Katrina Pets Arrive in NYC, Fleeing Rita
New York, NY —
A 727 airplane full of animals stranded in Louisiana is scheduled to arrive at Teteroboro airport at 1:30 this afternoon. The pets were separated from their owners after hurricane Katrina and will be transported from the airport to a shelter in Port Washington, on Long Island.
REPORTER: The animals needed to be evacuated once Hurricane Rita started to threated the already battered region. Doctor Eve Ognibene, a Veterinarian for North Shore Animal League who is overseeing the operation, says thousands of pets are currently stranded in Louisiana and Mississippi's animal shelters.
OGNIBENE: I'm standing in Gonzales right now, this is a fair ground so it's mostly barns with roofs but no walls and the animals are in stalls and I mean they are protected but if you're talking about getting hit by a storm, it's not going to be an ideal place for these animals to be.
REPORTER: Ognibene says once the animals arrive in Port Washington, shelter workers will attempt to reunite them with their original owners. If owners can't be found, the pets will be put up for adoption.
