by Apollonia Trujillo
Daily Lobo
Memphis, a 4-month-old pit bull mix, was named after a detour his rescuers had to take when leaving Katrina-ravaged New Orleans.
Adrienne Ledden and Carol Jade rescued Memphis, with nine other animals, including his sister Molly, in September. Hurricane Rita was on its way to Texas, so the two women were forced to drive north through Tennessee before heading west to New Mexico, Ledden said.
"We had to leave them in Memphis," Ledden said. "The vet there said the puppies wouldn't survive the drive."
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Memphis, Molly and Shanti, another pit bull mix rescued by the women, all had parvo, a viral disease that kills cells in the intestinal lining. Memphis and Shanti got well quickly, Ledden said, but Molly died.
Memphis and Shanti made an appearance at UNM's "The Center of the Universe" sculpture on Monday to help raise money for animals left homeless after Hurricane Katrina. About 250,000 animals were affected by the storm, Ledden said, but only 15,000 were rescued.
The UNM Pre-Veterinary Club raised more than $200 by selling cupcakes and showing off the puppies in argyle sweaters. The money will go toward paying medical bills for the abandoned animals.
Veterinarian bills for Memphis and Shanti were more than $5,000, Ledden said.
All kinds of animals were rescued after Hurricane Katrina, including horses, goats and livestock. But the majority of animals rescued were dogs, Ledden said.
Ledden said about 80 percent of adult dogs had heartworm and most of the puppies rescued were emaciated and suffering from parvo.
Ledden and Jade went to New Orleans to volunteer at Gonzales Animal Shelter, which rescued around 3,000 animals after the storm.
Some animals were not so lucky, Ledden said.
"A lot of them died," she said. "There were only so many rescuers in New Orleans."
Student Katie Kirby, a junior at UNM, said the Pre-Veterinary Club is dedicated to helping animals.
"Were all basically animal fanatics," she said.
Memphis and Shanti stayed in Memphis, Tenn., for a month before Ledden drove to Oklahoma to get them. When they got to their new homes in Albuquerque, they started to thrive, she said.
"They're in wonderful foster homes and each have another dog in the home who have adopted them," Ledden said.
They're coping well, but in different ways, she said.
"Shanti is very outgoing," she said. "Memphis is a mellow dog, a very soulful dog. I think he's a little more feeling of the whole situation."
- Katy Knapp contributed to this story.
