225BatonRouge.com

Last year the Ascension Animal Advocates, a non-profit animal rescue group, helped more than 800 cats and dogs find homes, half of them Katrina pets stranded after the storm.

This year the organization already had surpassed that number by mid-August.

More than a year after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, thousands of stray animals remain in the custody of Baton Rouge-area animal shelters and pet rescue groups. It’s a growing problem that shows no signs of slowing down.

Rachel Watts, a volunteer with Ascension Animal Advocates and Cat Haven, says it could be years before the number of homeless pets gets back down to a manageable number.

“We are still getting large numbers of Katrina pets mainly because people who were able to take their pets with them during the storm are now having trouble finding places to live, especially places that will take pets,” Watts says. “We are already seeing this second wave of Katrina pets making their way to shelters. People are coming to us with tears streaming down their faces at the thought of giving up their pets, but they don’t know what else to do.”

In addition to the record number of adult strays needing homes, Watts says organizations she works with face a new problem: unprecedented numbers of kittens and puppies, the result of so many unspayed and unneutered pets left to roam the streets after the storms.

Animal control’s answer to this problem is euthanasia. In fact, East Baton Rouge Parish euthanizes some 8,500 animals a year—45% higher than the national average. This year parish animal control is set to exceed that number, having euthanized more than 5,500 animals already this year.

In an effort to educate people about the benefits of spaying and neutering their pets and to help reduce the animal euthanasia rate, Sandra Feuer DiTusa started Spay Baton Rouge in March 2006. Since that time the non-profit organization has helped spay and neuter 600 animals.

“If you think about it, one cat or dog can have between five and 10 kittens or puppies a year, based on two litters each breeding season,” DiTusa said. “By our estimates we have helped prevent nearly 6,000 unwanted pets from being born, and that’s a conservative estimate.”

Other organizations, like Ascension Animal Advocates, are helping to reduce the euthanasia rate by rescuing animals directly from animal control. Most animal control shelters can only hold animals for five days, so every Thursday members of Ascension Animal Advocates rescue as many shelter dogs as they can. Waiting until Friday would be too late.

RoseAnn Bass, who has been involved with animal rescue in the Baton Rouge area for more than 25 years, says the homeless animal problem is out of control.

“There are animal groups all across the city doing their best to control the situation,” Bass said. “Everyone is overwhelmed.”

Pet supply stores like Petco and PetSmart open their doors on Saturdays and Sundays to organizations like the Ascension Animal Advocates, Cat Haven and Animal Protection and Welfare Society to help put people face-to-face with the pets available for adoption. Cages of dogs and cats draw interested on-lookers, but few actually get adopted. According to Watts a good weekend is finding good homes for 10 dogs and 10 cats, but these days that rarely happens.

“Most people only want puppies,” Watts said. “We have a lot of really great dogs that need homes that are getting passed by because of their age. We also have a lot of trouble finding homes for the black dogs and cats we take in. It’s a shame, but people are letting superstition take over. They need love, too.”