Hi everyone, First I wanted to let everyone know that I'm back home safe. It's good to be with my family but heartbreaking, too, because I know there are still hundreds of animals barely clinging to life in the Gulf, and volunteers literally breaking down from exhaustion. I drove 3,380 miles in seven days and I wish I could turn around and go right back. Many, many thanks to Renee, you are an angel from heaven!! Thanks to Danee and Brenda, Julia Fischer and Sharon Gorski; to Theresa Sheehan and her husband, Greg; to Sherry and Dennis Riley, Ken Theus and Nancy Bardwell, to Denise and her family in Alexandria, LA; to Mary for listening and helping to spread the word through the media; to the caring people at Gonzales who helped smuggle the ferrets out, and everyone else who has helped to rescue the survivors of Katrina. Thanks to all the National Guard troops, cops, firefighters, utility crews and other volunteers from around the country who took it upon themselves to rescue animals, even when their official orders said otherwise. And thanks to the thousands of people who traveled from every corner of America to do whatever they could, from kicking down doors to rescue trapped animals in New Orleans, to sending medicine and blankets to a shelter, to just taking a dog out of a filthy, stinking cage at Gonzales or Hattiesburg for a precious few minutes of affection and exercise. So many shelters in LA and MS have been damaged or destroyed. I first encountered the damage when entering Mississippi at Meridian, a good 200 miles from the coast. The big blue highway "Welcome to Mississippi" sign was peeled in half like an opened sardine can. Soon the road was lined with trees snapped in half or uprooted completely. Highway signs were blown over, shredded or missing altogether. As I approached New Orleans, flooded and destroyed homes became a common sight. Gas wasn't easy to find, or a working ATM, and cell phone service and electricity were spotty at best. At the least, all these shelters need fresh medicines and supplies. One of the three shelters I visited before going to Gonzales, to drop off medicine, bags of food and other supplies, had been without power for 2 1/2 weeks since Katrina hit. This shelter in Luling, LA (just south of New Orleans) is a designated rescue and surgical center for the LAHS but had no vaccines, etc. due to lack of refrigeration. Now they're saying some areas of southern Louisiana could be without power for a month. Some shelters/rescue sites just need rebuilding supplies, people to feed and walk rescued dogs, or blankets to wipe off the slime and mud. They may not be ferrets -- but they are suffering so much! Kinship Circle is doing a great job of keeping track of what's going on. If you don't already get their dispatches, check out www.kinshipcircle.org for more info. Susann Thiel Endicott, NY [Posted in FML issue 5013]