Sumter DART left Bushnell, Florida on a very hot Wednesday morning after Hurricane Katrina had destroyed the Gulf coast. We had been deployed to stage in Jackson Mississippi. We had already loaded up our gear and fueled up our trucks for the trip. We took a 2001 United Specialties Kenworth Motorhome, the logistical trailer, 2000 Dodge one ton Dually with a 44 foot enclosed gooseneck trailer, 2004 3/4 ton Dodge diesel pickup 4x4 and enough gear to help 30 people be comfortable for two weeks. The trip out was a nightmare. The first thing we did was blow a tire on the Kenworth. That cost $450.00. Then we blew two tires on the logistical trailer, only to find out that the tires were underrated for our trailer. We bought 4 stronger tires (that was all they had) and proceeded on our way. We then proceeded to work our way up through Alabama. Securing fuel for our equipment was a nightmare. When it was available, there were long lines and the prices were nearing $4.00 a gallon for diesel. We finally arrived on Thursday morning at about 4:30 AM, dead tired. We got a couple hours of sleep and were up and at it again. We started cleaning things up that had shifted during transport.
We couldn't stand being cooped up staying in Jackson, knowing that rescues needed to be performed south of us. On Friday afternoon, the state vet, a Dr. Jim Watson, agreed to let us make an emergency run to the Humane Society in Gulfport. There were 120 animals that survived in kennels that needed to be removed. The caregivers down there had done all that they could to take care of them and were asking for help. Our convoy consisted of several teams with us in the lead. The FEMA vets fell in line with us and we headed down, arriving there at about midnight. We unloaded water and food from our 44' trailer onto the grass so citizens could locate it the next day. The vets (who were very good) triaged the animals, separating healthy from sick and we loaded the healthy ones on our big trailer. After getting all loaded, we all took off for Jackson. The FEMA vets got off in Hattiesburg and we continued on our way. I know the good lord was riding on my shoulder that night because I had to drive the last 93 miles, pulling a loaded 44' trailer, with my low fuel warning light on. We arrived and got plugged in so both air conditioners would work and got them cooled down. Our generator had actually quit working before we left Gulfport. We arrived back at 4:30 AM, and at 7:30 AM we started unloading and decontaminating the animals. They each had to get two baths. Then the scrub down on the trailer took place. My only disappointment came when the volunteers disappeared when it came time to scrub the trailer. Volunteers who had worked through the night wound up working through the day to clean up. Unfortunately, at disasters, people show up to help and they want to work with doing the rescues or working with the animals only. Volunteers are also needed to clean up equipment, walk dogs and cats, haul food and supplies, and generally do all of the grunt work so the rescuers can come in and get a good night's rest before going back out again. It makes things run soooooo smoothly that way.
On Sunday, we were dispatched to go to Gautier, Mississippi and set up our compound next to Animal Control. Bill, the Animal Control Director, was very happy to see us. We spent the night, and the next day our first rescue teams came into the compound to start. The teams would go out all day and perform rescues, help people contain their animals, and deliver food. They responded to requests for help and started bringing animals in. Vets and vet techs and registered nurses plus volunteers would work like crazy to clean each one up and treat them plus place them into kennels inside our trailer. At night, we would transfer them out to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for holding. Descriptions were all written down and an orderly method established. This order has been one that has served us well in Florida several times now. It makes it much easier to locate the owners and pets and reunite them. Our Logistical trailer was supporting at one time up to 100 volunteers that were coming and going. We had 5 big campers and a couple of trailers hooked up to water and electricity and we could pump their sewerage into our trailer daily. The volunteers who brought tents could bring a fan and plug into us so they could stay cool at night. We also had a complete kitchen set up to try and feed all of us, but unfortunately the person doing the cooking got the nickname "Soup Nazi."
Most of the people got along fairly well. We did have a couple of drop in volunteers who refused to work in the compound and demanded to be able to go out and start pulling animals in just haphazardly. We do not allow that. Our system has to remain orderly and people have to be verified or checked out before being allowed to go out on rescues. It insures that we have people with the same training and mindset as we do. It also keeps healthy pets from being uprooted just because no one was at home when somebody spots an animal. Some of the affected people were actually returning daily to continue to feed and care for their animals. Untrained volunteers would see the animals around the house and bring them to us. Then we would have an IRATE owner (rightfully so) to deal with. That's why we need continuity in our system of dealing with volunteers.
