Jupiter Florida Online Guide

On Sunday morning,September 11th, we were in communication with our New Orleans contacts and hit the road for the New Orleans area to pickup twenty one of their most critically ill and injured rescues of the day. We arrived in Gonzales, LA about an hour northwest of New Orleans, around 6:00 p.m. and had dinner while we waited for our contacts to arrive. It became kind of a covert mission because of the order from top government officials to shoot and kill all remaining animals in New Orleans. So when the people we were meeting arrived with five vans and a boat, we were asked to drive to a dark, secluded truck stop to make the exchange. I felt like we were making a drug deal, rather than rescuing animals. It is really quite sad that these courageous people were put under this kind of pressure and made to feel like common criminals in order to save animals.

For the next two hours, we set up a M.A.S.H. field unit and in the pitch black night with only flashlights to see by we began running IV fluids, sub-Q fluids, medicating, cleaning and feeding sick and dying animals, all of which had just come out of the waters of New Orleans that day. They were dazed, confused, in shock and all were severely under weight and dehydrated. As soon as we felt that we had everyone stable enough to get back on the road, we hugged the necks of our new found friends, none of which we had met before that night, but all sharing in a common bond; a love for animals. We all came from different corners of the country and with tears in our eyes, we said our good-byes and drove away into the night. We headed home to Florida while they returned back to the war zone.

Katrina5 We made it back to Pensacola by 3:00 a.m. and got three rooms at a hotel. We gave a whole new meaning to the "Pets Welcome" slogan at that hotel, let me tell you! We unloaded 21 crates, and had to clean and wash them because everyone had diarrhea from eating their first meal after two weeks of starvation. We emptied kitty litter boxes, we medicated, we ran fluids and we split 21 animals among three rooms. About the time we thought we could rest (which was about 5:30 in the morning), the dogs started to howl and several had blowouts of diarrhea. So we had to start the whole process over again. One thing people who are thinking about doing this kind of work must remember, if you are going to do the job, you MUST do it right. These poor animals had been through pure HELL and they deserved to be kept in comfort throughout the trip.

We finally gave up on any kind of rest. Two of my employees and one volunteer were now throwing up and had diarrhea like I have never seen before. One was convinced she had contracted the Ebola virus on the trip. I assured her that she did not have Ebola, but I was concerned, after all we had been handling these animals before they were bathed and de-toxed. Even though we wore gloves, we were still at risk. By the time we hit Tallahassee, Tanya and her husband were so sick that they could no longer make the trip, so we had to transfer their load and leave them in Tallahassee. Meanwhile, I had called ahead and two friends rented two Econo vans with air conditioning and started driving north so that we could transfer the animals over into the air conditioned vehicles. Up to this point, we had been transporting the sickest of the sick in the back of a Ford SUV and the rest in a Budget Box truck which was too hot for them. We met around Live Oak, Florida, on State Road 10 and made the transfer. Before doing so though, we had to walk animals, clean cages, feed and water, medicate and give fluids which was about an hour to two hours worth of work.

We got back on the road and I felt a lot better knowing that everyone was in air conditioned comfort for the remainder of the trip. We got into Jupiter around 2:30 Tuesday morning, September 13th. I had my hospital manager / veterinary technician on stand-by with cages set up with fluffy bedding, food and water. We had informed our veterinarian ahead of time of our medical needs. By 4:00 a.m. we had everyone settled into their new home and sleeping soundly, hopefully having sweet dreams.

Today is Thursday, September 15th, and it is amazing and almost magical the transformation in some of the animals over the past several days. Some were healthy enough to be spayed and neutered today, while others must wait until they are stronger or healthier. Some are heartworm positive and it will be even longer, but it looks like all will make it. On a sadder note, we had to put two adult cats to sleep because they were very ill and tested Aids and Fe-Luke positive. It made us sick. You go so far to save an animal and then have to have to put it to sleep because it is contagious and terminally ill. I take comfort in knowing that they found love and comfort in their last few days of life and that they knew someone cared.

We hope to make another run next weekend. There are so many more to be saved and that need our help. However, we want to be organized in our rescues and to do it right. We are so grateful to all of you that have told our story and that have supported our efforts. I would ask that after this crisis is over to please not forget us. Safe Harbor and the animals are in our care every minute of every day. We are so passionate and dedicated about the animals and what we do, it should not have to take a national disaster to mobilize us into action. Safe Harbor survives on donations and must meet a 3 million dollar a year budget to be able to continue our work for the animals. There are no boundaries when it comes to a helpless animal, they all need us, they need you!