Leila...well spoken! One point I would like to make is that I have heard
NOTHING directly from T-town from ANYONE about the conditions there or the
fact that some of that animals are adopteable. In fact, I have been told
quite the opposite. You peopel who are areound them need to get out the
names, ages, quirks, etc if we are to concentrate on getting them homes. The
only reason I kenw Elizabeth was leaving is that I heard it through a second
party...And as far as shelter goes, with the donations received there should
at LEAST have been enough money to construct some kind of a shelter for
these dogs to help them in the heat and storms. Granted, it would probably
only be a pole barn and not keep the ants, bees, snakes, etc out...but al
least it would be shaded and could be cooled with fans. Not complaining or
finding fault with HSLA, but something should have been done 6 months ago
fir the ones still remaining. Get me photos, names, problems, etc and I will
most definately try to find a dog a home. And I am not sure that knowing
their quirks will make it easier as it certainly lowers the number of people
who can take them, but they all deserve love and a home of their own...if
they are indeed adoptable. Please stay in touch and get better soon. Give my
best to Elizabeth, Billie
>From: "Leila Baldridge" <keegsmom
cablelynx.com>
>Reply-To: HSLATylertownyahoogroups.com
>To: HSLATylertownyahoogroups.com
>Subject: [HSLATylertown] Re: Remember that Charity begins at home
>Date: Sat, 05 Aug 2006 06:20:55 -0000
>;
>I don't get around to posting much, but I have to put my 2 cents
>;worth in here. First, to Billie and all of you who work to find homes
>;for other dogs throughout the country, I respect what you are doing.
>I can't even read the posts of "urgent" cases anymore because I can't
>;save them all and I would absolutely go crazy if I dwelled on all the
>defensiveless animals who die every day never knowing love on this
>earth.
>;But that said, we do need to remember that this group was initially
>set up as a CK group, and it really doesnt seem like the animals
>there are the focus anymore. We have plenty of adoptable animals in
>Tylertown, not only dogs, but cats. It is true that some of our
>animals are not adoptable, but most of them are. And even those few
>that may never be adoptable deserve the attention every day of people
>who truly love them as they are. Anyone who knows Elizabeth knows she
>is a saint, just like Julianne said. I am in Tylertown usually every
>;other week. I have seen for all these months just how deep her
>dedication is. No matter tired Elizabeth is, she never calls it a day
>until all the dogs have had both their physical and their emotional
>needs taken care of. But no matter how hard we try, we can't be a
>real substitute for the loving family that each animal deserves. And
>no matter how hard we try, we can't change the physical discomfort
>and real danger that goes along with living in an outdoor situation
>in the summer heat here. Not only the heat, but the rats, the holes
>;in the ground big enough to cripple a cow, the storms that come out
>of nowhere and leave panicked dogs knee deep in water,(Elizabeth and
>I have spent nights out in severe thunderstorms trying to calm Ray
>the unsocialized storm phobic chow as he tore his mouth and paws up
>and lost bowel control trying to escape), snakes that have even come
>up in the dog runs, mounds of fireants that we can't get rid of,
>swarms of flies--just to name a few. To keep the dogs water at least
>;lukewarm (cool is too much to ask!) we spend much of our time hauling
>water in jugs because as soon as one water run is done, the water
>;bowls are getting hot again. To keep the grass low enough to see the
>snakes and the holes, Elizabeth mows 3 acres with a push mower!
>Many times when I would leave, Elizabeth would be totally by herself,
>just like Julianne said. I worried that she would get snakebit or
>fall in a hole and break a leg, or have something even worse happen.
>Not to be dramatic, but these are the conditions the dogs live under,
>and the conditions Elizabeth has lived under for most of the time
>since the huricane. When I am in Tylertown, I work from daylight til
>after dark, and frequently go to my tent without even thinking about
>;a shower. But then after a few days I go home to my family, hot
>meals,showers, clean beds--and worry about the animals (two and four
>footed!) left behind in Tylertown.
>Elizabeth won't be there forever. As Julianne said, Elizabeth is
>going home next week and Shelli will be coming down for several
>weeks. After that, we don't know whats going to happen. I will
>continue to be there for my usual time every other week,(although
>after having kidney stones removed from my right kidney last week, I
>now have to have them removed from the left one, so I may be out for
>another few weeks--don't know yet.) I know Johnna will be there as
>much as she can, but she does a lot of transports and has other
>;responsibilities.
>So the bottom line is, we DO need to find homes for our CK dogs--and
>most of them are adoptable if they are given the right situation. It
>makes me so sad to see our older rotties--Ginger, Duchess, and
>Julius. They want a home. They need to be sleeping in someones bed
>and being pampered in their remaining years. When I sit with Ginger
>she keeps her head on me and tries to keep me from leaving. Some of
>these dogs are not cat safe or don't like other dogs, but whats to
>keep them from being a cherished member of a one pet home? We have
>already lost some of them. Does anyone remember Leo the black chow?
>;My last memory of him is when I was giving him CPR on the floor of
>the front room after he was found unresponsive in his house. We will
>never know what happened--snake bite, heat stroke, spider or bee
>sting, heartworm (he was positive)--all we know is he's dead and
>after all he had gone through he should have had a home of his own.
>We all did so much in the days after Katrina when we worked together.
>There arent THAT many dogs left, but the ones that are there need
>homes NOW. And Elizabeth needs to know that we all appreciate the
>sacrafices she has made-- that we appreciate it enough to make sure
>the animals she has given so much for find the homes they so deserve.
>This group has such wide coverage and such dedicated people on it, if
>a few people would each make one dog their responsibility to research
>the dogs story and temperment and needs (Elizabeth can give you all
>that info) and really try to find a home or even a longterm foster
>for these remaining dogs--what a difference it would make.
>;One last example, and I'll shut up. Anyone remember Diamond? She is
>the cattle dog who gave birth in a live trap and refused all contact
>with humans ever since the hurricane. She lives with me now. The
>totally unreachable dog who was said to be hopeless now eats all her
>meals out of my hand, lets me stroke and groom her, sneaks treats out
>of my pocket,and gives me big (toothless)grins. She has not been a
>real easy dog to work with, but she has re-paid everything I did for
>her tenfold. Even our really difficult dogs have the potential for
>adoption, if someone loves them enough for who they really are.
>And once again, thanks to everyone who helps with our mission. Those
>;of us who are here realize that most people can't get back to MS
>often, or at all, but don't forget the animals of Camp Katrina. We
>all worked together to rescue them from the hurricane--please don't
>;forget that some of them are still waiting for a forever home.
>;Leila
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