In May of 2006, I had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans and help out some of the forgotten victims of Hurricane Katrina: the pets that were left behind. These animals have lived a hard life since the hurricane, doing whatever they can to survive. Animal Rescue New Orleans is doing what they can to help these animals through feeding stations, trapping, and medical care. It is an uphill battle to say the least, but this under funded, under staffed, and under appreciated organization continues to do what they can to help these animals find new homes and new lives.

After spending the better part of a week with these folks, I can tell you that the situation does not look good. Mother Nature’s response to the hurricane has been to nearly double the average litter size. It is not uncommon for ARNO to find an emaciated, diseased cat trying to support her litter of eight kittens. This response has caused the kennels of ARNO to simply overflow with kittens. When I left, they were quickly approaching the three hundred animal mark. That’s a lot of cages to clean, and a lot of cat food to buy.

If like these pictures, please show your appreciation by volunteering or giving what you can to Animal Rescue New Orleans. They do important work in a place where the crisis is far from over. They can be found at http://www.animalrescueneworleans.com/.