Brutus' Harem

This was a total sweety! We nicknamed him Brutus. He came to us for food. He must have been very well loved. He enjoyed cleaning himself. I am sure someone out there is looking for him.

Petfinder page on Brutus!

Petfinder on the Brindle Pit found with Brutus.

Still looking on petfinder for the third one. Anyone know where it is?

Email me if you want to write the story and I will add it here.

Phoenixville News Article

Orphans of Katrina
By BILL RETTEW JR., brettew@phoenixvillenews.com
12/29/2005

Dogs rescued by local group

EAST COVENTRY - In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, two area residents have banded together to save, house and then put up for adoption several storm-orphaned dogs.
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Rachel Laskowski, of Collegeville, and owner of Griffen's Gallery in Phoenixville, and Kristin Murray of Primrose Lane Farm in East Coventry Township, have teamed up to give dogs rescued from the Gulf Coast a temporary residence until new homes can be found.

More than 17,000 dogs were left abandoned by the disaster, with only 1,700 claimed to date by their former owners, according to Laskowski.

Now housed at the Primrose Lane Farm kennel are 13 Katrina canine survivors, while nine other dogs have already moved to new homes with new owners.

"It's very rewarding," said Laskowski, on Tuesday. "You're rescuing somebody's pets, after people who lost them, lost everything."

Laskowski is about to take her fourth trip to the Gulf Coast since the August tragedy.

"People were forced to leave their dogs. They thought they were coming back in two or three days and then they were told that they couldn't come back."

Many of those orphaned dogs are turning wild or feral and are starting to run in packs. With many dehydrated and hungry canines, Laskowski has been working with five-member teams at the site to rescue dogs.

The teams often watch the dogs gather in school playgrounds, which are some of the few open spaces in New Orleans.

They then follow individual dogs to their dens, which are commonly located beneath homes raised two or three feet above ground level, during mid-afternoon naptime. Then they block the exits and get under the house and remove the dog.

Following temporary housing in the South, and often following a daylong drive, dogs - often packed in crates from floor to ceiling - are then brought to the area.

The kennel is run by Kristin and John Murray and a dedicated staff.

The first priority is to reunite dogs with their original owners. A 90-day time period was established, along with a Web site, to ensure that as many dogs as possible might find their former owners.

Now, dogs are held for only a short period of time prior to adoption before members of the general public are allowed to adopt.

"It's the one thing left that we can give (Katrina victims) - the hope and the strength to go back," said Kristin Murray, on Wednesday.

Both Laskowski and the Murrays were thankful for the support of the general Phoenixville community, and in particular the Phoenixville Dog Park committee and the group's Web site.

"Dog people are great people," said Karin Murray. "They are fantastic folks [with] big hearts."

Kristin Murray was touched by a letter from the former owner of "Precious," Joan M. Bauer, who said she was forced to give away the three-year-old cocker spaniel/terrier mix because of the disaster.

"Precious is a very playful dog," wrote Bauer. "She is very very sweet, loves to play, she can be a bit rambunctious, (wild). She loves it outside.

"I would love for her to find a home where she can be happy. I still love her ... I hope someone out there can love her, too."

Kristin Murray talked about what it's like to find a match between new owner and pet.

"I like being Santa," said Murray. "The human connection - to see the joy that's brought to a person's life - that connection when the dogs and people finally meet up."

Donations for veterinarian bills and transportation expenses are encouraged. For those who wish to adopt, call Primrose Lane Farm at 610-310-1845. For more information, go to www.primroselanefarm.com

-END STORY

We are Griffin's Gallery, 12 Main St. Phoenixvile, PA - Still under construction, especially since I have been gone most of the time since Katrina! My husband Joe is holding down the business alone!
Griffin's Gallery Website

I am leaving January 3rd. If anyone want to donate old comforters for dogs, they can drop them off at My Daddy's Place at 14 Main St. Phoenixville, any time before then. And anyone that wants to get a haircut and drops off a blanket, Darryl will put have the proceeds toward shipping blankets!

Always search the whole house!

