August 30-August 31, 2005

 Creating A Shelter Out of Thin Air

The LA/SPCA was faced with an unimaginable and overwhelming task. Its shelter was destroyed. A shoestring staff had traveled to Houston and the remaining staff had evacuated to other cities and states. There was an urgent and pressing need. New Orleans has always suffered with a high stray population and there were certainly thousands of strays that were victim to the storm. For those that had survived they would need immediate rescue and shelter. The LA/SPCA also realized that there were residents who did not or could not evacuate and their animals would need rescue and shelter as well. No one however could imagine just how high those numbers would be.

Maloney worked the phones with great urgency. A shelter had to be created. A staff had to be housed. Supplies were needed. The Houston SPCA provided the LA/SPCA with cages and basic sheltering supplies. After communicating with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDA&F), a shelter was created in Gonzales, Louisiana – 60 miles west of New Orleans near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Lamar Dixon Exposition Center, normally an equestrian center, became what would ultimately become the largest animal shelter and animal rescue operation in U.S. history.