Date: September 10, 2005
Time: 2:21 pm EST
Re: Hurricane Katrina Rescue Efforts
From: Debbie

After a long day on the road, we arrived safely last night around 7 pm. We were so excited to see a small welcoming committee waiting to greet us.    

Meeting us was Judy Hill, the director of the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter, along with several staff and volunteers. They were so gracious and welcomed us with true southern hospitality.

We toured the shelter and met some of the animals that will be coming back to New York with us. They greeted us with their own southern hospitality - wagging tails and nice wet kisses!

Upon arriving at our hotel we met a young lady who was walking her very happy little dog.  She told us she had been evacuated from Slidell, Louisiana and has been staying at the hotel for 2 weeks.  The hotel normally has a "no pet" policy but in light of the disaster has allowed them to stay in order to keep their family together. She was leaving in the morning to go back home and was so unsure of what awaited her. She thanked everyone helping her and you could understand how much it meant by the gratitude in her voice.

The devastation we've seen is humbling. We anxious to get to work lending a helping hand to save all of the animals we can. 

Debbie, Chris, Tom