My most memorable rescue from my first tour was with partner, Lynda Marple. We had paired up together for a few days, with many uneventful hours. In September we were working from lists off of the internet, and other sources where people had requested we go to there home and rescue their pet. With the lack of volunteers, the lists were often updated weeks later, making the address redundant. Often we would approach houses where it was clear that someone had already entered, and often bluntly clear that many animal rescue groups had been their previously, for in September we were spray painting the houses with the date, and the action taken. F/W meant Food and Water were left. Rescued or P/U meant Pulled out. We would also mark the house, SPCA, or HSUS. Of course different rescue groups had different methods. Unfortunately I also saw some "rescuers" write judgemental messages on peoples houses when they found the animals confined and dead. Not all rescuers were patient and understanding, but also the stress of the things we saw, wore on people and pushed people over the edge making them irritable, sensitive, and out of normal character. But I digress.

Lynda and I approached the house. The description said we were looking for a cat in this house. We check around the house for an open door, or window. Nothing. We picked the best place to enter, the front porch glass door. Glass can be easily repaired, but we also sometimes had to break the wood that held the glass panes also. Crawling though the door into the mud filled room, it was clear that a cat would not be interested in hanging around down there. We immediately went to the second floor to begin our search. Cats like to hide under bed, in closets, under and in any little hole that they can find. We began looking around. Nothing in the bedroom. Where could it be? No one had yet entered this house, and there were no open windows. the odds were that the cat was here somewhere. Then in the hallway over some clothes a little head popped up. I put on my gloves. (Cat bites can put you into the hospital.) We opened a cat of cat food, and called out to him. This cat was not interested. Scared he ran to a corner. Blankets in had we approached. He darted. We did not want him to dart down stairs, into the mud covered furniture and possible out into the unknown world. Before we could even toss a blanket over him, he darted into a hole in the wall where a pipe came out. How in the world were we going to get in there. Lynda ran out to get the flashlight. I watched the hole, so he wouldn't come out. I discussed with Lynda how we were going to break through the wall. Then we looked around the room more, and noticed a little door on the wall at the other end. It was closet filled with all those boxes and miscellaneous stuff you throw into an attic. It was getting hot. My shirt was covered in sweat. It must have been 100 degrees up there. The weather was unseasonable hot this time of year.

The closet cubby hole went all the way through to where the cat ducked in. Hopefully he did not have a way out of here. I made my way through. I crawled in further. I didn't see him. I didn't see a way he could have gotten out, but you never know. There may have been a way. Then I saw him. He had ducked under the some board that made a temporary floor over the beams. I gathered my blanket and approached again. He moved. Finally I was on the board over top of him. I could move some of the boards away. Then I placed the blanket over the board where he was and grabbed him though the blanket. It was a struggle, but I had him. I secured my grip further and yelled out to Lynda that I had him. By this time she had run back down for a cat carrier! We were both dripping sweat. It had taken us over half an hour to catch this fellow but is was well worth it. As we were loading the cat into the car a neighbor called out to us.

In September is was very rare to see any residents. They really weren't allowed back in, but some had friends here or there, or snuck in somehow. The gentleman asked if we had gotten the turtles. "Turtles?" Apparently he knew that his neighbor had turtles. We all went back into the house. The neighbor called his best friend who was the brother of the woman who lived her. As we explored the first floor of the house the neighbor told him what we saw. We had to push our way into the back bedroom, for the couch and other furniture had floated against the door. Inside we saw a number of aquariums. Unfortunately the water level in the first floor was about 5 feet. The aquariums had been tipped over. Well all except one. We peered inside. An hairy eight legged beast stared back at us. Well I had never rescued a tarantula before! How to we take him? The aquarium was small enough to pick up, but wait the brother was telling us to go into the front bedroom.
Again we had to push in. Inside we saw five aquariums. Two had been overturned by the flood water, but clearly had been occupied by some reptile. Was it slithering around her somewhere? The first aquarium on the left contained three boas. The one next to held a big lizard, that I later learned was a Savannah Monitor. The one across the room contained a albino python. Ok, the tarantula aquarium we could fit in the car, but the other aquariums were around six feet long. We needed help. Time to call the Jersey Boys.



