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Nick in New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina
05:50 Jan 16 2008
Times Read: 647

July 31, 2006

New Orleans, Louisiana

Hurricane Katrina Animal Response

@ 2006 Corolla Fleeger

While trapping in New Orleans East, I saw a small black Papillon Mix dog wandering around the neighborhoods around 3 am. By late July of 2006, most of the stray dogs had already died from drowning or starvation, were captured, or were attacked and eaten by other dogs after the flooding from Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. I was eager to rescue this stray off the streets to avoid the inevitable in an area still devastated by the Hurricanes and flooding.

I followed him for some time before I determined the circuit he was utilizing and at one opportune location, I quickly set up a trap next to a tree in the middle of the block and then returned to the vehicle to wait. After a few minutes, I saw the Papillon approaching the corner of the street toward the trap. As he headed for the trap, something caught my eye and peripherally I noticed a movement near the trap and the tree. I glanced back at the trap and climbing down the tree next to the trap was a large bear. I knew that I was mistaken and acknowledged that long hours of trapping with no sleep was finally getting to me in the form of hallucinations. I peered more intensely into the dark and could make out its shape and movement to be the largest raccoon I have ever seen in my life. It was approximately 3 and 1/2 feet long and very well-fed from what I could discern. It was less than 6 feet from the trap and descending ever so slowly down the tree.

I quickly searched for the dog and saw that he was approximately 3 feet from the trap. I've seen raccoons snatch dogs and tear the dogs apart high up in trees. I was mortified that I had baited this trap and had likely enticed the raccoon out of the tree with the approaching target dog facing possibly the same fate and demise as the other dogs. I grabbed a catch-all and a flashlight and sat on edge. The Papillon could smell the food as he was heading directly toward it.

I couldn't determine what the best option was. I didn't want to jeopardize the dog's health or well-being, but I wanted to secure this dog. Admittedly, I also didn't want to confront the largest raccoon I've ever witnessed. The raccoon descended down the tree to approximately two feet from the base of the tree, but stopped abruptly as the raccoon probably either heard me or smelled the advancing dog. The Papillon seemed unaware of the raccoon's presence and had honed in on the smell of the bait in the trap. He headed straight for the trap. Though he was tentative at first, the Papillon entered the trap and the trap closed. I immediately turned on a 2 million candlelight flashlight at the raccoon, ran out of the vehicle, grabbed the trap with the dog in it and loaded it onto the vehicle in one swift swing. When I returned to my seat, there was a stunned raccoon still in the tree and a stunned Papillon inside the vehicle. I turned off the flashlight and watched the raccoon descend down the rest of the tree and head down an alley. I still remember that Papillon with the moniker I dubbed for him, "Nick," for "just in the nick of time."

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Trapping in New Orleans, Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina
05:32 Jan 16 2008
Times Read: 650

August 30, 2006

New Orleans, Louisiana

Hurricane Katrina Animal Response

@ 2006 Corolla Fleeger

In late August, we received a report of a dog confined in a Rent-A-Center with no access to food or water. The building next to it was collapsed and the building itself was partially in rubbles. It was purported that the building would be demolished soon. I brought the largest dog trap I had access to in order to ensure the best chances of trapping the dog since the location would be dangerous and based on the report, the timing would be limited.

It took over 40 minutes to haul the large dog trap over the rubble and underneath steel beams. The maneuverability was severely limited, the surfaces were covered with mold and jutting metal ends, and the footing was precarious at best. I had to enter with the large dog trap above my head and then force and wedge it around steel beams to gain access into the building floor. I was adorned with gloves, face mask, blankets to cover the trap, wet dog food, a chain to secure it and a catch-all in case the dog was observed on site. After setting the trap in the middle of the floor and securing it to a pillar, I searched the rubbles in several rooms and found that there was an outside access point in one of the rooms in which a dog could enter and exit the facility from the street. After finding that access, I realized that this was not as urgent as originally dispatched, but wanted to give it a try.

As I was on another animal rescue effort to secure a mother dog and her feral puppies, another humane animal trapper checked on the trap the next day and found a dog in the trap. He secured it, and when I returned from trapping in another section of town, I found the dog was held at the Animal Rescue New Orleans site (corner of Magazine and Felicity). I was excited to hear that the dog was safely secured and wanted to see the dog and the state/condition of the dog. I was shocked to find that I had enlisted the largest dog trap to secure a very, VERY small healthy black and brown Miniature Pinscher/Chihuahua Short Hair mix. No one had bothered to tell me that the dog was very small and that he could have easily been secured with a cat trap. I had maneuvered one of the largest dog traps into a dangerous setting when it was unnecessary to use such a large trap.

I thought that perhaps we had no information of the type or size of the dog and was later notified that we had that information the entire time, but no one had bothered to relay that to me.

Below are the pictures, documenting my entrance into the building and another set of the very VERY small dog that was secured later (Pictures by Professional Photographer, Carol Guzy).