10 yards of him he would start to leave. So, we kept our distance and used a long lens to get this shot. We did see another cat come out to a feeding station as well as, seeing a few stray cats walking around but usually hiding.

We did see a few stray dogs and wild pack dogs too but not at the feeding stations. They are just too cautious to come out during the day. The chow shown above has been on the streets since Katrina and hangs around the same block of houses. Alissa has been trying to trap him for over a year. Marsha

I got the new blog spot from Ray Lewis yesterday--the photos are wonderful! The house in the 9th ward tells a volume-will you be able to get photos from other areas that show the contrast? Have you been able to see any dogs (and get photos) when you replenish feedstations? Mom

Today we spent the morning in the 9th ward again feeding and watering cats and dogs. We went to a new location with more devastation than what we saw the day before.

The photo above is of a lady named Celeste. She lives in the lower ninth ward and watches the stray cats and dogs. She offered to start feeding them for us so we left cat food with her and her neighbor across the street. Celeste used to live in a different 9th ward neighborhood but her home is still unlivable. She is bored here as all of her friends are in the old neighborhood and she wants to go back.

Celeste is 76 years old and "feels 50. I was born in March and my daddy was a baptist minister. My mama was loving and those things helped me to be the beautiful, energetic woman that I am today!"

In the afternoon we went back to the sheltered and worked until 8:00. Most of the day was spent petting and scratching the cats and dogs. They need so much attention and interaction. We walked a lot of dogs too - It's amazine that every dog is walked three times everday!

Jeanne spent a long time just petting Aubrey (the gray deformed looking dog with no hair). Except for a few volunteers, most volunteers that come in don't wan to pet him so Jeanne made special effort to do so. He really needs the touch.

Gerry - are you getting the blog? Let me know and Happy Mothers Day to you and all of the MOMS! Marsha

Welcome to Katrina-Ville

Sort of says it all, doesn't it?

I really thought we would work 8 hours per day, come back to the room and blog for an hour and keep up with everything. As it is, we haven't told you anything much. I apologize for that. But when we get in there the focus is on work and hard sweat and you just don't stop.

Actually, I sweat so much day before yesterday that I stood up and my pants fell off.

Today we are going to do something fun. I had a tooth problem this week and all I could eat was pudding and McDonald's shakes. I got into the emergency dentist here by the grace of God and the lovely receptionist (thank you both!) so am going to eat solid food today.

Mainly though, we need to go out and decompress. It'a huge culture shock, which you don't know about because we've been too busy to write, but I don't even want to go out. Marsha is making me go out because she sees me getting nuts and wanting to stay at the sheler 24/7. It's its own world. It's even a world that seems like it would be big enough. Actually, it's the most comfortable place I've ever been, despite the heat, the bending, the concrete floors, the dirt from the air, the smell of dog and cat and poop and food and illness. (the place is kept very clean. The smell is just because there re So many animals being cared for in one little space.)

What you DON'T smell is stress off the animals. You know how I can always tell when my dogs are getting upset before they show it? By thier smell? I don't smell that on these guys. They know they are loved and safe.

Yesterday Robin (the powerhouse beauty who runs the show here) asked me to spend extra time with a pup, 'telling him he's going to be beautiful, because he needs to hear it - he is covered with mange'. Thier love transfers to the pups and kitties too.

Happy Birthday to me. Unlike the last few birthdays, this is exactly where I want to be and doing just what I want to be doing.

Happy Mother's Day! Jeanne

Half a House in the Ninth Ward

Honest, we'll write more when we haven't run off our feet all day - it was a huge day.

But Mom - we are done with the Ninth Ward so you can relax now! :) Everyone was really nice.

At the ARNO Shelter

We didn’t blog last night due to computer problems. Thanks to Ray Agostinelli for getting the photos up onto the web!

(Mom – right click on VIEW PHOTOS and choose open in another “window.”

The picture above is Aubrey, who was brought in May 5 with Mange and Scabies and Heartworm and growths all over his body. Jackie Quick, full-time ARNO volunteer and all around amazing guy, took the photo (I mean it, he even sleeps there so to not be away from the animals if they need him).

The second picture is as of yesterday.

I can’t believe the dedication of these people here. Most would have given up on Aubrey. He is still week and can only walk as far as across the street. He’s been out on the streets for the last 18 months, but Marsha got to witness his first joyful roll in the grass.

The woman that brought him in named him after her friend who had recently died. She walks Aubrey across the street to the small patch of grass that a neighboring business lets them use and sits with him, petting him. “I don’t think he is still contagious, but if he is, I don’t care,” she says. “It just means so much to him to be petted. You can tell he was someone’s pet. He just needs a lot of touch.” Her love for him is palpable, her touch healing.

What an amazing group of people.
Jeanne

Day One at ARNO

Left for ARNO, got lost, got there at 9:30 a.m. Got home at 9:00 p.m. (part of that was stopping by the store for groceries, and looking for a parking space. But we left ARNO about 7:30.)

We walked 7 dogs, cleaned 2 huge puppy pens (with puppies inside, too fun!), vaccumed kitty litter from the floor, cleaned 14 cat pens, took 280 plus 347 photos, talked to a lot of people about ARNO, then loaded 60 pounds of dog food, 300 pounds of cat food, and some 5 gallon jugs of water into the car for tomorrow, and left.

I'm too tired to post photos tonight. To think these people do this and much more every single day......wow. We will get pics on in the morning.

Jeanne and Marsha

Airport

It's been about 10 years since I've been on a plane. I don't get out much.

Used to be you got there 20 minutes early and jumped on. I don't mind the big hoo-haw you have to go through now, but I did feel like a baby techno-phobe. I was the one that got stopped at the x-ray (nothing big, didn't know to take my computer out first) and I was the one that got thier luggage searched (though I wouldn't have known it if they hadn't left a note.) I sort of expected that though, knowing the x-ray machine would show up lots o' weird stuff like flashlights and cat-toys.


Oh, and I was walking down the street this evening and got smacked on the head with a string of beads. Go figure. ;)

Jeanne

It was a long day of travel but driving from the airport to the city was no big deal. We got turned around a few times for lack of street signs in the city but figured it out. Got scheduled to work at the shelter tomorrow and will get the rest of our schedule then. Took a walk around the French Quarter to burn off some steam and headed back to the hotel. We will have photo's tomorrow! Marsha

Channel 31 News

Marianne Martinez did a spot on us and ARNO for the nine oclock news last night. She did a great job. I was surprised because I figured we would get maybe a 15 second mention at the end of the show, but it was right up front and probably a minute, which is a long time news-wise.

And I don't think We looked like a couple of idots! (BTW, both Marianne and Marsha are even prettier in real life.)

There's been a lot of focus on our wanting to photgraph while we are in NOLA, which is making me kind of nervous. We would really like to bring back images that will show the reality of the animal situation there, but he idea to do that came well after the descision to go. Marsha and I are both record-keepers so it's natural for us to think about shooting everything.

Feels ike I put a pressure on myself to get good pictures, when my first desire is just to go out there and get those animals fed.

Jeanne

Ready to Go!

We leave tomorrow morning and it has been a busy day of preperations. We have a full schedule and are excited to go. It will be a good experience to do something helpful in a different place. The only thing I am not looking forward to is driving from the airport to New Orleans. I do not like driving in new places but it will be a challenge in itself! Marsha