Flooded With Love- A Community Teams Up To Save Dogs In Louisiana

Delaney, a 7 month old Shepherd mix, was scheduled for euthanasia at 2:00. We took this photo at 1:45. Her life was spared, but many dogs were not as fortunate. 

The recent floods in Louisiana were undeniably devastating: 110,000 homes were impacted and 100,000 cars were lost, leaving people in a situation where in order to find shelter, many had to sacrifice their family pets. Learning of the gravity of the situation, Thrive's friend Jan Percival Lipscomb boarded a plane with her daughter and went there to volunteer in some of the hardest hit shelters. Upon her return, Jan reached out to Cece Bloum and asked if Thrive would be willing to help. One week later, the two women made a 4 minute video asking Thrive Animal Rescue's Facebook followers for donations to fund a rescue mission, and if you will pardon the pun, the floodgates opened. 

In order to bring as many home as possible, we then reached out to several other rescue organizations who were ready and willing to help. Rancho Coastal Humane Society offered to do the spay and neuter for all the Louisiana dogs and committed to taking in 20 dogs, Spot Animal Rescue committed to 17 puppies and one momma dog, Labradors and Friends committed to the Labs, Animal Samaritans committed to 5 and Wings of Rescue was contacted and on board!

Top Row: Melinda Souder Falgout, Jamie Clark, Olivia Cameron, Dr. Carly and Erin of Labs and Friends. Bottom Row: Susie Saladino and Thrive's Founder Cece Bloum.

That is how the story began for the #FloodedWithLove mission, but in reality it started way before we became involved. Through the tireless efforts of the warriors at Acadiana Animal Aid in Lafayette, Louisiana, our shelter runs were organized and dogs were pulled moments before they were scheduled to be put down. Acadiana, a no-kill shelter run by these angelic women, was our liaison for this mission, but they do this every day. They organize and transport thousands of dogs out of shelters that have 90% Euthanasia rates and bring them back to their facility for rescues like ours. Beyond organizing these efforts for hundreds of organizations like Thrive, they also run a full fledged, seven day a week, adoption center with veterinary care. These incredible women go far beyond medical attention for each animal. They know the names and temperaments of every dog and cat and talk about each pet as if it were their own. They were our connection, made possible by another badass dog rescue organization, Danny and Ron's Rescue 501(c)3 who have inspired us from the beginning. 

Melinda Souder Falgout of Acadiana Animal Aid doing on-the-spot heart worm testing at a shelter with higher than 90% euthanasia rate.

On Friday, September 23 there will be 65 dogs leaving Lafayette, Louisiana aboard a “Wings of Rescue” jet at 9:00 AM CST scheduled for arrival at Gillespie Field at 1960 Joe Crossman Drive in El Cajon at approximately 2:00 PM PST. 

Please feel free to come to the airport and welcome these dogs to California! They will be getting spayed and neutered on Monday and not available for adoption until Friday. They need time to chill...

This mission isn't over yet- if you'd like to contribute please click here.