Martin St. John Receives Jefferson Parish Award

Aaron F. Broussard, President of Jefferson Parish acknowledges Marty St. John, Director, MuttShack Animal Rescue Foundation.

The Proclamation was given to MuttShack for the invaluable service in assisting with the pet evacuation transportation for the State of Louisiana, and in particular the Jefferson Parish evacuation exercise.

Thanks to all our volunteers who came to assist, and to Gayle and Sam Byrd for their temperature controlled pet transportation trucks.

Letter from Amanda St. John:

The volunteers of MuttShack Animal Rescue are no strangers to hurricane disaster response.  They were there in the aftermath of Katrina, when hurricane evacuees were forced to leave their pets behind, or forgo evacuation to risk their lives at home with their pets.  “MuttShackers” rescued pets like the pug who, stranded atop his owner’s refrigerator when flood waters receded, survived for seven weeks by eating the mold off the walls.  They sprung into action when a mother-in-law said that her family had been back to their home to collect their “valuables,” and left their German Shepherd behind.  Still alive after 71 days trapped inside her home, that dog was Katrina’s longest recorded survivor.  In the end, over 3,000 stories just like these had happy endings thanks to MuttShack volunteers, but thousands more were already dead when rescuers arrived.

Determined that these events would never again come to pass, the Louisiana State Senate passed Senator Heulette “Clo” Fontenot Pet Evacuation Senate Bill 607, which codified the legal evacuation of pets.  There are multiple groups involved in the evacuation planning and training.   MuttShack’s operates under the Department of Transportation under the bill and is transporting the animals from the parish pick-up points to the pre-determined temporary shelters in the central and northern parts of the state at the same locations as the Red Cross shelters.

We promised that this would never happen again… but we need your help to implement the most effective plan.

Amanda