Courses take just a few seconds to load...

American Red Cross helps 'Raggs' come home
A terminally ill woman is reunited with her beloved cat after Hurricane Katrina
[1,240 Words]

Tuesday, October 5, 2005 ---SLIDELL, LA

Deborah Dickinson is a vibrant and youthful looking woman whose battle with lung disease has left her terminally ill and somewhat homebound. Because she could not leave her Slidell apartment without her portable oxygen tank, she seldom did. Instead, she spent most of her time with her beloved cats--Raggs (short for Ragtime) and Radar. That is, until Hurricane Katrina hit.

Slidell, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, suffered heavy damage from Katrina, with an estimated 2,000+ homes destroyed. Today the town today like a war zone and Deborah's Pine Terrace apartment sits right in the center.

Deborah Dickinson's cat, Raggs, survived Hurricane Katrina in the ruins of Pine Terrace apartments in Slidell, LA.

The heavy rains and powerful winds tore off roofs and toppled trees like matchsticks but, through it all Dickinson stayed in her second floor apartment– unable to venture out alone and unwilling to leave her animals, Raggs and Radar, and a few other furry friends behind. "As the storm raged, I saw dogs drowning in the courtyard [so] my neighbor and I pulled eight of them to safety, took them all into my apartment, dried them off and fed them what little food I had. They were wonderful, and didn’t cause my cats any problems at all,” she added.

The ensuing storm surge flooded the streets, washed away cars and ended up 26' deep and coming "all the way up to the landing outside my apartment," Deborah remembers. With her limited strength she worried, "how would I get the animals up to the roof if the water kept rising. I wasn’t going to leave them.”

Katrina left the area fully flooded with neither power nor water when Dickinson ran out of oxygen. Her neighbors begged her to evacuate with them but was told the animals couldn’t come. She refused.

For five days Deborah and her menagerie were stranded, alone in the dark without food or water, ever fearful that someone would break in.

“The dogs were a big comfort,” she said. “They made such a commotion that I think they scared the looters away. No one bothered me and no one tried to break in.”

The rescue attempt

On the fifth day, animal control officers and Noah’s Wish Animal Rescue (NWAR) volunteers came to evacuate Dickenson and all 11 animals. The animals were taken to a NWAR shelter in Slidell, and Dickinson was taken to a Red Cross shelter in Walker, LA. Two days later she was able to fly to Portland, Maine, to stay with her sister but she was forced to leave her beloved pets behind.

Unfortunately, Radar was too old to handle the trauma and had to be put to sleep. Raggs, however, was fine and thrived at the shelter but Dickinson had no way to get the little guy shipped to her.

 
Deborah is reunited with her beloved Raggs, courtesy of Red Cross volunteer Allen Crabtree (r), who brought Raggs back from Slidell after his 3 week deployment.

Allen Crabtree, a Red Cross volunteer from Maine deployed to Baton Rouge was at the Noah’s Wish shelter to do a story on how the Red Cross has been helping the animal shelter’s work. When Crabtree met with Terri Crisp, Noah’s Wish president and director of the Slidell shelter, Crisp noticed the “Sebago Maine Fire Department” emblem on his hat, and asked “Do you live in Maine? Are you anywhere near Portland?”

Upon hearing the story, Crabtree immediately agreed to take Raggs home with him when he returned to Maine. When he called Dickinson to get her permission, she broke out in tears of joy.

The next morning Crabtree and Raggs boarded a Delta jet in Baton Rouge landing in Portland at 5:00 p.m., and went straight to Dickenson's hotel.

Deborah was in the lobby waiting for them. With tears streaming down her face, she lifted Raggs into her arms and gave him a big hug full of emotion. Raggs purred and rubbed his face against hers, clearly happy to be back with his mistress.

For more information on Noah's Wish, visit them online at www.noahswish.org.

