Louisiana DVM honored for pet-rescue work after hurricanes

Lafayette, La.

-- A veterinarian who directed a Louisiana all-volunteer group that helped find shelters and cared for animals in the wake of hurricanes Gustav and Ike last fall was named Veterinarian of the Year by her state's veterinary association.

The Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association presented the honor to Renee Poirrier, who led the Louisiana State Animal Response Team last fall in helping thousands of animals after both storms.

The team placed 1,054 pets in Shreveport and another 125 in Alexandria in storm shelters, and still others in evacuation shelters in three cities.

Taking a lesson from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, when many pets were evacuated but only a small percentage re-united with their owners, the group was better organized and had a better reunification rate this time, officials say.

"We made sure animals had a place to go, and tried to get people to evacuate before the storm instead of after" the 2008 storms, Poirrier says.

Microchip IDs are not mandatory for dogs and cats in Louisiana, but are required for horses, which helped in the tracking of displaced horses.

Poirrier, a veterinarian since 1988, didn't want to take sole credit for last year's team success. "Vets from across the state helped with all the shelters. It was a total group effort," she says.