When we got ready to advance into Waveland, we found another bad tire on the front of the Kenworth. Fortunately, a county employee knew that the School Board had tires and got one put on for us. It was used, but it saved our bacon. The power steering actually went out at this point also. we drove to Waveland and set up to do more rescues there. We stayed in Waveland until Hurricane Rita came along and chased us out. Water was coming up into the parking lot as soon as we were leaving. Water was actually coming across the road as we started to get on the Interstate. We had to drive from Waveland to Florida with one used tire and no power steering. What an adventure that was. A truck stop charged me $500.00 for a tire that was worth $350.00. It's a shame people have to take advantage of a bad situation when disaster strikes. You can be assured that we will not patronize that establishment again!
When we got home, we licked our wounds and started cleaning up. We ordered a brand new Freightliner Business Class M2 truck to replace the Kenworth and started rebuilding the Logistical trailer to better meet our needs.
We couldn't stand being cooped up staying in Jackson, knowing that rescues needed to be performed south of us. On Friday afternoon, the state vet, a Dr. Jim Watson, agreed to let us make an emergency run to the Humane Society in Gulfport. There were 120 animals that survived in kennels that needed to be removed. The caregivers down there had done all that they could to take care of them and were asking for help. Our convoy consisted of several teams with us in the lead. The FEMA vets fell in line with us and we headed down, arriving there at about midnight. We unloaded water and food from our 44' trailer onto the grass so citizens could locate it the next day. The vets (who were very good) triaged the animals, separating healthy from sick and we loaded the healthy ones on our big trailer. After getting all loaded, we all took off for Jackson. The FEMA vets got off in Hattiesburg and we continued on our way. I know the good lord was riding on my shoulder that night because I had to drive the last 93 miles, pulling a loaded 44' trailer, with my low fuel warning light on. We arrived and got plugged in so both air conditioners would work and got them cooled down. Our generator had actually quit working before we left Gulfport. We arrived back at 4:30 AM, and at 7:30 AM we started unloading and decontaminating the animals. They each had to get two baths. Then the scrub down on the trailer took place. My only disappointment came when the volunteers disappeared when it came time to scrub the trailer. Volunteers who had worked through the night wound up working through the day to clean up. Unfortunately, at disasters, people show up to help and they want to work with doing the rescues or working with the animals only. Volunteers are also needed to clean up equipment, walk dogs and cats, haul food and supplies, and generally do all of the grunt work so the rescuers can come in and get a good night's rest before going back out again. It makes things run soooooo smoothly that way.
On Sunday, we were dispatched to go to Gautier, Mississippi and set up our compound next to Animal Control. Bill, the Animal Control Director, was very happy to see us. We spent the night, and the next day our first rescue teams came into the compound to start. The teams would go out all day and perform rescues, help people contain their animals, and deliver food. They responded to requests for help and started bringing animals in. Vets and vet techs and registered nurses plus volunteers would work like crazy to clean each one up and treat them plus place them into kennels inside our trailer. At night, we would transfer them out to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for holding. Descriptions were all written down and an orderly method established. This order has been one that has served us well in Florida several times now. It makes it much easier to locate the owners and pets and reunite them. Our Logistical trailer was supporting at one time up to 100 volunteers that were coming and going. We had 5 big campers and a couple of trailers hooked up to water and electricity and we could pump their sewerage into our trailer daily. The volunteers who brought tents could bring a fan and plug into us so they could stay cool at night. We also had a complete kitchen set up to try and feed all of us, but unfortunately the person doing the cooking got the nickname "Soup Nazi."
Most of the people got along fairly well. We did have a couple of drop in volunteers who refused to work in the compound and demanded to be able to go out and start pulling animals in just haphazardly. We do not allow that. Our system has to remain orderly and people have to be verified or checked out before being allowed to go out on rescues. It insures that we have people with the same training and mindset as we do. It also keeps healthy pets from being uprooted just because no one was at home when somebody spots an animal. Some of the affected people were actually returning daily to continue to feed and care for their animals. Untrained volunteers would see the animals around the house and bring them to us. Then we would have an IRATE owner (rightfully so) to deal with. That's why we need continuity in our system of dealing with volunteers.
When we got ready to advance into Waveland, we found another bad tire on the front of the Kenworth. Fortunately, a county employee knew that the School Board had tires and got one put on for us. It was used, but it saved our bacon. The power steering actually went out at this point also. we drove to Waveland and set up to do more rescues there. We stayed in Waveland until Hurricane Rita came along and chased us out. Water was coming up into the parking lot as soon as we were leaving. Water was actually coming across the road as we started to get on the Interstate. We had to drive from Waveland to Florida with one used tire and no power steering. What an adventure that was. A truck stop charged me $500.00 for a tire that was worth $350.00. It's a shame people have to take advantage of a bad situation when disaster strikes. You can be assured that we will not patronize that establishment again!
When we got home, we licked our wounds and started cleaning up. We ordered a brand new Freightliner Business Class M2 truck to replace the Kenworth and started rebuilding the Logistical trailer to better meet our needs.
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