Three Bangor pet rescuers head for La.

BANGOR – Help from Maine is on the way for animals affected by Hurricane Katrina, and with two weeks already gone by, time is of the essence.

Wendy Bonneville and Amy Gentle of the Bangor Humane Society staff and Patricia Pinkham, Bangor animal control officer, are flying out of Bangor International Airport at noon today for Jackson, Miss. From where they will travel to Louisiana. They are slated to return next Tuesday.

Exactly what roles they will play once they arrive remained unclear Monday. All three women said most of what they knew about the animal crisis in the hurricane-ravaged South is what they have seen on television.

Pinkham, who has been Bangor’s animal control officer for 22 years, called the images “heartbreaking. … I have no idea what to expect,” in an interview Monday at the society’s Mount Hope Avenue shelter. She said rescuers could be involved in anything from catching and examining animals to feeding and walking them.

Dogs, cats, horses, pigs and cows are among the animals affected by the hurricane, the Bangor rescuers said, adding they largely would be handling cats, dogs and other small companion animals. They said they expected animals still on the loose are frightened and hungry and others have been injured.

“I imagine I’ll have to brace myself when I get down there,” said Bonneville, an animal care technician at the Bangor shelter. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to grasp the whole impact until I see it for myself.

Added Gentle, “I’d rather be there helping out than watching it on CNN.”

Bangor offered its services to the Humane Society of the United States, and the national organization took the city up on its offer. HSUS is paying for the women’s transportation and will supply lodging and food. The Bangor Humane Society is paying for essentials and the workers’ time.

While in Louisiana, the rescuers will focus on rounding up animals and putting them in a large shelter in hopes that the animals can be reunited with their owners, according to Jeff Mitchell, the local humane society’s executive director.

Mitchell said he’s unsure how many animals were left behind when residents were forced to evacuate or how many were separated from owners during the storm. The number of animals in need has been estimated in the tens of thousands.

“Basically, they need help, and if they can use my help, I’m willing to do what I can,” said Bonneville, who along with Gentle received disaster animal rescue training two years ago from the Humane Society of the United States.

“This is the first time we’ve really had to use it,” Bonneville said.

Gentle said that when she underwent the training, she envisioned one day using it during an ice storm, flood or apartment complex fire.

“But never for something like this, of this magnitude,” she said.

Gentle said she hopes that many happy reunions will take place. “The elderly is what gets me. In some cases, pets are all the family they have,” she said.

Pets whose owners cannot be located will be put up for adoption, likely after a four- to six-week waiting period, Mitchell said. Animals needing homes eventually will be sent northward, he said.

The local shelter has offered to take in up to 60 animals in need of homes, Mitchell said.

With a day left before their departure, the women were not sure where they would be staying.

“We’ll probably be camping out,” Gentle said, noting that tents, sleeping bags, food, clothing, leashes, gloves and goggles were some of the items they were advised to pack.

Pinkham and Gentle said this has required some creative packing. To maximize space, they have stuffed water bottles into sleeping bags and tied the bags together with leashes.

The three women acknowledged that their families are worried but said they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We all have family at home, but we’re going to do it because how could we not do it?” said Gentle, a shelter adoption counselor.

“This is going to be an adventure, I’m very sure,” albeit a challenging one, Pinkham said, adding, “The burnout factor is very high.”