The flight to Texas was great! I am proud to say that Titus folded under the seat! I was really impressed with him. The airlines were great helping us get outside for grass, doggie potty, and back in for our connection. Texas is a really beautiful place with very friendly people. As we were driving down the highway there were signs that said, “Do not drive to Houston or Beaumont no gas available enroute.” It reminded me that not all of the state of Texas was as ‘beautiful” as what we were driving through.

The camp that we are at is housing 500 people in all. They are really well organized with house parents for each cottage. Those people then report to the Red Cross. This camp is very nice and the people feel that they are lucky to be in a shelter like this one. The shelter residents all help with the cleaning of the cafeteria and other areas of the camp. Sitting in the cafeteria I looked around the room and saw people from all walks of life and all ages with a common thread of no home. It really made me appreciate all that I have.

Day 1 in shelter camp

We started wandering the camp this morning with the dogs, talking to all the people. Stories began to come out about the night of the hurricane. Stories about roofs being blown off and walls crashing down around them as well as water everywhere were common stories. Many people had bug bites so bad people were running fevers and sick. Several people had sad stories of families being broken up and houses being leveled. Some of the families were heading “home” today to check out the damage and some of the kids were “worried” about going home. Life as they have known it is over and they must build a new life. We worked with almost 300 kids from a private residential treatment facility. They were heading back to their facility later today. These kids had many issues even BEFORE the hurricane. The group was very needy and had many stories for us. We spent a large amount of time with them. Titus got a little stressed trying to give time to all of them. Kids and dogs gave out hugs and kisses. The “tough” guys even dropped their guard some with the dogs and talked with us about their lives. It was kind of interesting to watch the “tough guys” put their “tough” mask back on!

We are heading to a Red Cross shelter in Waco this afternoon. The dogs are tired already after seeing so many people this morning. The response of the staff and evacuees to the dogs has been amazing. We have brought smiles to many faces and listened to many stories today.

The shelter in Waco had lots of kids and the dogs had their work cut out for them. At the first stop we had about 20 kids that were really bored! The dogs had fun playing with them and we listened to their stories about what had happened to them. Most of the kids seemed to be fine but there were several who just clung to us and were very sad. We had a difficult time leaving them. There was a day care just next door and they asked if we could come visit those kids. Oh my, we got mobbed by 50 kids everyone had a great time. I am so sorry we can’t post any of the pictures with the kids, as they were so cute.

The dogs were soo very tired by the end of the day. We were supposed to go over and see other people in the evening but it was 8PM and the dogs were just wiped out so we didn’t go back out.

Day 2
Breakfast was so neat this morning as we had lots of people coming up to us giving us hugs and asking if we were going to bring the dogs to visit again. Several of them said that visiting yesterday with the dogs was the first time they had smiled since the hurricane. I had one lady seek me out to give me a hug this morning; it made me feel like I had made a difference in her life. We will be working on the shelter campus all day today so we should be able to get some good with the people.

We worked up at the Welcome center this morning. The center has phones for people to use and the room was filled with frustration. The wait to talk to someone from FEMA was 89 minutes. People were struggling to contact FEMA, family members, employers and banks. Reports were coming in that Houston was just crazy and a mess with no power, water problems, and everyone just standing around not knowing what to do. Of 160 schools only 10 are working. The Beaumont people may be here for several more weeks because the water is contaminated and they have had several people die related to the water. People call family or friends in the area and get news but none of it is good. The dogs greet people at the door and cuddle up to them as they wait on a phone for long periods. People are getting frustrated about money and getting home. One little girl has been really sick and to the hospital twice and is still not well. The only time this little one smiles is when she gets to pet the dogs and walk them, she has claimed all out hearts.

The concert and barbecue were great. The kids wanted to play with the dogs all evening. Daisy and Titus worked hard with kids walking them. We had a parade with a whole line of kids. We waved at the adults as we walked by and they loved it. Titus and I danced to the music and got the kids over to dance also. We left after about two hours, as the dogs were tired. We now know how ponies feel at a birthday party! There was lots of laughter and fun, which was great for everyone.

Day 3
We went back to Waco to the shelter there and spent time with the kids again. We also spent some time with the adults and listened to their frustration on being “stuck” at the shelter. One man who stayed in Galveston during Ike had a video of the water coming over the storm wall and he said there was furniture IN the trees from the wind. He talked about all the dead bodies of animals that were all over the ground, goats, dogs and sheep. He felt some of this was blown all the way from Cuba. There were items on the ground that were in all Spanish and some that said Cuba on them. The vision of couches and other large furniture in trees gave us an idea of the strength of the wind. So many of the stories were sad and frightening but the people scratched on the dogs while they told the story and seemed to be less stressed as they told their story.

When we came back to the shelter/camp at Latham Springs people came running up to us asking where we had been. Many of the people seemed very upset that we had not been in camp for the day. We found out that they had a meeting during the afternoon and they were told that Beaumont was NOT safe to go back to yet. Yes some power was on but water was still contaminated there was no sewer and that many buildings were destroyed. People got really upset and angry. They were brought here by bus and don’t have any transportation means back to the town unless FEMA takes them back. FEMA said that they town was not habitable and they would not take them back. People started yelling that they were being held against their will and tempers flared. Police and SWAT teams were called in to restore order. We were gone for all of that but there was still major tension when we got back and people were asking for the dogs. We went to walk the campus and kids came running across a field SCREAMING “the dogs are back!” It didn’t take long to settle the kids, a little bit of playing and they were ready to move on. We worked with the Red Cross staff that was feeling the strain and stress. The Emergency Management Services people were very glad to see the dogs, as it had been a long day for them. Titus did long “cuddle” time with several of them and we ended up spending almost an hour with them. It was very dark at this point but we felt we needed to check with a group of adults in the back section. We were a little concerned about security but there was a police person stationed back in that area so we felt comfortable. We spent about a half hour back with the adults and the dogs were just exhausted so we headed back.

Day 4
Well I now know I have a little bit of a guard dog. In our cabin we can lock the door to our room but not the main door nor the room next door. At about 5AM Titus started barking and I thought that it was Amy taking Cabby out. I told him to be quiet and then Cabby came over and put her head on my bed. It was that point that I heard the door to the outside of the camp slam. I went outside with Titus and heard voices in the parking lot. We tried to go back to bed but it was hard. We found the mystery out at breakfast this morning. Apparently there was a Red Cross security detail last night due to the unrest that was going around checking cabins and they did not know that our cabin was occupied. Apparently Titus scared the daylights out of them and they took off and reported that they had been scared off. Go guard dog.

We are about to go out and walk the campus as people were asking for the dogs at breakfast. It will be hard to say goodbye to all our friends today since we leave early tomorrow morning. I will miss the people and Titus will miss all the scratches.

We wandered the camp this morning and found some people who were getting ready to leave. We were saying our goodbye’s and checking in with people. I was feeling a little guilty about heading home to my comfortable bed and house. I began to feel better as it sounded like many of the people in camp were heading home soon. The difference with my “home coming” and theirs is that they go home to horrible damage and uncertainty. It will be announced at lunch today that they will provide a bus for those who want to go back to Beaumont. They are still saying they do not recommend them going but cannot prevent them so they will provide transportation. 

This will be my last post for the trip. We leave very early tomorrow morning for our flight home. The dogs are dirty and tired and we are also but all of us feel that our time here has been useful. Thanks for your prayers and well wishes. Please continue to keep these people in your prayers as they face the long road of recovery ahead.