In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, health officials were worried, among other things, about the spread of disease. They did not likely contemplate the spread of puppies.
"I've never seen so many puppies in my life," said Manny Maciel, an animal control officer from New Bedford, Mass., who made two trips to help trap loose dogs and cats in New Orleans and Mississippi.
In December, Maciel pulled 10 puppies and their mother from beneath a porch in a hard-hit section of Biloxi. He found seven puppies and seven dogs during another shift.
Maciel took all of the dogs to the Humane Society of South Mississippi, where a shelter built for 75 animals now holds about 250 dogs and cats, including nearly 50 puppies. The shelter is the largest one on the Mississippi coast.
Workers have yet to see a spike in cat births, but there's no doubt about what dogs have been doing since the hurricane, said Tara High, executive director of the nonprofit group.
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