VIDEO: Newly Adopted Animals Make a Fresh Start After Louisiana Floods

As PETA’s rescue team members went door-to-door in flood-ravaged Louisiana, finding home after home severely or irreparably damaged, they knew one thing for sure: Local shelters were going to be inundated with animals whose guardians could no longer care for them. And that meant that already-overburdened shelters would be pushed past the breaking point. So they approached several Baton Rouge–area shelters and offered their assistance. Shelter officials gratefully accepted, saying that their most urgent need was to free up space for more animals coming in.

PETA drove three vans loaded with 62 four-legged (or feathered) flood refugees—35 dogs, 20 cats, six rabbits, and one cockatiel—to PETA’s Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters, the Sam Simon Center. Partnering with Chesapeake Animal Services, Chesapeake Humane Society, Chowan-Gates Animal Shelter, Danville Area Humane Society, Norfolk Animal Care and Adoption Center, and the Virginia Beach SPCA, we dispersed the animals across the region, leaving the following “magnificent seven” in PETA’s care (all of whom have officially been adopted into loving families):

Lafayette and Thibodaux

These playful kittens were found a few weeks before the flood as strays. Thibodaux was suffering from an infected neck wound that was cleaned out and treated with antibiotics by PETA’s mobile clinic staff. After traveling halfway across the country together, they were adopted as a pair and will continue their journey together in their happy new home!

Louis Armstrong 

When the storm hit, Louis had already been at the shelter for five months and had been constantly bullied by other cats the whole time without ever losing his cool. He is now the newest member of a sweet, loving family and will never be bullied again!

Cajun Craig 

He looks like a cross between a mop and a Muppet, but Cajun Craig is 100 percent cuteness. His owner surrendered him to the shelter on the day that PETA’s rescue teams were heading home, just in time for him to hitch a ride on the PETA caravan. His new mom drove all the way from Washington, D.C., to adopt him and promises to give Craig a very happy life (with lots of treats and even a dog spa!).

Benny

Senior poodle mix Benny’s dignity has been sorely tested. First, she was reduced to wandering the streets, where her beautiful white fur became terribly matted. Then she spent a month in a noisy shelter, surrounded by rowdy, barking dogs, when all she wanted was some peace and quiet, a comfy lap to sit on, and some plush toys to snuggle with. She finally found the perfect home with a retired couple who will provide her with all the love, affection, and treats that she has always deserved!

Lucy

This impossibly adorable Chihuahua became the undisputed star of the flood refugees after she was featured in the newspaper and on TV news broadcasts. She was quickly adopted by a very sweet couple, who happened to have another Chihuahua companion, Burrito, waiting for her at home!

Crash

Crash’s owners evacuated without their 12-year-old cockatiel, and when they returned, he was trapped in his cage, up to his neck in floodwater. With their home made uninhabitable by the flood, they surrendered him to PETA’s rescue team, who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Crash now has a loving home—he was adopted by a PETA staff member, who immediately fell for his charms—and today he still makes the occasional guest appearance in PETA’s office.

If you’d like to support PETA’s Animal Emergency Fund, which makes rescue missions like this one possible, click here.