The Jersey boys were a team of animal control officers from New Jersey, headed up by a gentleman named Willie. I had their phone number and gave them a call. We would meet them back at the Triage center and lead them out here. We loaded up the tarantula and headed out. When we returned from the triage with the Jersey boys who then made it look easy. I gathered some pillow cases for them to put the snakes in. As soon as they opened the lid to the boas cage they were poised heads at the edge, anxiously waiting for the first chance at some food. Instead they were captured and on there way to the Lamar Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, LA, along with their housemates, a lizard, python, tarantula, and one cat! Unfortunately I don't think the turtles made it. We had the owners name and brothers contact information. Rarely did we get this lucky. I later heard the owner and his extended reptile family were reunited about a week after the rescue.

This day I learned you never know what you are going to find, and you should always check the entire house!

Guidelines to Trapping Dogs Under Houses in New Orleans

Trapping Dogs Under Houses in New Orleans.
-Rachel McKay Laskowski

These are just guidelines and notes about my experiences. Every situation is different, so be patience and flexible.

Supplies: Five person team recommended. Minimum of Two Ketch poles. Orange construction fence, very useful. Cans of wet dog and cat food. Gloves, for crawling under houses. Long sleeve shirts and jeans. Flashlights. Leashes. Crates. A small digging tool is useful.

Team Members:
Everyone should have everyone team members cell phone numbers programmed in their phones.
One person should be designated team leader. This person will be the ultimate decision maker when choices need to be made, and sometimes made quickly. You will need at least two people who are willing to crawl and slither through dirt, mud, bones, dog poop, go through small claustrophobic areas, who can use a Ketch pole, who are not afraid of growling barking dogs, and are willing to get bruised up. The smaller the person the better.

Team members should also be able to run some distances, and be able to climb over fences with some speed. Not every person has to be so physically fit. A good map reader, and note taker/paper work person who is good with details is needed. Team members need to be patience. Some time will be spent outside of the house while others are underneath. Some dogs take over a half an hour to remove, and someone always need to keep an ear under the house to see what the people underneath the house may need, or need to communicate to those outside.

1. FINDING THE DOGS - Check out local school yards and large open spaces in the early morning and late afternoon/early evening. Ask neighbors where they have seen dogs.

2. FOLLOW, don’t chase, the dog/dogs back to their favorite house/den. Three cars and people hopping out on proceeding on foot when the dogs go where cars can’t go, make it possible to track a dog. (Cell phones come in very handy to you’re your missing teammates, and telling your teammates where the dogs went.) You will find that the dog may circle a large multi-block area many times until he ducks under somewhere. They tend not go outside of a territory. You may also find both male and females mark their territory as they are being followed.

3. THE DEN - They may duck under a house and immediately duck out again, and you may not be able to contain them now, but they are likely to come back to that house. Write down the address and make a mark on your map. Name the house or area, so it is easy to discuss it with your teammates. “Let’s go back to the flag house.” Or “Let’s go to the PT Cruiser school.” Chances are you will find them napping there in the middle of the day, or early in the morning of the next day. You may find more than one dog. Many times we found at least two, commonly three, and sometimes more. If you can not contain the dog the first time you may want to block of a few of the entrances and exits, but leave some open with a quick way to enclose them next time you are around. When entering a home, or enclosing the area underneath a home, ALWAYS close doors, or keep the area you have contained closed, until you have confirmed there are no more animals.

4. CONTAINING - If you find a dog or dogs under a house resting, or if you have followed one to a den, one person should keep and eye on the dog at all times. Try to always hop out of the car with a flashlight, leash, and can of food. You don’t want to waste time blocking off the house when the dog has already slipped out somewhere. All people should immediately close off any exit that is easy to close off. One person should be at the back of the house, one at the left side, one person at the right side, on person at the front. CALMLY begin to gather debris and block off the house. Don’t start blocking off the house until everyone is there in position. You don’t want to startle the dog and have him run out before you are done. If you have an orange construction fence spread it along the longest length of open space and add debris to hold down the bottom and top of it. If you have a number of dogs under one house and one or two get away, don’t worry. Concentrate on the one that is there. The others will most likely be back tomorrow.

5. EXTRA SECURE - The area where the dog ducked in should be extra secure. Any area that shows wear that the dog has been frequently entering and exiting should be extra secure. They dogs will and can push the debris over. Remember dogs can climb fences! Half of them will!

