[StBernard] St. Bernard finally gets new animal shelter

[Westley Annis]

VIOLET, La. - Hurricane Katrina filled the old St. Bernard Parish animal
shelter with 22 feet of water. What was left was filthy, hot and unbearable
for man or beast.

But the crumbling building hidden in the industrial area was all that was
available for several years after the storm.

With animals overflowing into cages in the yard, it was beyond depressing.
Animal lovers were outraged, and ultimately it was that passion that would
change things.

But it is a new day in St. Bernard, with a $1 million shelter, not off the
beaten path but on a main thoroughfare: E. Judge Perez Drive.

It is modern and clean and humane with air conditioning and heat. There is
an outside agility yard in both the front and the backyards.

Parish President Craig Taffaro said it was paid for by a true collaboration
between FEMA and the parish and two animal groups: the Louisiana SPCA and
the Humane Society of the United States.

"They just could not stand by and watch us not do it right," Taffaro said.
"So we were grateful that they stepped up and helped us."

The facility is run by Beth Brewster, who came here almost two years ago to
oversee the building of the shelter and the creation of the staff and
programs.

"I love a challenge and I've always been an animal fan, and you put the two
together and I couldn't resist," she said.

And she still faces challenges with a huge increase in the number of animals
brought in last year.

"The oil spill, the economy, the new location. I think this is going to be
the new normal," she said.

But along with the increase in animals came an increase in those trying to
help.

"Last year we transported to seven different states. The Houston SPCA has a
huge adoption program. They have taken a lot of animals from us," Brewster
said. "We went to Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Florida."

Last year over 2,000 animals came to the shelter. 982 of them were
euthanized. Of those, 523 were feral cats.

"We try only to euthanize feral cats that can't go back to a feeder colony
or aggressive dogs, dogs who are aggressive to people or other dogs,"
Brewster said.

But the real work of Beth Brewster and her staff is to find homes for those
who come here and to fight the overpopulation problem by subsidizing feral
cat spay neutering and offering the same to people's pets.

"Between the two, we performed 1,200 surgeries," she said.

The parish president gives Brewster the credit for what has been
accomplished.

"The difference between someone coming to work and doing their job versus
someone living out their mission make such a difference," Taffaro said.

Every dog and every cat here has a story. Everyone of them wants to be
loved. The daily battle to make their lives better is the mission Beth
Brewster and her staff accept every day.

It is one dog and one cat at a time, like one animal we saw, who was found
on the street dragging herself.

"We took off a four and half pound tumor and she can actually walk for the
first time," Brewster explained. "Her tumor was a quarter her size."

These are the victories that remind them of why they do what they do each
day.

For information on adopting an animal from the St. Bernard shelter, visit
them at 5455 E. Judge Perez Dr. or call 504-278-1534.