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misfoksI've been keeping up on updates from rescuers at the nola.com message board. Thanks to somewhat disconnected coordination and typical bureaucratic stupidity, rescuers are reporting myriad obstacles to getting their job done; meanwhile, stranded pets have been left for days without food or potable water, and many have already died.
It might sound silly and pointless, but it appears word from John Minnick, Public Liaison Officer of Homeland Security (john.minnick@dhs.gov) is that having enough people phone in to the White House could help bring better coordination efforts to the area. The goal is to have as many people as possible call today. I already have; for the cost of a short LD call it certainly can't hurt to try.
The number is 202-456-1111. Don't bother pressing any buttons, just wait and a live person will answer. They can only take down messages, not answer any questions. Briefly, these are the points rescuers have asked to have addressed:
1. Assist animal rescuers using all divisions of military in all affected areas
2. Send military vets in to assist
3. Build and secure shelters ASAP (there are some decommissioned military bases nearby which could be used)
4. Assist with out of state transports
These are direct cut-n-paste bits from the board, which I tried to summarize (and make a bit less hysterical):
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7196. CREDIBLE INFORMATION ON SEVERAL TOPICS by sfattorney, 9/11/05 21:39 ET Hi all,I am the san francisco attorney who has been in and out of this forum for several days now. My main focus was trying to get the Governor to request help to rescue the dogs and cats...her request was needed before national guard OR the feds could help. A John Minnick from the Dept of Homeland Security was helpful to several of us a few days ago. He is the one who told us to BOMBARD THE WHITEHOUSE TOMORROW WITH THOUSANDS OF CALLS. John is FINALLY down in Louisiana. He was sent there last night by his bosses. He and I just finshed speaking. He told me not to give up. He said that the problem is the Governor. She needs to hear from the Whitehouse and DHS that the dogs must be rescued. THE ONLY WAY THIS WILL OCCUR IS IF WE ALL CALL THE WHITEHOUSE. He also said that there is NO TRUTH TO THE RUMOR THAT THE DOGS WILL BE SHOT. I TRUST HIM COMPLETELY. He and I have spent a lot of time on th ephone, as I plan to involve myself in disaster planning for my area when this whole hellish ordeal is over. For now, please remmember to call tomorrow, and also please do not call John on his cell phone, which is posted on this site. Having to take all of our calls keeps him from being the animal advocate that he is trying to be. Just know that the Governor has DONE NOTHING to help animals. This is straight from John and also apparent from my several conversations with people on her inner staff - Andy Copland, "terry" and others. She is useless and will not act without SIGNIFICANT PRESSURE FROM WASHINGTON, WHICH FIRST REQUIRES US TO LIGHT UP THE WHITEHOUSE SWITCHBOARD. As John put it, even if we can now only save 25% of what we could have saved Friday, it's better than nothing. The DOD wants to help. It is killing the fed guys down there not to be able to make animal rescue a priority. Focus all of your anger and energy on the STATE AND THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE. SEE THE "MONDAY MORNING PROMISE" LISTING FOR THE PHONE NUMBERS AND CALL, CALL, CALL!! MONDAYS PROMISE 1000 CALLS TO THE WHITE HOUSE, MONDAY9/12Comments:202-456-1111......Switchboard:202-456-1414....FAX:202-456-2461.......comments@whitehouse.gov I was told by someone in Homeland Security yesterday, that believe it or not, the way to get this solved is to have 1000 people call the White House to demand that the military go in and save these animals.
Now that they have evacuated so many humans, its TIME, NOW, to save their best friends. The death toll of humans is much lower than expected, but not evacuating the pets has made the animal death toll unimaginable. AMERICA DOES NOT ABANDON IT'S PETS WHILE WATCHING THEM SUFFER A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH. This is cruelty to animals, which humans caused by leaving them, then not rescuing them, NOW HUMANS MUST SAVE THEM.
FLOODING THE WHITE HOUSE WITH CALLS ON MONDAY WILL GUARANTEE a call from the White House to the field to save the animals.
SPREAD THE WORD and thank you for standing up for the animals. You have saved many so far,and,manytocome!cassm07@aol.com for suggestions on how to get this out on forums and chat rooms today, tomorrow and until every pet comes home...
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7493. W. House: WHAT TO SAY by jmleong, 9/12/05 8:36 ET This is what I told people I e-mailed in my address book:1. "I'm calling to express my concern about the pets still left in the New Orleans area and surrounding parishes. I can't believe they are being left to die."