6. FOOD LURE - When the house is secure, if the dog seems friendly and not too scared try luring them out with food. Toss them a taste of the food. Place the Ketch pole around the food on the ground. Let the dog get a taste. Lift the pole slowly when they are feasting.

7. POLE UNDERNEATH - If food is not an option, when the house is secure, one or two people should go in with Ketch poles to catch the dog. Two other people should be watching the back and one side, and the front and one side. The third person will need to listen to the people underneath and relay information, and be a runner for items forgotten and needed. Before people go under communicate with the other team members what you are calling each side of the house. The front and back are usually obvious, but what you are calling the left and the right sides can be confusing. I recommended calling the left and right side of the house, by the name of the person that side. If the space is small and low the smaller person may be able to do it alone. If the space is open and the dog and people have more room to maneuver, two people will be needed. Plan a corner to corner the dog toward. Add extra debris and have a person stationed there ready to catch the dog if he breaks out. If the dog cannot be cornered, and it continues to bypass the people under the house, consider allowing the dog out from underneath the house into and area that you have blocked off and trap and pole the dog outside of the house. When two people are under the house, each person should be near the dog when it is cornered. Usually one person can nudge the dog into the other person Ketch pole with ease. The smarter dogs will press their heads to the ceiling making it difficult to get the Ketch pole over their heads. Sometimes you may need to dig under a beam to get under the house. Usually the houses have more room once you are underneath, but you may still need to dig under beams and pipes.

8. ON THE POLE - When you have the dog on the pole, some will walk out, others will have to be “dragged”. Keep the pole at the top of their neck, so as not to break their throat. If that is not possible, keep the pole to the side of their neck. I also suggest the second person be behind the dog to nudge him from the behind. Sometimes you may need to move each paw for the dog to get them out. Most are too scared to be interest in food at this point. Sometimes the second Ketch pole will be needed outside of the house, and you will have to double pole them to get them out.

9. CRATE - Once the dog is on the pole securely, one of the outside people should get a crate, and have it ready for the dog to put in immediately when they exit. If there are more dogs, go back under. Feed and water the dog. Do not give the dog too much water or they will throw up. Don’t forget to write down the address where the dog came from.

10. CELEBRATE & CROSS TRAIN - Celebrate and don’t forget to drink water yourself! Give yourself and your team a break in the middle of the day. Take a nap, have some lunch. Also diversify. Each person who is willing and capable should have a chance to go under to catch the dog. As volunteers come and go everyone should know how to do everything so they can teach those coming in.

Special Notes about Puppies:
Ever hear the expression, “like herding puppies!” Try it under a house! If you can, grab them by the scruff. To get them out from underneath the house, I found it useful to grab one front leg and have them hobble out, if you don’t have room to carry them. Try carrying a seven week old puppy out with only a foot of room under the house, with pipes in the way! A second person is very useful to pass the puppy to in difficult areas!
If they are bigger and grumpy, get a net or sheet or blanket to capture them. Interesting enough, in the two litters we caught the males were the last ones to be captures. They immediately fled to the farthest corner most difficult corner to get to.

Black and White Roman St.

Petfinder Page on this dog.

This tells you how many dogs we/I have picked up. I have notes saying, "11/14 2516 S. Roman, near 2nd, Black & White" I don't remember this dog, but it fits in the time frame and street, to be the one we picked up. I am sure someone else remembers her? What was the story?

Dog eats Dog

Petfinder Page on this dog.

