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We ended up sending two people to Gonzales, Louisiana: Allison Joyce and Scott Littlejohn. They went down for the 10-day shift and were so resilient. Their boots literally fell apart, their tents were tiny, Scott almost passed out from the heat. We were so proud of them because they ended up managing Barn 2 at Lamar-Dixon for several days. Their diaries were posted on our website, www.mdspca.org, and their stories were compelling: I recall Allison taking the time after her shift to grab a copy of Animal Sheltering magazine and go sit next to the crate of a scared little brown terrier mix and read to her. In all the chaos of Lamar-Dixon, it seemed to soothe and comfort the little dog.
We sent several folks to assist HSUS with data entry and phone calls, and the reality of seeing pictures of rescued animals and talking to pet owners really affected them. They were all proud to help. In later weeks, we brought in about 50 animals from the Humane Society of South Mississippi and In Defense of Animals. The cooperation among groups was inspiring.
We are so sad that people are struggling to find homes and jobs for themselves and can’t care for their pets any longer. The animals brought here from the Gulf were pretty exhausted at first, but after about a week, they began to cheer up and look much better physically. Thinking back on the events, I recall Allison saying she began to appreciate that, despite how busy our lives can be, we all just need the basics of warmth, shelter, food, and someone to love us. It is amazing to see how brave these animals were to go through a storm, unsure of what was going on, during temporary care and even transport. As long as they had those basics, they were willing to go along and trust us.
Aileen Gabbey is the Executive Director of the Maryland SPCA in Baltimore, Maryland.
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