Even as shelters fill up across the country there are still efforts to rescue Gulf Coast dogs and cats. In the hardest hit places many animals are still struggling to survive.
A Colorado woman is doing her part to help.
Nora Birt is a firefighter from Palmer Lake and when Hurricane Katrina hit, she wanted to go help people but wound up saving animals.
Inside what used to be someone's home in New Orleans, Birt and other volunteers sift through debris, searching for some of the last Katrina survivors to be rescued.
"You look inside these homes and it looks like a blender just turned everything around and covered it with muck and mold," Birt said.
Birt, who lives in Denver, has been to the Gulf Coast three times. She and two others arrive with 3,000 pounds of dog and cat food -- all donated from Colorado.
They accompany animal rescuers. On her third mission, she and others found a litter of puppies and spent hours looking for the mother.
"There's probably five or six people in here pulling stuff out of the way, and she's sitting in her hiding spot not making a peep, until they find her," said Birt.
Stressed and starving, the desperate mother bit two of the volunteers.
"Once you get them back in crate, give them food and water and show them you're not going to hurt them, most turn out to be the loving family dog they used to be," Birt said.
For Birt, rescues like this mean a second chance for a pet left behind.
"She's got a good future now, she's a lucky dog," she said.
Nora returned to Colorado with 15 cats and 5 dogs. She recommends helping local shelters by adopting a pet if you can or donate money.
If you would like to adopt an animal that has been brought back from the Gulf Coast region contact the following shelters:
ARASColorado.tripod.com Every Creature Counts (303) 546-2704 EveryCreatureCounts.orgCopyright 2006 by TheDenverChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