(Note: Sure, there are some strays running around, and the dogs on rooftops you've seen on television, but there are also thousands of animals still locked in attics and bedrooms and kitchens because the owner either was forced to evacuate without them or because they didn't think they'd be gone so long.)
You can stop right there if you want.
Or you can continue:
2. Ask that your message that the President intervene be passed on to him. Request that the President authorize troops which are not needed for human evacuations or body collection to aid in pet rescue. (As it stands now, in spite of assurances from General Honore and the governor's office, if a Guardsman enters a home and finds two corpses and one LIVING dog, he is allowed to take the corpses but he is not technically allowed to take the dog. I have no idea how a person can close the door to a home and leave an animal inside in that situation. It's barbaric, really.)
3. Ask that the President pressure Louisiana officials to allow animal welfare groups' rescue teams full access to areas where they know pets were left. (The groups have logged thousands of calls from people saying, "I left Fluffy in an upstairs bathroom, but I'm not allowed in the area/I've been shipped to Houston and I can't go get her.")
4. Ask that the President pressure local officials to allow animal welfare groups to build additional temporary shelters on property in the Algiers area of Greater New Orleans, as offered by the Louisiana Chapter of the Humane Society (they own the property, but must not be allowed access), and property on the East Bank of New Orleans as requested by the ASPCA.
5. Ask that the President pressure local officials to CEASE FIRE on animals unless an animal poses a threat to human life. There have been two documented cases of local officers shooting dogs -- one is actually on video and was posted by the Dallas Morning News -- and there are rumors of many more. (Note: Supposedly, our efforts have gotten the videotaped officer suspended from his job.) I realize that it might at first seem humane to shoot an animal which by now must be in miserable condition. HOWEVER, if there is a person there to shoot a gun, that means there is a person there to potentially save a life. As of Saturday, cats being rescued had been holding up pretty well, and dogs were coming in severely dehydrated and emaciated, but still lively enough to wag tails and give rescuers appreciative kisses.
6. LATE ADD-ON: Ask that the President make whatever declarations are necessary in Louisiana and Mississippi to allow that out-of-states veterinarians may treat Katrina’s animal victims. (An HSUS source was quoted on nola.com as saying the State Veterinarian has told out-of-state vets that all they can do is clean cages and stuff.)
Thanks.
It might sound silly and pointless, but it appears word from John Minnick, Public Liaison Officer of Homeland Security (john.minnick@dhs.gov) is that having enough people phone in to the White House could help bring better coordination efforts to the area. The goal is to have as many people as possible call today. I already have; for the cost of a short LD call it certainly can't hurt to try.
The number is 202-456-1111. Don't bother pressing any buttons, just wait and a live person will answer. They can only take down messages, not answer any questions. Briefly, these are the points rescuers have asked to have addressed:
1. Assist animal rescuers using all divisions of military in all affected areas
2. Send military vets in to assist
3. Build and secure shelters ASAP (there are some decommissioned military bases nearby which could be used)
4. Assist with out of state transports
These are direct cut-n-paste bits from the board, which I tried to summarize (and make a bit less hysterical):
----
7196. CREDIBLE INFORMATION ON SEVERAL TOPICS by sfattorney, 9/11/05 21:39 ET Hi all,I am the san francisco attorney who has been in and out of this forum for several days now. My main focus was trying to get the Governor to request help to rescue the dogs and cats...her request was needed before national guard OR the feds could help. A John Minnick from the Dept of Homeland Security was helpful to several of us a few days ago. He is the one who told us to BOMBARD THE WHITEHOUSE TOMORROW WITH THOUSANDS OF CALLS. John is FINALLY down in Louisiana. He was sent there last night by his bosses. He and I just finshed speaking. He told me not to give up. He said that the problem is the Governor. She needs to hear from the Whitehouse and DHS that the dogs must be rescued. THE ONLY WAY THIS WILL OCCUR IS IF WE ALL CALL THE WHITEHOUSE. He also said that there is NO TRUTH TO THE RUMOR THAT THE DOGS WILL BE SHOT. I TRUST HIM COMPLETELY. He and I have spent a lot of time on th ephone, as I plan to involve myself in disaster planning for my area when this whole hellish ordeal is over. For now, please remmember to call tomorrow, and also please do not call John on his cell phone, which is posted on this site. Having to take all of our calls keeps him from being the animal advocate that he is trying to be. Just know that the Governor has DONE NOTHING to help animals. This is straight from John and also apparent from my several conversations with people on her inner staff - Andy Copland, "terry" and others. She is useless and will not act without SIGNIFICANT PRESSURE FROM WASHINGTON, WHICH FIRST REQUIRES US TO LIGHT UP THE WHITEHOUSE SWITCHBOARD. As John put it, even if we can now only save 25% of what we could have saved Friday, it's better than nothing. The DOD wants to help. It is killing the fed guys down there not to be able to make animal rescue a priority. Focus all of your anger and energy on the STATE AND THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE. SEE THE "MONDAY MORNING PROMISE" LISTING FOR THE PHONE NUMBERS AND CALL, CALL, CALL!! MONDAYS PROMISE 1000 CALLS TO THE WHITE HOUSE, MONDAY9/12Comments:202-456-1111......Switchboard:202-456-1414....FAX:202-456-2461.......comments@whitehouse.gov I was told by someone in Homeland Security yesterday, that believe it or not, the way to get this solved is to have 1000 people call the White House to demand that the military go in and save these animals.
