Christ Yoder
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2021 has been another year of unexpected challenges for the Lafourche Parish Animal Shelter, the Lafourche Parish Government, and all businesses and residents of Lafourche Parish. As Covid continued to pressure shelter staff, it also affected pets and their owners. LPAS Director Hilary K. Detilier juggled her staff through Covid exposures and illnesses and in the aftermath of Ida when most staff lost or damaged homes.
LPAS has maintained the Pet Food Pantry which started in the spring of 2020 to help struggling pet owners feed and maintain ownership of their pets. LPSO Animal Control Officers (ACOs) supported the distribution of food bags to residents who requested pet food online. Thousands of pounds, representing hundreds of bags of dog and cat food, were purchased through donations made through Lafourche Animal Society, Inc. (LASI) so that the LPAS budget would not be impacted by this program. LASI is the 501©3 branch that funds special programs for LPAS. In 2021, LASI provided nearly $11,000 to the LPAS for special needs shelter pets, pets owned by residents in need, and pet food.
Post Ida
After Hurricane Ida, food was distributed through drive-thrus in the center of Lafourche, along with free inoculations and free microchips for dogs and cats. Grants from animal rescue groups and animal foundations such as: Petco Love, PetSmart Charities, Greater Good Charities, Best Friends Charity and the ASPCA, provided much needed funds to LPAS in the months following the impact of Ida.
Immediately following Ida, more than 80 pets of displaced residents were fed onsite by LPAS employees with assistance from ASPCA, Code 3 and IFAW. From 8/31/21 to 9/21/21, all animals recovered by the ACO as strays or seized were held for 15 days, giving displaced owners ample time to recover their pets. A temporary overflow shelter was opened in collaboration with Terrebonne Parish Animal Shelter and managed by American Humane. This collaboration was welcomed and will be studied for future use by the LSASRT (Louisiana State Animal Response Team) and the LDAF (Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestries).
Following the closure of the temporary shelter in early October, the ASPCA arranged transportation to move the animals to rescue groups/shelters for adoption, and our ongoing partnership with Greater Good Charities funded the transportation of over 100 dogs and cats that could be adopted. Almost weekly, LPAS placed animals on a plane home to the country, as many parish residents and potential adopters still grapple with the aftermath of the storms.
Since Ida, approximately 700 dogs and cats have received free microchips through drive-through clinics, LPAS, Lockport Family Pet Clinic and South Lafourche Vet Clinic thanks to a generous donation from the Best Friends Charity. Microchips allow stray pets to be scanned by ACO officers in the field and returned to their owners without needing to travel and stay at the shelter, saving staff money time and money. Free microchips will be available to all parish resident pets at LPAS during business hours.
TNR (Trap-Sterilization-Return)
183 cats (900 community cats since its creation) served by the TNR program.
Funds for TNR sterilization are provided by LASI, received through donations. LSU Vet School, Lockport Family Pet Clinic, LASPCA and other veterinary clinics provide the surgical services. Trap-Neuter-Return is the only proven method for permanent community cat population control.
LPAS will continue the TNR of Community Cats by partnering with LSU Veterinary School and funding surgeries as funds are available from LASI.
Low cost sterilization program
567 dogs, 847 sterilization/sterilization surgeries of cats were scheduled under the Low Cost Spay/Neuter program. Many veterinary practices in Lafourche Parish suffered damage or were closed for several months after Ida, which had a significant impact on the sterilization schedule.
LPAS will start having registrations for the low-cost s/n program in Galliano on the 2n/a Monday of each at Fire Central beginning in February 2022 pending adequate staffing at LPAS. This is an important and convenient option for residents of South Lafourche.
LPAS since Hurricane Ida – Looking Ahead in 2022
LPAS grants from Petco Love, PetSmart Charities and ASPCA will provide funding for:
- Improvements to hurricane preparedness and the possibility of a new kennel space for pets in the *new shelter building.
- Cat food for commodity distributions
- Mesh boxes
- Microchips
- Generator for the *new building
- Supplies and bunk sheets
- Perimeter fencing for *new building
* Duplantis Designs has finalized plans for the construction of a new shelter building to be constructed in 2022. The current building has long outlived its usefulness and continues to have issues with floor rot, lack of ventilation and air pollution. ‘space.
LPAS manager Hilary Detilier has completed the nationally recognized six-month Best Friends Leadership Course.
Operation Whiskers – Lafourche, Terrebonne, Orléans, Plaquemine and Jefferson Parish animal shelters have partnered to host several large-scale TNR surgery days in southeast Louisiana in the spring of 2022. Various national organizations have pledged to fund and will work with project manager in the New Orleans area. This multi-parish cooperation has been nationally recognized as a unique approach to the problem of overpopulation of cats in the national community.
LPAS is partnering with a Nicholls marketing class who will develop a marketing plan for the shelter in the spring semester of 2022.
The LPSO has contacted the LPAS and wants to launch a director training program, possibly by summer 2022.
