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Bobby Goes to New Orleans
By: Bobby Dorafshar

Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and as people were evacuating, they were told to leave their animals behind. Thousands upon thousands of dogs and cats were left to ride out the storm, and thousands drowned. Those that survived waited. I was in San Diego taking a Humane officer course and upon my return, convinced a good friend, Kash, to travel with me and all the supplies we could fit in the NLOL van and head for New Orleans.  

What we witnessed there will be seared in my brain for the rest of my life. The devastation was beyond what anyone can imagine. The images we all saw on TV can’t even come close to describing what hell we encountered… Dogs chained up, left to drown, mother dogs that ate their own litter to survive or perhaps to put their puppies out of their misery, dogs’ bodies in the street, shot to death. The smell of death was all encompassing. The city was dead. We would drive for miles and see no sign of life. No birds, no squirrels, no sound, nothing.  

What we did see was rescue teams, such as ourselves, searching for signs of life. When we would find a live dog or cat trapped in a house, hope soared. Too weak to bark or meow, they waited. When we finally found them, we were overcome with emotion when they would use their last drop of strength to wag their tails, head collapsing into our hands, grateful beyond imagination. We saved as many animals as the light of day would allow. 

Hurricane Rita drove us out, sending us home with as many dogs as our van could carry. Five days later, we returned to Louisiana, this time with a team of 20 amazing volunteers. Our caravan traveled across Arizona and Texas and after an accident with a big rig, two flat tires and exhaustion, we finally arrived. Exhaustion was replaced by adrenalin, fueled by the knowledge that hundreds of animals were still trapped, waiting for us to rescue them. Each rescue, each house we broke into to find a sign of life is a novel in itself. At some point, I want to write down every experience, every memory, but it is so difficult to go back to that place. 

We returned to Los Angeles with a caravan full of dogs and cats. We were greeted by a huge crowd of orange vests!  A sea of volunteers anticipating our arrival surrounded our caravan cheering and applauding. God it felt good to be home!  My rescue team cried, letting out all of the pent up emotion in each tear that fell. Rescue groups from Los Angeles took as many dogs and cats as they could, offering help to these confused and dazed animals.  

Not 24 hours later, I received a call that the Gonzalez rescue operation in Louisiana was closing down and all the remaining animals were going to be killed. A half empty plane was on its way to LAX, and we convinced them to load as many animals as the plane could hold and bring them to us. Over 125 dogs and cats arrived and again an amazing army of volunteers from around Los Angeles showed up to assist with the intake of these animals. 

The work was not yet over, it still continues. Louisiana residents are now searching for their lost pets. An unbelievably dedicated team of volunteers are spending every free moment to dig through the thousands of lost postings on the internet and try to find matches. Each success, each dog or cat that gets reunited drives the volunteers to keep trying, keep searching. (Click here to read a letter from one owner reunited with his dog, Angel.)

It’s been almost 3 months since Katrina but it seems like a lifetime to me. Now its time to find these dogs and cats a home here in Los Angeles. These amazing animals survived weeks upon weeks without food or water, waded though sludge and death to survive. It’s time for a happy ending for those who have not been reunited. A Super Adoption will be held on December 11^th at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica so that these animals can get back to being the devoted companions that they are.

For pictures and video, click here!