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Louisiana

Photo Friday: Disastrous

January 18, 2008

(Click on photo for full size.) Photographed in the Lower Ninth Ward area of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

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Photo Friday: Alone

March 2, 2007

Photo Friday: Alone

This was taken during my second trip doing post-Katrina animal rescue. To see the subject of this photo, focus between the lower center window frame. She was very much alone when we found her and very pregnant. I could tell she was friendly, but wary of strangers. Unfortunately, our traps were full, so we couldn’t bring her back that night. I did take note of where we were and a few days later an animal rescue friend caught her. After that she wasn’t alone anymore.

I posted this photo partially because it was a happy ending and partially to shed light to an ongoing situation in New Orleans right now. To quote from the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary Spring 2007 newsletter:

"Cats who survived the hurricane but were not rescued have given birth to new generations who are now entirely feral. Under houses, behind the debris and forlorn cars, thousands of cats are spread across miles and miles of wasteland – unfixed and breeding. [snip] Cats are very capable creatures, even in these dreadful conditions. And the mathematics of a cat population explosion are mind-boggling."

Best Friends Animal Society, with the support of the Louisiana SPCA and the Humane Society of the United States, has launched a trap/neuter/return campaign across affected areas of New Orleans. Also involved are Spay/Louisiana (a spay/neuter voucher program for local communities), the Southern Animal Foundation and Animal Rescue New Orleans.

To learn more go to: www.bestfriends.org/feralcats

Photographed in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 18, 2005.

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Tattooed!

March 13, 2006

Paw Print TattooAfter years of pining over getting a tattoo, I finally got one. A black paw print on the underside of my left wrist. It’s simple, unique (not out of a book) and small, only about an inch by inch in size. I adore it. It means so much to me, on many levels.

I called my mother from New Orleans a few days before I went and gave her updates about what was going on with me, the happenings there, etc.. I also blurted out, "And I’m going to get a tattoo". Her response? "Cool! You’ve wanted one for years. I’m surprised you haven’t gotten one yet"!

It was done by Walt Clark on February 23rd at Rings of Desire, a piercing shop near the French Quarter. He was a guest tattoo artist there for only a short time. A friend of mine, Mark Morgan, also got a tattoo at the same time. His was much more elaborate and included a full-color cat on his shoulder. I’ll have to bug him for a photo. It really is a cool tattoo.

I wanted to wait until it healed somewhat to take photos. It’s still not 100% healed, but I was anxious to share. A few people warned me that I will have this when I’m 80 years old. You know what? That makes me happy. I’ll look down at my wrinkly old skin, with my tattoo all faded and remember my time in New Orleans, remember all the animals I helped save and be able to show my grandchildren a relic of my youth. Neat.

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A Ruby in the Rough

March 10, 2006

RubyThere are a couple of felines that found a special place in my heart. Ruby, the adorable kitty in these photos, is one of them. One of our star volunteers, Alice, named her.

Recognize her? She is the cat staring wide-eyed out of the humane trap that Craig and I caught one evening. You can see the photo of her in the blog post I made on January 25th.

Little Ruby was so sweet and used to "make biscuits" as soon as you started petting her. For the first few days, however, the cat area staff thought she was feral (wild). She was not feral, obviously. A lot of cats who we once thought were feral came out of their shells in just a few days. It amazed me every time, too.

RubyAnyway, I digress. Back to Ruby. During the Super Adoption event, she won the hearts of a mom and son family. The son was so gentle with her and I was very happy with the match. They had another kitty named Sapphire, so they wanted to keep her name. It was fate! She went home with them that day and I’m sure she’s spoiled and loved.

I will shamefully admit that letting her go to another family was rough, even though it is a perfect home for her. She wasn’t even my cat! I just trapped her and cared for her for a few days. Part of rescue work is letting go, however, and working at Celebration Station for 2 1/2 months taught me quite well on how to do just that. Rescue, care for, kiss them on their furry little head goodbye – all in a few days. No one ever claimed it would be easy, though, right?

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