Now that they have evacuated so many humans, its TIME, NOW, to save their best friends. The death toll of humans is much lower than expected, but not evacuating the pets has made the animal death toll unimaginable. AMERICA DOES NOT ABANDON IT'S PETS WHILE WATCHING THEM SUFFER A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH. This is cruelty to animals, which humans caused by leaving them, then not rescuing them, NOW HUMANS MUST SAVE THEM.
FLOODING THE WHITE HOUSE WITH CALLS ON MONDAY WILL GUARANTEE a call from the White House to the field to save the animals.
SPREAD THE WORD and thank you for standing up for the animals. You have saved many so far,and,manytocome!cassm07@aol.com for suggestions on how to get this out on forums and chat rooms today, tomorrow and until every pet comes home...
----
7493. W. House: WHAT TO SAY by jmleong, 9/12/05 8:36 ET This is what I told people I e-mailed in my address book:1. "I'm calling to express my concern about the pets still left in the New Orleans area and surrounding parishes. I can't believe they are being left to die."
(Note: Sure, there are some strays running around, and the dogs on rooftops you've seen on television, but there are also thousands of animals still locked in attics and bedrooms and kitchens because the owner either was forced to evacuate without them or because they didn't think they'd be gone so long.)
You can stop right there if you want.
Or you can continue:
2. Ask that your message that the President intervene be passed on to him. Request that the President authorize troops which are not needed for human evacuations or body collection to aid in pet rescue. (As it stands now, in spite of assurances from General Honore and the governor's office, if a Guardsman enters a home and finds two corpses and one LIVING dog, he is allowed to take the corpses but he is not technically allowed to take the dog. I have no idea how a person can close the door to a home and leave an animal inside in that situation. It's barbaric, really.)
3. Ask that the President pressure Louisiana officials to allow animal welfare groups' rescue teams full access to areas where they know pets were left. (The groups have logged thousands of calls from people saying, "I left Fluffy in an upstairs bathroom, but I'm not allowed in the area/I've been shipped to Houston and I can't go get her.")
4. Ask that the President pressure local officials to allow animal welfare groups to build additional temporary shelters on property in the Algiers area of Greater New Orleans, as offered by the Louisiana Chapter of the Humane Society (they own the property, but must not be allowed access), and property on the East Bank of New Orleans as requested by the ASPCA.
5. Ask that the President pressure local officials to CEASE FIRE on animals unless an animal poses a threat to human life. There have been two documented cases of local officers shooting dogs -- one is actually on video and was posted by the Dallas Morning News -- and there are rumors of many more. (Note: Supposedly, our efforts have gotten the videotaped officer suspended from his job.) I realize that it might at first seem humane to shoot an animal which by now must be in miserable condition. HOWEVER, if there is a person there to shoot a gun, that means there is a person there to potentially save a life. As of Saturday, cats being rescued had been holding up pretty well, and dogs were coming in severely dehydrated and emaciated, but still lively enough to wag tails and give rescuers appreciative kisses.
6. LATE ADD-ON: Ask that the President make whatever declarations are necessary in Louisiana and Mississippi to allow that out-of-states veterinarians may treat Katrina’s animal victims. (An HSUS source was quoted on nola.com as saying the State Veterinarian has told out-of-state vets that all they can do is clean cages and stuff.)
Thanks.
