PRESS RELEASE

Last Of Critical Transportation Need Pets Set For Return
Department of Agriculture and Forestry News Update
BATON ROUGE, La. (September 10, 2008) - The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) announced today that the last of the critical transportation needs (CTN) pets that were evacuated by the LDAF and Louisiana State Animal Rescue Team (SART) partnership are being returned to Terrebonne parish on Wednesday, September, 10.

The 29 dogs are currently housed at a temporary shelter at Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson. The pets will be loaded onto a climate-controlled truck at with an estimated time of departure of 11 a.m. for transport to Houma. The pets will be brought to a parish pickup point (unknown location at this time) in Houma. The owners will be notified on Wednesday and may make arrangements to pick up their dogs when the animals arrive. The estimated arrival time for the pets in Houma is 1:30 p.m.

Animals not claimed immediately will be brought to the Terrebonne Parish Animal Control Shelter in Houma, where they will be given care until their owners can claim them.

LDAF officials said Louisiana is the only state to provide a plan for people with critical transportation needs to evacuate with their pets during hurricane emergencies. LDAF and LSART partnered with local animal humane groups to publicize the service, collect and register the pets, and provide for their care during the evacuation.

For the latest on the recovery from Hurricane Gustav, you can visit emergency.louisiana.gov or call the state's emergency hotline at 1-866-288-2484 to listen to a recorded message with the most up-to-date information.

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