Where to go for information regarding animals

Dear Friends

It seems that every day, things change with regard to what should be done to help the animals.
Because of this i'm suggesting that to get the most up to date information, view the sites www.bestfriends.org (sanctuary in kanab, UT) or hsus.org (humane society of the united states) or aspca.org (american society of the prevention of cruelty to animals).

It seems they have very up to date information and each moment, something new is put on top of the old. I guess with the speed of the internet, as soon as a need is presented, it's wired all over the country and the problem is no longer a problem...actually it seems more like the problem is the abundance of items and volunteers coming in to fix the problem. Like here we are responding to an email to come down to Tylertown, Mississippi to work at The St. Francis Animal Sanctuary or send stuff there and now they are asking people to hold back, not come yet and send the items to Best Friends in Kanab, Utah where the items can be sorted and shipped as needed.

So this puts us in a situation where we are all ready to roll, we have supplies and some monetary donations ready help the animals, and we have no place that says they want us to come.

We have registered our desire to help with Best Friends, The ASPCA and The Humane Society of the United States. I think it will be awhile before they sort through the thousands of volunteers and begin to dispatch them to places in need. And then we have just heard that our local Humane Society and Animal Shelters are already getting Katrina displaced animals. So there is much work to do locally.

We still want to go down to the areas outside of the destruction and help in the effort to care for the animals who are being brought there first. We have the means to do so and that's what we want to do. So that is what we are planning to do of this moment.

I myself circulated emails with wishlists from places and now I am realizing that if you want to do something, you should check an animal welfare site first to see what is needed vs following the direction of an email that may be out of date by the time it reaches you.

If you want to adopt or foster an animal, get with your local shelters and Humane Societies and see if they have any animals you can take home for a few months until their families are found.

I am thrilled to report that since I sent the email stating that we were heading south, eight people have emailed me stating that they would foster animals. That is so heartwarming. Bless you for that. I'm sure there are many of you who are willing to do the same. I suggest call your shelters tomorrow and see if anyone needs a temporary home. I have faith that, even though it will take a long time, people WILL find their pets. I really hold on to that with everything in my soul because without that hope, I don't know what I would do. It's just so unimaginable.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for your good thoughts, prayers and donations. We will see that they help animals displaced by Katrina. We promise. If we do not go south, we will at least be spending the majority of the coming days working at our local shelters. That is something that most of us can and should do. I hope you find some time to also. And of course, let's not forget the humans.