Allen Crabtree is a volunteer from the Southern Maine Chapter of the American Red Cross and lives in Sebago, Maine where he is a writer, antiquarian book dealer, blueberry farmer, town Selectman, volunteer fire fighter and ambulance driver.
     
 

Pet rescue shelters such as Noah’s Wish provide a safe and clean alternate place for pets to stay while their owners are also staying at shelters. Noah’s Wish has rescued more than 1,200 Hurricane Katrina pets so far, including more than 700 dogs, nearly 500 cats, and 20 other species of animals from chickens and snakes to rabbits and horses. All are given a thorough check by volunteer veterinarians and are fed, groomed, and watered in separate, clean cages. Volunteers pamper their guests and walk them daily.

If the pet’s owners can be identified, they are notified so that the pet and family can be reunited when the family is able to return to a permanent home. Until that time, the pets can stay at Noah’s Wish shelter indefinitely. If the owners cannot be located, foster homes are found for any orphan pets. Noah’s Wish has a strict “no kill” policy.

 
     
 
Shoring up the Mental Defenses
[600 words]

Friday, September 23, 2005, BATON ROUGE, LA - - Everyone can be affected by a disaster; those in the direct path of destruction and those thousands of miles away. Anxiety, frustration and helplessness are symptoms that may be experienced by all. For those closest to the disaster, loss and recovery in relation to disasters oftentimes are measured by the amount of items or possessions lost and replaced. These are tangible goods that we can easily see and touch. However, loss and recovery are measured also in ways that are intangible - - the impact can be elusive to our senses. The American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services seeks out these hard to detect signs and provides the emotional support and psychological first aid that is critical to overcoming loss and initiating recovery after a disaster.

Disaster Mental Health workers are all licensed professionals and are a passionate group of individuals functioning during some of the most heart-wrenching conditions. They provide immediate care and comfort to victims of disasters as well as to fellow Red Cross volunteers and other responders. Their mission is to immediately help those affected by a disaster to take control and engage in their own recovery.

“We perform a type of triage by helping victims to regain a sense of safety and security as quickly as possible, which in turn, helps them to stabilize and regain their coping strategies,” explained Judy Nicholson, a licensed social worker and Red Cross volunteer responding to her 70th disaster. “Our outreach is strength-based meaning that we help those affected by having them focus on their strengths instead of their feelings of powerlessness.”

Disaster Mental Health personnel work proactively in both client and staff shelters, welcome centers, on Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV) and many other places. Frequently, they work side-by-side with other volunteers as they register clients into shelters or family services sites. They also endlessly walk the floors of these sites identifying signs of distress, discouragement and depression.

In addition, “we focus on connecting with the children to not only provide comfort to them, but as a way of reaching out to the parents,” said Nicholson. “Once the parents realize that their children are being approached in a kind and sensitive manner, they trust us enough to open up and express their concerns and fears about their children and their situation.” Once this trust is established, Disaster Mental Health has the opportunity to calm, reassure and educate.

Grieving is natural and can last for an extended period of time. There are many common initial reactions such as shock, disbelief, anger, inability to think clearly and temporary memory loss. These can be followed by guilt, crying for no apparent reason, frustration and feelings of powerlessness, and moodiness and irritability. Children can return to earlier behavior such as thumb sucking or bed wetting or just completely withdraw.
Nicholson emphasized, “It is imperative for victims of disasters and their loved ones to understand that what they are feeling is normal and the steps they need to take to fully recover.”

Red Cross volunteers also have an opportunity to speak with Disaster Mental Health for the duration of their assignment and as they prepare to come home from a disaster response. They too need a chance to decompress and switch gears in preparation for returning home and returning to normalcy.

A smile, a hug, an ear to listen, a list of resources - American Red Cross Disaster Mentor Health Services work quickly and immediately to help those affected by disasters to restore faith in themselves and to gain hope for the future.

Sarah Shogren is a Red Cross volunteer.

 

 
   

Home - News & events - Take a class - About your Red Cross
Give blood - You can help - Talk to us - Related links - Shop at home - Site map