Still in Exile After Katrina, Humane Society From New Orleans Seeks Urgently Needed...

Still in Exile After Katrina, Humane Society From New Orleans Seeks Urgently
Needed Support for Gustav Relief

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The staff and animals of the Humane
Society of Louisiana safely weathered Hurricane Gustav, along with volunteers,
evacuees, and more than 150 pets, at Tylertown, Mississippi. The agency is
increasingly concerned, however, about reports it has been receiving about
impacted animals and shelters in the disaster zone.
HSL has established a GUSTAV RELIEF FUND and is requesting urgently needed
support for the hurricane's animal victims. They are also helping to
coordinate volunteers, particularly those with transport vehicles, who are
willing to work in a supportive role to local animal control agencies and
shelters requesting help.
HSL's needs are being regularly updated on the group's web site at
www.HumaneLA.org . Monetary gifts are particularly needed, so contributions
can be used to address specific needs as they arise. Donations can be sent to:
Humane Society of Louisiana, PO Box 740321, New Orleans, LA 70174. Donations
of supplies can also be sent to the organization's emergency shelter at 115
Obed Magee Road, in Tylertown, MS 39667. Animal carriers, folding crates, pet
food, medical supplies, gas cards and gift cards for supplies are needed.
The group's small emergency shelter in Tylertown, two hours north of New
Orleans, sustained minor damage, and one portable building was destroyed by
Gustav. Their volunteer chapter in Acadia parish, however, lost the roof of
its dog housing area, along with fencing, kennels, and supplies. Other small
shelters in the region, many still without electricity, are contacting HSL, to
express their urgent need for supplies and support.
Founded in New Orleans in 1988, the Humane Society of Louisiana's shelter
was destroyed during Katrina in 2005. Since then, the local agency, which is
not affiliated with any national animal protection charity, has been running
its statewide programs from its emergency shelter in Tylertown. HSL evacuated
to the site with 157 animals before Katrina, and they have since cared for and
sheltered more than 2500 animals onsite. The group plans to return its
headquarters to the city.
"It's hard to believe that we just held the unveiling of the National
Katrina Animal Memorial statue in the New Orleans City Council chambers last
Friday," says HSL Executive Director, Jeff Dorson, "And now, here we are
coping with the aftermath of another hurricane."
As a statewide, nonprofit organization founded in New Orleans 20 years
ago, HSL is in a unique position to distribute needed resources to small
shelters and rescue groups in need. The grassroots group has little
administrative overhead, so donors can be assured their contributions will go
a long way towards directly helping impacted animals and humane organizations
in Louisiana.
SOURCE Humane Society of Louisiana

Jeff Dorson, Executive Director of Humane Society of Louisiana,
+1-601-876-2781 or +1-888-6-HUMANE