Here are the unedited reflections of a Best Friends Rapid Response team member who just returned home Monday night from deployment to New Orleans to help the animals affected by Hurricane Gustav.

This team member requested that this post remain anonymous, stating, "My name isn't important. The name volunteer speaks volumes."

One reason I thrive on going on rescues . . . is that every moment counts. And in every moment there is tension or exhilaration, fear or triumph, goosebumps and tears. There just ain't nothin' better than giving it all you have and trying to make a difference that counts.

We're Best Friends Animal Society, and our mission is one of love. The feelings we get in return, well, words can't do justice to describe.

I heard the statement: "From a media perspective, Gustav is pretty much a non-story."

As we drove into the neighborhoods where some evacuees
were returning home, this hurricane showed itself more as an insidious disaster. There weren't plentiful rescue organizations or cameras from every network. There were domestic animals left behind and for some of those animals, it was just as critical a situation as if this were Katrina.

There was a female black lab whose family left her when they evacuated. She was sitting on the porch of a dilapidated mobile home. The bowl of water left for her was putrid. As we emptied it, small pieces of hot dog poured out with the water. Even though she was hungry, the water was so foul she wouldn't eat the hot dogs. We walked up to her and she jumped into the rotting boat in the yard. It was rusted and had broken glass on the floor, but it was her refuge during the winds of Gustav. She jumped into the seat on the boat and her comfort was an old life jacket. The animal control officer with us took her to the shelter.

The neighbors said the people who lived there had evacuated and
not been back. They sat in the front yard of their home as their dog
barked. He was in the back yard in a pen no different from a rabbit
hutch, small and elevated from the ground. He was a Pit Bull who
peered out at us from his enclosure.

* * * * *
We loaded up the two SUV's to the top with supplies. Then we drove through neighborhoods to pass out dog food and water, bleach to those who might need it. I saw a guy walking the street with his skinny chocolate lab. I asked if he wanted some dog food. He said: Sure. "Do you have a bucket for it?"

"Sure." "Can I use your name to tell your neighbors you sent us?"

"Sure. I'm Doug. No. Tell him Dirty sent ya." He brought a big bucket out and we filled it with dog food.

"Do you have electricity yet?"

"No electricity. We got water."

Thanks Dirty.

We drove the neighborhood and everyone had a bucket for dog food. (I
don't have a bucket at home, but they all did.) They were all really receptive to the food and water for their dogs.

We stopped at another neighborhood. An old guy, Wallace, took some
dog food and thanked us.

"Can I tell your neighbors you sent us?"
"Yeah, yeah. Tell em Wallace sent ya."

Thanks Wallace. Good luck.

At the house with the skinny German Shepherd, they took dog food and filled his bucket. We gave them water for him too. They really liked the bleach but we declined when they asked for a 5th gallon of it.

"Be sure to give your dog this water."

We came back an hour later with a bowl we bought from the drug store. The Shepherd, in the hot sun still didn't have any water so we filled a bowl and handed it to the people.

"Bless you, bless you," the old lady said. "I ended up in the hospital when we evacuated."

Lots of trees were down in the neighborhood and many in their yard.
They had had a nice fenced yard for their dog, but the trees landed on
one side of it. No power yet. Bless you, bless you she said as we drove on.

* * * * *
We stopped at a house where there was a gorgeous Pittie and 5 pups
running around their fenced yard. The whole family was outside sitting
with the dogs. Could you use some dog food?

"We sure could. We're tryin' to feed our dogs and then we found 2 Beagles too. They're in the back yard, but we're feeding em. Can you find a home for some of 'em?

"We'll be back tomorrow with more food and we'll try to find a home for some of them. We took the address down.

* * * * *
A rescuer met us at a gas station. He had been driving through
neighborhoods to see if there were chained dogs in need of care.
It was next to a busy road where evacuees were just returning. He noticed an igloo in the yard with a mobile home that appeared uninhabitable.

There was a padlock on the front door. He walked into the yard and
there he found 5 starving dogs. They were all chained.The sixth dog was dead in the door to the mobile home with the collar and chain still visible around it's neck. The 5 dogs were emaciated and dehydrated.
One male pit bull was hunched over and his back legs hardly worked. The female pit bull was severely underweight and had bite marks across her face and neck. She too had difficulty walking. Two small dogs were like feathers to carry. Their eyes looked at us and it seemed to me they were asking "why".

In front of the house were men with trucks and hard hats working to fix
the power lines for the neighborhood. Of course they had no idea what
was happening in the yard right next to them as these dogs lay dying.
No one did, but this rescuer took the time to look. The dogs had been
there with no food or water for over a week.

When we met him, the rescuer, Larry, from another organization, had only one carrier in his car,one Pittie loose in the back, one Pittie held under his arm, and the two little dogs sitting on the passenger seat. I drove back to the shelter with him to help with the dogs.

* * * * *
While we slowly drove or walked the neighborhoods, a woman and
her son pointed to a fenced yard.

"They ain't been back since they evacuated. Those dogs ain't been fed or watered."

The little boy went over to the yard with us. A black Pittie sat on the steps. Two young, retriever dogs were in the yard too and happy to see us. We put down three piles of food, separated, and gave them all water. They were pretty hungry. I gave the little boy a dog breed book and asked his mom if I could take his picture. He held the book under his arm and smiled big. I told his mom that he was a little hero for helping us and got her permission to take their picture together.

* * * * *
There were four Pit Bulls in small pens with plastic barrels with the ends cut off for their only protection. No food, no water. No caregiver in sight.

The yard had been enclosed with a wood fence that came down in the
storm. One of the pen's plywood floor was wet and green and the yard
had water several inches deep. We gave them water and poured food
through the chain link. The dogs were afraid and reacting, barking at
us, these strangers at their pens.

A Shepherd/Collie mix, many pounds underweight, had wandered through the fence of this yard. He didn't belong there and probably didn't have a home anywhere. He came to us, then skiddishly ran off many times. Eventually, we were able to entice him with food and catch him. The animal control officer brought him back to the shelter.

Volunteer Chuck kept an eye on this dog and asked for him to be vaccinated and checked for heartworm. He was HW positive and about 12 lbs underweight.

That's a lot. Chuck decided to add him to the 13 dogs back home in Minnesota. He drove with "Hurricane" in the car for 24 hours. Hurricane didn't make a sound. He watched, and slept, deep sleep. He had comfort- a pillow and soft blankets under his skinny body. He had soft words, soft tones, even cooing from these new humans. He had a few bites of food and some clean water to drink on this long trip. Gentle hands touched his beautiful face and lightly massaged his neck.

He watched, not understanding what this all meant, but for now, it must have been the best feeling ever. He accepted it all
and slept and slept.

Chuck called last night after he brought Hurricane to his new forever home. Hurricane walked on a leash at the farm. His ears and tail were up and his nose was interested in all the new smells. The call this morning was even better.

Hurricane was very happy at his new home.

Posted by Ellen Gilmore, Best Friends staff

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