Operation Pet Lift
Rescued dogs head for California on flight funded by oil tycoon
By BRIAN SKOLOFF
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO
- The first major airlift of dogs from the hurricane-battered Gulf
Coast left Louisiana on Sunday, carrying about 80 pets to new temporary
homes in California.
The Continental Airlines flight from
Baton Rouge, La., was chartered for about $50,000 by Texas oil tycoon
Boone Pickens and his wife, Madeleine, in a movement dubbed "Operation
Pet Lift."
Some dogs were placed in cages in the cargo section
while others rode in the passenger cabin, where they barked and wagged
their tails.
"They'd been in cages far too long. We felt like
they needed to be free so they sat on our laps, and we played with them
the whole way," said Christine Penrod, Madeleine Pickens' sister, who
accompanied the animals on the flight.
About half the dogs
were headed for San Diego, with the rest bound for San Francisco.
Sunday's move was organized by PetRelocation.com, based in Austin,
Texas.
"The goal was to help rescue 200 dogs," Pickens'
spokesman Jay Rosser said. "They're overjoyed that they were able to
rescue 80, but clearly disappointed and dismayed at the bureaucracy,
which prevented them from taking the full 200."
Organizers
complained that some legal requirements were impractical, such as
waiting out a 30-day quarantine before transporting the animals.
Kelly
Harrington, director of disaster response services for the American
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said a makeshift
shelter for up to several thousand dogs had been set up at the
Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, La., about 45 miles northwest of
New Orleans.
She hoped additional dogs would be flown out in the coming days, but said the effort was taking time.
"Every
animal has to be vet checked, vaccinated and microchipped ... so we can
track these animals in case an owner does find them," Harrington said.
Petfinder.com was setting up a database of pet pictures to help reunite owners with lost animals.
Andrew
Rowan, executive vice president of operations for the Humane Society
United States, said animals must be moved out of the Gonzales facility
quickly to make room for "maybe 50,000 or more dogs and cats in New
Orleans that need to be rescued."
"There are vans and cars and
trucks all over the place," he said. "Dogs are barking, cats are
meowing. It's a tremendous logistical operation to provide the care
that these animals need."
The Humane Society's Dave Pauli,
director of the Gonzales facility, said 200 animals were shipped out
Sunday by truck to Houston, but rescue teams expected to bring in about
300 more in the afternoon.
About 200 animals have been reunited with their owners at the facility.
"That's
what keeps us going," Pauli said. "Every one of them brings a tear to
your eyes and makes these sleepless nights worth it."