After seeing the animals stranded due to Katrina and the levee break, I could not simply sit by and watch. I met two other women online in my area (Atlanta) who felt the same way, and we decided we were going to offer our services, whoever would let us help.\r\n\r\nMy neighbors and relatives had been terribly against this trip. I had to go, regardless of what they thought. I was a little afraid of animals who had been so traumatized, but I had to do this. \r\n\r\n\r\nAfter much confusion, we ended up at the Lamar-Dixon Equestrian Center in Gonzales, LA. \r\n\r\nEach of us quickly found someone to give us what instructions were necessary, and we went to work. \r\n\r\nMy pals went to work with the cats, I volunteered to work with the dogs. \r\n\r\nIt was heartbreaking. Every stall was filled with caged dogs, many with dogs who were hungry, thirsty, and sleeping in their own excrement. Everywhere there were people bustling about, trying to get to every dog to provide them with a walk, a clean cage, and clean water and food. \r\n\r\nWhen you opened each cage and put the leash on the dog, they all looked at you as if you were their hero. By the time they had their walk, and had been sprayed down with a cool water hose, they were looking at me like \"hey, are you my new person?\" While one would walk the dog, another volunteer would be cleaning out the cage, filling water and food bowls with fresh supplies. When you put a walked dog into a clean cage with food and a new chew toy, it was the grandest feeling in the world. NOTHING could compare to that feeling. Then go on to the next. \r\n\r\nI cannot begin to describe all the supplies that had been donated to this shelter. There was more food than could be used. There were leashes, dog bowls, dog chew toys, dog treats, medicines, etc all stacked in the alley between each building. The animals were in need and the suppliers of animal products heard this need, and opened their hearts generously to provide these things. \r\n\r\nThere were hundreds of volunteers here. Some came in their campers and had a spot for cleaning themselves and rest. Most had nowhere to sleep but their cars, but they were there. \r\n\r\nI have never seen such a gathering of kinder, selfless individuals than these that I met at Lamar-Dixon. It was like Eutopia, no fighting, no stealing, no bickering. All here to help with whatever it is we could offer--\r\n\r\nI am a 50 year old woman. I worked so hard that week. in the extreme heat, that I had blisters covering the bottoms of my feet. I kept working, wrapping them everyday. \r\n\r\nWhen I returned I had a health scare, that ended up costing me $3000 due to an emergency room fiasco where a doctor gave me rabies shots when if that had been my problem, those costly shots would not have helped me in the least. \r\n\r\nI still say, this was the most beautiful experience of my life. I would not give up these memories for anything.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n