Perkins, you need to be dedicated to get the maximum cute.

Bus full of pets being evacuated.

Sparky, I am glad BFFLS is okay.

Thanks. I was very glad to finally hear something. Someday I hope to hear the whole story.

My hubby is home now, so I'm off to finish dinner.

Oh!

t melts

I'll take one! (They're all goldens! How weird.)

(They're all goldens! How weird.)

Mostly - and that made me do a double-take. Huh.

Gah! Still with the bi-coastal synchronization of pandacams! Momma+baby snuggling!

I read somewhere there was a new zip code issued. For the refugees at the Astrodome.

From a Houston Chronicle story:

The service created a special ZIP code to handle the mail: 77230.

Anyone who thinks they may have a friend or loved one sheltered at the Astrodome should address letters by name, with the address General Delivery, Houston, TX 77230.

Thanks for the puppy rescue picture. Makes me feel like my Humane Society donation was well spent (not that this was an HS operation, but I'm just glad pets are being cared for.)

Anyone watch the Hurricane Relief concert on NBC? Kanye West went off-script, said the slow response time was because most of the victims were poor and black, and closed with "George Bush doesn't care about black people." [link]

Not to put a damper on donations, but I've heard from friends in the biz that Humane Society of the US (HSUS) tends to be big and flashy and have monstrous ineffective overhead. Something like only 25% of donations go towards rescue work - the rest sucked up in admin costs.

Possible other orgs that might do better work with your donation:

ASPCA [link]

Noah's Wish [link]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SACRAMENTO, CA (August 31, 2005) – United Animal Nations (UAN) is sending leaders with its Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) into Louisiana to assist with the evacuation of a reported 175 animals at a Metairie animal hospital. The State of Louisiana Office of Emergency Services has given Sacramento, California-based UAN permission to enter the state and assist with animal disaster relief and rescue efforts.

“Our phones are ringing off the hook with calls from frantic evacuees who can’t get back to their animals,” said UAN president Jennifer Fearing. “We don’t know what we’ll see when we get there, but we’re hopeful that our presence will lead to further animal rescue efforts in the hurricane-ravaged area.”

On Monday, UAN put its nationwide network of 2,300 trained EARS volunteers on alert for a potential response to Hurricane Katrina. Since then, nearly 650 people from all 50 U.S. states have reported their willingness to respond as needed. These volunteers include skilled search and rescue personnel, veterinary technicians, veterinarians and animal shelter directors. Additionally, UAN has been flooded with offers of land in the area to serve as a staging area, air, water and land transportation, horse trailers, mobile veterinary clinics and a virtual fleet of trucks and RVs.

Supporting UAN’s efforts will be Colorado-based Code 3 Associates, whose base of operations is its Mobile Command Vehicle, a massive, self-sufficient disaster-relief tractor and trailer unit that is leaving imminently for Louisiana. The Code 3 vehicle is being sponsored by IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare -- www.ifaw.org), which is sending its international Emergency Relief Team to join Code 3 and UAN on the ground in Metairie.

During the past fifteen years and through more than sixty disasters, EARS volunteers have helped thousands of animal disaster victims, including more than 400 animals during last summer's devastating string of hurricanes in Florida.

EARS disaster rescues are funded by donations and provided free of charge to the affected communities. To contribute to the EARS Hurricane Katrina effort, send donations to UAN, P.O. Box 188890, Sacramento, CA 95818 or give online. Daily updates about the EARS response to Hurricane Katrina are available at our online Action Report.

[link]

For some reason, I can't get the DC one to load now. The other one is still very cute, as are the dogs.