We had been in the area watching and catching the pack that was hanging around the Hoffman school, off of Washington Ave. There is a PT Cruiser in the middle of the lawn there. To clarify where the team was going, we often called this area the PT Cruiser school. We picked this girl up from underneath, 3023 Fourth St. near Derbigney. The interesting story about her was that we had been there the previous day, and by this house the previous day. There is/was a matress outside of the house in the front where it was clear a dog was nesting. When we returned the next time, she was under the house and we were able to enclose her. While the team was underneath house catching the dog, I grabbed my camera. Upon looking around I noticed what I thought was the legs of a cat on the matress. They weren't there the day before. I had heard in other neighborhoods stories about cats disappearing. Neighbors thought the dogs were getting them. I discretly found a trashbag and covered them up. The rest of the team had seen it yet, even through they had all walked by a few times. It is very easy to miss details in all the debris. After catching the dog, I mentioned it to Chris? I wanted her to confirm that they were cat legs. Upon second look she and I confered that it was actually small dog legs. We calmly asked each team member if they cared to see eaten dog. Some people are more sensitive. I have seen people burn out in about a week... crying, geting snappy and grumpy, thus the reason for asking. Eventually everyone looked.
Click here to see a photo of the mattress with the dog legs.
Right around this time all the powers that be were about to do an animal assessment. I reported this, address and all. I hope it helped convince the LASPCA that there was a large animal still a problem in the city! They seemed to need convincing that they still need help down there! This was back in mid-November. I had noticed many bags of dogfood, uneaten. It was clear to me that they were getting sick of random dry dog food. I hope this dog had already died, when she ate it, but who knows? She didn't appear to be an aggressive dog.

First Dog at Mud House on AP Rescue Day, the Rotti/Corgi

Petfinder Page on the Rottie-Corgi

The first dog that was completely pulled out from the Mud house, on AP Rescue Day. Date anyone?

An AP Videoographer followed us one mid day run, and what a day it was! Saul, the AP Videoographer lost his cell phone. We ended up pulling three dogs out from under a house we had to dig to get to. The space where the dogs were, was about ten feet deep, and only the width between two joists (16"). I don't have a link to the video anymore. The New York Times link is archived or something. If anyone has it please post!

Later we caught two other dogs napping in the school yard, and found many other around in the area that we couldn't get that day. We returned to the school, and caught other dogs, and other teams came with traditional traps to try to catch some too.

The last dog we pulled out. Nicknamed Mud Puddle.

Anyone want to write the story of the Mud House?

Mt. Era Baptist Church Shepherds

Petfinder page on the White Shepherd.



Petfinder page on Male Shepherd.

These two dogs are probably the reason why I decided to start a
blog. Petfinder has BF2191 listed as a male. I remember it as a
female, who was bonded with BF2189. I remember we followed a number
of dogs in the area of Derbigney and Third, these two stuck together
very closely. When we started to follow the pack, most of them split
up, but these two ran to the church. One ducked in, the other went
on. One rule about chasing dog packs. Take the one you can get and
focus on it. You can get the others later. They tend to hang around
the same area, usually an open space like a school yard. Then during
the day they run back to their dens which are certain houses they
have chosen to hide under. Many times they will have a few dens in
the area, but will stay in a certain area. I have followed dogs and
watch both male and females make their territory as they go along. I
would guess their area is about an 8 block radius. Usually not
crossing a major roads. The ones that I have seen cross major road
look to me to be more feral. My last November team (Troy, Kristen,
Chuck and Cadi) in November decided for the most part, not follow
them across major roads, for it was too dangerous for the dog in the
heavier traffic. So my question to the team is? Was the whiter
German Shepherd that we caught under the church a male or female?

Now there is sweet story about these two Shepherds. They helped us
find a third dog! We had caught the whitish one first earlier in the
day, but the other one got away. We really wanted to catch the male,
more traditional looking shepherd, who we had seen with the white
one, so we went pack that evening. (Or was it the next evening? Did
they get shipped together? I believe Laura and Anne were there,
along with Troy, Kristen and Chuck.) We blocked off the church. We
knew exactly where to block it and with what, for we had already done
it once. Troy went underneath to pole the dog. I went to the left
side, for we hadn't really check the back left for you could not walk
straight though on that side, but the dog could go through underneath
the house and possible out. I crawled under and popped up on the
back edge. The fence seemed to be as we assumed, complete with no
way out. Good. Too the left, I noticed a shadow that was in that
familiar shape of a sleeping dog. It was probably debris, but you
never know. I shined my flashlight on it. Yup it was a little black
dog sleeping under the steps of the neighboring apartment building.
Shit! I couldn't get to it. This fence was at least 8 feet high.
Troy had the Shepherd under the church, under control. "Chuck!" I
yelled. He was the closest one to me. "There is a dog on the other
side of the fence, under the steps. If you come around the back I
don't think he has a way out. He is sort of in a pit." Chuck came
to the rescue. Pole in hand, he made the catch look the dog was his
pet. The dog was mellow, a little surprised and began to bolt, but
Chuck had him already. In Chuck's word's, "The dog then jump up this
four foot wall and lead me out!"

