From Camp Katrina to Conway, New Hampshire
Louisiana Rescue Animals Get Northern Exposure


by Dionne Charlet

Once upon a time there was a storm. Then another, and another. With financial recovery and rebuilding still underway in Gulf Coast communities like New Orleans, who has time to tend to any of the hundreds of animal rescues discovered weekly? Johnna Harris does. The Animal Services Director of the Humane Society of Louisiana spends most, if not all, of her 24-hour day dedicated to the care of animals saved from abandonment, mistreatment, or shelter overcrowding.

Johnna is part of a dedicated team of volunteers and animal activists, and just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a network of caretakers to combat animal cruelty.

Humane Society of Louisiana licensed investigators respond to a barrage of calls from all across the state. Daily reports are staggering: kittens tossed from moving vehicles, horses left in muddy corrals to starve, dogs poisoned. It is unfortunate that often a cruelty case is not discovered until an animal shows severe signs of exposure, but a surprisingly high number of animals are resilient enough to survive a tough situation. Once these animals are rescued, they need a safe place to recuperate, and ultimately, a home.

There was a time when HSL owned and operated a shelter in Old Algiers. Katrina destroyed that shelter. No federal assistance came for rebuilding. 
 
Dana Nesbitt, HSL President, stated, “The national, Washington DC-based Humane Society of the United States—which collected the bulk of contributions for Katrina pet relief and recovery—is not affiliated with the locally operated Humane Society of Louisiana or any of the area shelters still struggling to recover.”

A combined sheer force of will and the very lucky pre-Katrina acquisition of 3 acres in Tylertown, Mississippi, led HSL to the creation of what is now the Dixieland Animal Care and Evacuation Center.

With a cat-5 storm looming, all the Algiers shelter animals were evacuated to Tylertown. This site became the world-famous Camp Katrina, the staging point for 500 nationwide volunteers to transport animals out of flooded New Orleans. Now Dixieland, it is a sanctuary for about 210 dogs and cats that had no home. 

Harris explains, “We house a lot of animals that are difficult to adopt out, including fifty-plus cats at Tylertown. These were Katrina feral cats trapped during the storm aftermath.”

In addition to the feral cats, several of the dogs have been deemed ‘unadoptable’ due to illness, temperament, or need for extreme care. Dixieland is home for them unless a very special companion, approved after careful interview process by Johnna, chooses to take on the animal’s care and well being. 

Stuart, or Stu, an aggressive lab/chow mix, was rescued during Katrina and he has some behavior issues. He has a bite history and HSL works with a trainer on staff to manage him. Stu loves to play ball and swim. He enjoys a pool in the summer. Since his original owner has not come forward, a behaviorist would be an ideal owner for Stu. He is unpredictable, so he couldn't go for walks in the park, though Johnna and her staff do take him hiking on the grounds as a treat.

Miracle is a beautiful blue-eyed pit bull rescued from a rooftop in New Orleans during Katrina. “She got placed and ended up with the people who adopted her dumping her in a shelter in Indiana,” Harris mentioned. “She was micro-chipped to us, so the Indiana shelter was able to call us. I sent a volunteer up there to bring her back down. We have had her since. She is adoptable, though she has significant food allergies, an irritable bowel condition, and some barrier aggression. She is not great with all of the dogs. Miracle would require an experienced dog owner.”

Petfinder.com is a great resource HSL utilizes to advertise the current adoptable rescues. It is a little known fact that Johnna and the Humane Society of Louisiana are part of a growing number of rescue groups who tirelessly save animals from the threat of euthanasia due to overcrowded southern shelters. There is high demand for pet dogs in the New England region.

With the barest of essentials, including a cell phone, laptop, a large dog bed on the back floor of her white Dodge Sprinter van, food, bowls, and leashes, her own dog and one to two volunteers, Johnna transports nearly two dozen animals every few months to better lives. 

I spoke to Johnna on January 5th as she was traveling through New Hampshire snow about an hour and a half from dropping off the precious cargo of 11 dogs and nine puppies, all cozy and warm in their expertly-secured cages. 
 
Destination: Conway Area Humane Society, New Hampshire. 

“We have a heater and air conditioner now thanks to Joan Heck.” Johnna spoke with a thankful tone. “The puppies are 10 or 11 weeks. Mom and dad and babies were found all together living in an abandoned building and the puppies were running in the street.” 

“The dogs are all fine, and sleeping, though originally two of them got carsick. Two dogs liked the snow, but the rest of them were not crazy about it. They would jump in, put their feet down then pick up a foot and look at you like, ‘what’s the deal?’”  

Two volunteers signed up to assist for this trip, including Dixieland staff member Jessica Cameron. Sick with a fever and asleep on the dog bed during my talk with Johnna, Jessica is the primary dog caretaker at Tylertown and makes this trip often with Johnna. 

Snow-driving master Jennifer Rowan drove from her current home in Michigan to join the ladies and canines in Ohio. Rowan had come down to volunteer with the Humane Society of Louisiana during Gustav and stayed at Tylertown with Johnna for over a year before moving back north.

Every 10 hours the van stopped, a playpen was erected, and the puppies were placed outside to potty. The ladies walked each of the adult dogs so each dog could have some exercise and freshen up. When cats are transported, they enjoy an extra-large crate with a food and water bowl and a hammock, and they are taken inside at night on stops.

Most of the animals on this trip will find new homes through the Conway Area Humane Society. Johnna provides paperwork on each pet, including history and veterinary treatments. She leaves her card and contact information with each case and has come to know her adopting owners. Harris recently received updates on adopted Katrina dogs and got to see pictures of them after five years.

“I go into a gas station or grocery store in Conway, New Hampshire,” she said, “and it is not unusual to run into someone who has adopted one of my animals. The volunteers laugh that so many people know me thousands of miles from where I live.”

When I asked Johnna if she ever gets attached to a dog or cat, she told me, “I am getting ready to drop off Charlotte, whom I adore. She has been living with me at Tylertown. Charlotte will be going directly into New England Brittany Rescue and then into a home.”

Why north?

“North because they have room and they spay and neuter their animals,” detailed Harris. “People in New England states are always looking for puppies and adoptable dogs. They are not euthanizing for space. The shelter was empty when I got to Conway. I don’t want to transport them somewhere that has an overpopulation problem.”

By Tuesday, January 7 at 2 p.m., the Conway shelter had several applications on the puppies. “They tell the community that we are coming up with dogs,” elaborated Johnna, “and people show up to adopt them.”

If an animal is not readily adopted, or the animal is returned by its new owner to an out-of-town shelter, Johnna will take that animal back to Tylertown to live out its life at the Dixieland facility.

A tremendous amount of time is spent driving during transports, 27 hours through nine states, with staff taking turns at the wheel while someone sleeps in the back of the van and another rides shotgun. Though there is a wonderful network of friends’ homes along the road, animals and staff must rest occasionally at truck stops and hotels. It is not a glamorous trip. Johnna only accepts a shockingly low salary. When I asked Johnna why she does what she does for the animals, she stated simply, “They need a home.”

The Humane Society of Louisiana is a nonprofit private organization based in Algiers, Louisiana. Rescue, care and placement of these animals is completely paid for through donations. In short, the Humane Society of Louisiana needs funds!

Monetary donations keep the animals fed and cared for and provide for medical attention. Dog houses are needed, as are any kinds of building supplies. Volunteers are requested to assist hands-on with the animals, in fundraising activities, or with contacting government officials to affect change. You can volunteer for the Humane Society of Louisiana or donate by going to www.humaneLA.org or calling 1-888-6-HUMANE.