The first 90 hurricane Katrina evacuees have arrived here in Albuquerque. They are staying at the convention center in downtown and were met by applause and our mayor Marty Chavez. The children were given stuffed animals and so far 150 offers of housing by local private citizens have been received. Most of the evacuees have swollen feet from standing in water so long.

Our governor has declared a state of emergency and released 1 million dollars for the victims. We are expecting about 6000 victims throughout the state. NM just sent 300 National Guardsmen and 21 state policemen to the Gulf as well. The local National Guard spokeswoman/major interviewed for the story is one of our NM rabbit rescuers as well.

Roadrunner Food Bank is collecting food to send to the Gulf Coast and I'm going to assume the evacuees are going to need clothing so I'm off to clean out the pantry and closet.

The Houston SPCA has taken in a whopping 663 animals since Thursday (most from evacuees at the Houston Astrodome and Reliant Arena) and they are expecting hundreds more in the days ahead. They have a list of supplies needed on their web site and monetary donations are also important to help them continue to offer free boarding and care to the pets of victims of hurricane Katrina.

North Shore Animal League now has an animal rescue blog which details their efforts to help out in the south. Like the other groups, they're having problems finding gasoline for transport activities.


If you have supplies to donate, here's a current list of what Best Friends hurricane relief is seeking. The items should be sent to the top address in MS, not the bottom one in UT.

Dear Members and Friends,

We now have a shipping address! Please send your donations of supplies to:

Best Friends Hurricane Relief
c/o Leigh Breland
1635 Misty Lane
Terry, MS 39170

Hurricane-related inquiries, including offers to donate supplies or funds or to volunteer, may be directed to: 435.644.2001 x398 or hurricane@bestfriends.org.

We’ve reprinted the list of most needed supplies below.
People needs:
Toilet paper
Paper towels
Vegetarian people food that won’t spoil or need refrigeration
Portable toilets and sanitizer
Insect repellent
Sun showers
Sunscreen
First aid kits for relief workers
Hand sanitizer

Pet needs
Pet Food
Animal bedding
Crates (all sizes)
Collars/leads
Veterinary supplies
Puppy and kitten formula
Canopy tents for the animals
Large cat tower/cage (for kittens)
Portable water bowls for animals
Microchip scanners

General needs
RVs, SUV’s & Trucks (4x4), ATV’s (loaned or donated)
Tarps
Two way radios
Generators
Rope
Duct tape
Cable ties
Fencing, both temporary and permanent
Heavy work gloves and welding gloves
Carpentry supplies
Gas cans
Gas for vehicles
Flashlights
Batteries (AA, AAA, C & D)
Water
Water tanks
Clorox bleach
Warehouse facilities near Tylertown, MS
Garbage cans
Garbage bags
Tents
Camping Gear
Towels
Blankets
Collapsible wire cages (extra large size)
Extension cords (heavy duty outdoor approved - 100 foot long)
Grooming clippers (electric)
Zip Lock bags (extra large size)

Important note: Please contact us at the number above before you buy large quantities of any of these items.

Again, thank you so very much for all offers of help. We’ll keep you updated on developments.

Best Friends Animal Society
5001 Angel Canyon Road
Kanab, UT 84741
aileenw@bestfriends.org
http://www.bestfriends.org/
(435)644-3965 ext. 4165

A better world through kindness to animals.

The next knitting project I have to show you will be Nancy Bush's Latvian Socks from Folk Socks. This has been a good simple project to go with all the news I've been watching. So far I've managed not to throw my knitting at the tv as well although I've certainly had some choice words along the way.

Today I was going to put up some info on all the groups dealing with all the animals but Petfinder has already done it HERE with daily updates. USA Today also had a good article on the animal rescue efforts HERE. And another article from CNN on the emotional toll of evacuees leaving their pets behind. Best Friends is also publishing a series of articles daily on the whole process.

I saw a guy on tv saying that we need to become a Donation Nation. Not just right now but for many months ahead. In addition to money needed right now there will be so many other things we can do in the weeks ahead - help a family find housing, buy a kid that was evacuated some school supplies, send people food and pet food and supplies, adopting one of the thousands of rescued animals, etc.

I think we can all come up with some great ways to help and help and help some more.

I've gone from being very sad this week to being very very angry about the situation in the gulf coast. I should probably stop watching the news, eh?

I do have a few related links to share. HERE is a satellite photo of New Orleans before Katrina - click on it and you can see it after Katrina. And HERE is a really really good in-depth photo of New Orleans after Katrina. Once you locate the Superdome you can see the Convention Center below it. You can also see just how much of the city is flooded.

If all this Katrina misery is becoming too much for you, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (their director is currently down in New Orleans helping transport shelter animals out of there) has started posted a daily Good News journal in their news reports HERE. Also, this blog also posts good news about families being reunited, human and animal rescues, corporate donations, etc. I've learned from animal rescue stuff that it often helps your mental health to focus on the small good things when there are so many bad things going on.

I've decided to stop buying yarn and books until after Christmas and use my monthly yarn money to donate to human and animal charities providing hurricane relief the next few months instead. With that schedule I should still have time to make the Torino sweater before the Olympics which I believe are in February?? HERE is a photo of the next Dale Olympic sweater. I may make it for myself in the dark colorway.

Peaches has been gaining weight which isn't surprising as she is a total loaf bun (aka couch potato). My Labor Day weekend plans are to crawl around the floor encouraging her to do some bunny aerobics.

Another break

I'll be spending the next week in Poland, quite busy with some non-artistic matters. Hopefuly will be back on track on the 7th of September.