Hurricane Katrina Emergency Animal Shelter

The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA), the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association (LVMA), the Louisiana Animal Control Association (LACA), the LSU AgCenter, and the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) are managing animal evacuations and recovery plans for New Orleans pets and displaced animals.

Hurricane Katrina Emergency Animal Shelter at

LSU Ag Center's John M. Parker Coliseum
Visiting Hours:

11 AM–2 PM and 5–7 PM daily

The Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales is currently housing the following:

• Stray companion animals (may include pets that escaped from homes or were otherwise lost)
• Some pets belonging to Superdome evacuees
• Horses

Pets Traveling With Owners

The LVMA is currently accepting pets at

• Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette,
• LSU in Shreveport,
• Monroe Civic Center for small animals
• Ike Hamilton Center for large animals in Monroe,
• Farmer’s Market in Alexandria,
• LSU Agricultural Center/Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge.

Animals will be accepted 24 hours a day.

Veterinarians will be on hand to handle any medical needs. Owners are encouraged to be responsible for the feeding and cleaning of their pets at the Parker Coliseum in Baton Rouge, but the SVM, along with volunteers from the Baton Rouge Veterinary Medical Association, will provide veterinary care. If for some reason, an owner is unable to care for a pet sheltered in the Parker Coliseum (e.g., the owner is housed in a special-needs shelter), volunteers will provide primary care, such as feeding and cleaning.

The East Baton Rouge Animal Control Center will be taking stray animals.

The Parker Coliseum will be staffed 24 hours a day by a supervising veterinarian, student volunteers from the School of Veterinary Medicine, and others. Pets in the Coliseum will be given physical exams and Bordetella (kennel cough) vaccinations. If a pet requires medical attention and veterinary monitoring, it will be sent to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

Volunteers
Volunteers (minimum age: 16) are needed to work in the pet shelter at John M. Parker Coliseum.

In Baton Rouge, please come directly to the Coliseum and ask for the Volunteer Coordinator to sign up. Or you may call toll-free (888) 773-6489 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm or e-mail Katrina@ldaf.louisiana.gov for more information. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes that you do not mind getting dirty!

If you live outside the Baton Rouge area and would like to volunteer your time to work in one of the Emergency Animal Shelters, please call toll-free (888) 773-6489 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, or send an e-mail to Katrina@ldaf.louisiana.gov with your name and contact information, level of experience (e.g., veterinarian, veterinary assistant/technician, animal control worker, lay volunteer, etc., and please indicate any specialized skills you may have), your level of self-sufficiency, when you can travel to Baton Rouge, and how long you can stay.

Any animal handling professionals or animal control officers who wish to assist with search and rescue missions going into flooded areas, please visit the Louisiana Animal Control Association Newsblog at www.lacanews.blogspot.com for more information.

Please note: this will be a dangerous, dirty job and not one that members of the general public can assist us with. Only trained professionals can be used for this task.