Just out., January 20, 2006, Page 13, Image 13

JANUARY 20. 2006
JUStjOUt 13
northwest
/
Dandelion Dogs
to the Rescue
Portland animal rescuers took lead role
in hurricane-devastated New Orleans
by Jaymee R. Cuti
t 60 years old, Judy McCarthey of
Dandelion Dog Rescue didn’t expect her
work would bring her to the epicenter of a
national disaster. Yet after a large donation
> from a national pet store chain, she round­
ed up a caravan of dedicated volunteers and joined
national efforts to retrieve animals suffering in the
toxic flood waters of New Orleans in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina. During the seven weeks she spent
in the region, before returning to her own rescue
operation located in Forks, Wash., McCarthey broke
down doors, crawled through rubble, climbed
through attic space and duct work and reached her
hand out to cats and dogs abandoned by their own­
ers in the wake of a mandatory evacuation.
McCarthey’s animal rescue work in New
Orleans brought her to some of the most devastat­
ed neighborhoods in the city, where abandoned
animals were wasting away, some after more than
d
five weeks without food or clean water.
With strong support from Portland’s gay and
leather communities, Dandelion Dog Rescue
became a lead animal rescue organization in the
region after receiving a donation of 4,000 pounds
of dog food and 2,000 pounds of cat food, along
with leashes and other supplies from Petco.
“The first time 1 realized there was going to be
a problem was when the news reported that people
weren’t allowed to bring their animals [during the
mandatory evacuation], but I still had no concept
of the magnitude of it,” McCarthey said.
Once word spread that a Dandelion Dog team
was preparing a rescue mission to the region,
approximately $6,000 in donations poured in,
mostly from a network of leather mamas and dad­
dies who are supportive of the lesbian-owned and
operated organization. The Portland Lesbian Choir
also donated a portion of its proceeds from a New
Year’s Eve dance to Dandelion Dog Rescue.
McCarthey and her team of three volunteers
went by caravan to New Orleans, arriving Oct. 16,
and immediately began setting up feeding stations
throughout the city to draw hiding animals out.
According to volunteers, the animals had
adopted a pack mentality, hiding by day and trav­
eling in groups at night to search for food.
McCarthey’s team joined a makeshift rescue
headquarters staffed with volunteers from
Muttshack Animal Rescue Foundation of Texas,
Best Friends Animal Society of Utah, the Humane
Society of the United States and individuals from
across the country. The groups organized an
Animal Rescue New Orleans team, which followed
leads of animal sightings from other relief workers
and police, navigated wiped-out neighborhixxls
and broke into many abandoned homes, searching
for starving animals inside.
“We’ve taken the lead role in that we’re a
501 (c)3 nonprofit, so we’re approved for all the fed­
eral funding programs," said McCarthey.
The team of 35 volunteers helped in rescuing
between
4,000 and
6,000 ani­
mals, and
more were
Slomo, a pit mix rescued from
being
New Orleans, is loved by his new
found
family, Lillith and Isabella Hedum.
alive after
80 days without food and clean water, when
McCarthey’s team returned home seven weeks later.
On the street, rescue workers encountered dogs
with broken legs, injuries sustained during the hur­
ricane, acute digestive disorders, emergency births,
dehydration, heart worms and various eye and body
infections caused by noxious waters and sewage
soaking the city.
“There are still 2,000 animals down there that
haven’t been rescued and that need a home,” said
McCarthey, as the city workers prepared to bull­
doze huge sections of New Orleans’ outskirts.
The Dandelion Dog team brought six dogs to
the Pacific Northwest. Two were adopted after vol­
unteers obtained releases from their owners. The
remainder are in foster care for six months or until
owners are located.
“The best-case scenario is always to reunite
them with the owners,” McCarthey said.
Photos of the rescued animals are posted on the
organization’s Web site, www.dandeliondogrescue.org,
and at www.petfinder.com.
Dawn Webb, vice president of Dandelion Dog
Rescue, who “directed traffic” and handled the
paperwork end of rescue work from the Northwest
while McCarthey was in New Orleans, described
the rescued animals as “emotionally stunted.”
“They need lots of patience and love. They’ll
love you forever because they know they’re safe
now,” she said.
Government funds are set up to fly animals home
to their owners from rescue shelters. The funds will
also cover the cost of heart worm medication and
other infections caused by the hurricane’s aftermath.
McCarthey, who calls herself a “dog juggler,”
started Dandelion Dog Rescue, a no-kill shelter, 11
years ago on a five-acre facility. The organization
has placed more than 2,000 animals in the past sev­
en years, including llamas, goats, horses, ferrets,
iguanas, a tarantula, a cockatiel, hens, skunks and
a python. The property is also home to a commu­
nity of approximately 40 feral cats.
The operation is making plans to move closer to
its Portland volunteers and searching for a property
in Northwest Oregon or Southwest Washington.
Dandelion Dog Rescue is seeking donations and
volunteers to assist with the move of the shelter
and relocation of dogs and cats from New Orleans
to foster care in Portland.
“We’re kxiking for a place to have a really beau­
tiful facility where animals can play and be happy
and healthy and can be rehabbed if they need it,"
McCarthey said.
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