I haven't found this little black dog on Petfinder. Chuck can you
find him/her? She/he was probably listed the same day as the Shepherds.
-Rachel

The Bitch in Heat I pimped

Petfinder Page on this dog.

So we were around Jackson St. This became one of my favorite areas. It was pretty much a straight shot off of Claiborne, down Jackson to "Hound Zero" at Magazine and Felicity. I believe Lynda M., Shelby and I were working together. Someone spotted dogs around Josephine and Robertson. Neighbors reported many dogs in the area. Lynda and Shelby spoted some going between some houses. I climbed over a very tall iron gate to get into the back area. Leash and a can of wet food in hand I zipped around the back to ensure that the dogs they spotted didn't slip out the back, when I almost ran into a beautiful gray and tan brindle pit! Ok, I love Rottweiler's and have no fear of them, but some of the pits around New Orleans made me extra cautious. She didn't seem to be running. She just layed there. I didn't have my pole with me, so I just reached into the wet dog food and offered her some. To my surprise she took it. Next handful I had the leash looped around my hand so I could lead her head into it as she went for the food the second time. No problem, but she was cautious and eyeing me up. I lead her around to the front where Lynda and Shelby were. A large cast iron gate blocked me. We had to find a way out. The back was open but I didn't want to go all the way around. Shelby checked a few door and found an exit. When we began to load her in the crate and into the car someone mentioned, "Hey she is in heat!" Just yesterday I mention, wouldn't it be great if we had a dog in heat, then we could easily catch some of these dogs.

Well it didn't turn out to be that easy, but I did pimp her around the area the next two days. More on that later....

October 2 Collie who had NO food since Katrina

Montgomery County Humane Society Page, See Dog Oct 2-2

One of my most rewarding rescue was on October 2nd, with my partner Jason. We had our list of requests of owners to break into their houses and remove their animal. The first house that we hit on the list that morning didn't look promising. Many of the houses we entered the day before had already been entered, and there were no animals to be found. This one hadn't been entered, but my hopes dropped when I saw the muddy furniture and floor with no paw prints around. We continued to enter, and then he heard us! Woof, woof. It wasn't a strong woof, but it was clear. We saw this once beautiful Collie with a very dirty coat. We approached and he retreated to a corner and blocked himself in with a couch. The catch was fairly easy with a leash. We loaded him into a crate and picked it up to take to the car. Jason and I looked at each other, "Is he in there?" His long fur hid how thin he was. It didn't feel like we were picking up anything but the weight of the crate. We searched the house for the occupants name on a piece of mail. Everything was muddy. I could see no food or trash that this dog might have eaten. He must have drunk the flood water. We found the name and headed out immediately to the triage center at the parking lot on City Park, at Delgado College. There the vets immedately gave him and IV to rehydrate him! Thank you vets! I can't imagine where he would have been today with out you. Today I see on the Montgomery County - Maryland website that his owner has been found! I hope she/he will have a place to live, so that they will be able to care for thier wonderful sweet dog again.

Dead Man's Rottweiler

Petfinder Page on this dog.

Montgomery County, MD Humane Society's Page - See dog Oct 2:4

It was October 2, when Jason and I were working in section 27, and told Al and his partner Mary? to hit our section because there were a lot of dogs that we were seeing. About an hour later we got a call from them asking us to come to Miro St. to pick up this Rottie, for they had to wait for the police. Then not only found the Rottweiler on the second story porch, but unfortunatley found the owner dead inside. I put my name on her to adopt her, for I love Rottweilers and she was very depressed and I thought it would be hard for her to find a home to nurture her out of her depression. She didn't like to go anywhere. She had to be dragged. Last I heard she was in a foster home in Maryland, and they have first option of adopting her. That is fine with me. I have recently found my female Rottie doesn't like other females in the house.