Cirone and Eyre spent nearly two hours Tuesday clearing a house filled with 22 cats, two dogs and a bird. Healthy animals roaming the street are left to fend for themselves so the animal protection crews can focus on saving those trapped in homes with no way to scavenge for food.

It's exhausting work, but the worst part isn't the animals. It's the people.

"You've got to walk through bodies to get animals," Cirone said. "Some were in the water. Some were on their porch."

The burly firefighter and animal control officer from New Jersey said he tries his best to tune out the misery around him and to focus on getting his job done. But there are moments when it slips through.

Like when a small boy and his mother dropped off their pet rabbit and mice.

"All their possessions were in a Volkswagen Beatle. That's all they have left."

The animals are being cared for at a farm north of Louisiana until they can be reunited with their families, many of whom were told they would not be able to bring their pets on evacuation busses and helicopters. Photographs of some animals are being posted on a Web site, petfinder.com, so that their owners can claim them.

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Help animals through the following organizations at the front and center of relief efforts:

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
American Humane Association (AHA)
American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF)
United Animal Nations (UAN)

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