Let's not forget "man's best friends"

If you can help the humane society keep doing the unbelieveable work they're doing, please donate to the Katrina Fund. Below are some stats from www.hsus.org.

• Run a massive search-and-rescue operation in Louisiana and Mississippi, where we have saved more than 6,000 animals from some of the most deplorable conditions imaginable. The operation has required massive numbers of people and massive amounts of equipment and supplies, from vehicles to telecommunications to food and water. It's believed to be the largest deployment for animal rescue in the nation's history.

• Maintain the world's largest shelter in Gonzales, Louisiana, about 60 miles north of New Orleans, where dozens of HSUS staff, more than 40 veterinarians, and hundreds of volunteers from local animal care and control facilities and humane societies across the United States and Canada provide around the clock care for dogs, cats, and exotics. We also maintain a parallel operation in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, again with staff, veterinarians, and volunteers. Animal control personnel, many of whom have gone through our Disaster Animal Response Team training, have deployed to both locations.

• Feed and water animals in their homes and on the streets. This approach allows animals who are in no danger to stay in their homes, where owners will eventually return and resume care of them.

• Rescue more than 1,000 farm animals and placed them in shelters, where they will live out their natural lives.

• Finance the rebuilding of animal shelters in the devastated region. We recently announced a pledge of $2.5 million for a Gulf States Shelter Reconstruction Fund. We are seeking to raise $10-$15 million for this program alone.

• Fund the emergency animal shelter in Baton Rouge, which is run by the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine and the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association. We have donated $150,000 to support the facility, which is caring for owned animals until owners can return to their homes or find new places to live.

• Pay for a basic veterinary services plan for animals whose owners have been displaced by the storm. We have committed an initial $25,000, and will provide more as needed, to help fund the HSUS/AAHA Katrina Pet Wellness Program, a joint effort of The HSUS and the American Animal Hospital Association. The program offers reimbursement of veterinary practices, up to $125 per pet, for basic treatments, including physical examinations, vaccinations, heartworm medications, and short-term supply of chronic medications.

• Cover the costs to transport thousands of animals to local humane societies and other rescue groups across the country. What's more, we are paying to reunite owners with their companion animals, even if the animals have been sent out of state, to create more space for rescued animals. Nearly 400 animals have already been reunited with their owners at the Gonzales and Hattiesburg sites.

• Press the federal government to include animals in future disaster plans. We are expecting the government to help with direct rescue of animals in future disasters, and to make plans to allow evacuees to bring their pets to shelters.

• Operate a national call center to obtain information on pets abandoned in New Orleans and other stricken areas. Our operations took thousands of calls from people who lost their pets; from caring humanitarians willing to foster abandoned pets and, in many cases, their evacuated families; and from individuals who have offered to travel to the impact zones to assist with the rescue and care of the animals.

• Deploy a team of HSUS reporters and videographers to document the crisis for the world to view via www.hsus.org. The national and local media have used this site for video clips, and HSUS reporters have provided coverage of every phase of the crisis, with daily reporting from the field.