March 26- April 17, 2006

 A Community of Animal Lovers Re-connect

The LA/SPCA was re-building like its fellow New Orleanians one day at a time. There had been little cause for celebration for most people post-Katrina. Sadness still hung in the air. For those whose lives were touched by animal tragedy the ability to carry on was all the more challenging. But there was a need to start the healing process. The LA/SPCA did just that when it held its annual dog walk event Dog Day Afternoon on March 26, with the theme Pawsitively New Orleans – Come, Stay, Heal. On that Sunday afternoon a community of animal lovers came together to celebrate the human-animal bond. For the first time since Katrina there was a celebration and hundreds of animals and their human community re-connected with one another. A few weeks later, on April 23, we would hold our annual Bark in the Park at the local baseball stadium Zephyr Field. It’s an opportunity for dog lovers to enjoy the great American pastime with their canine companions.

While the LA/SPCA continued to re-build its programs, the former warehouse was still being turned into an animal shelter. The roof work was finally completed five months after moving in. Socialization yards where staff and volunteers could interact with dogs off-leash were built on the property. Rooms were being erected inside the warehouse that would serve as enclosed, climate controlled cat rooms, a public office for client care, a meeting/all purpose room and the clinic for the shelter animals. During this period we also began accepting applications for our Care Cadet Program, a highly popular educational program for adolescents which is designed to develop responsible pet owners and humane educators. The program classes kicked-off June 11, 2006.