"Gustav was worse than expected because (a) the forecast was inaccurate and (b) it was slow-moving. We were told all week that the storm was passing to the north of us--only to find out on the morning of the night that it hit that it was headed directly towards us!

"It was travelling at between 3-5 knots per hour which meant that when it finally arrived it took forever (27 hours) to pass. And it proved quite terrifying. Experiencing a hurricane in the dark is especially frightening because without power (and the power always goes because of downed and damaged wires) you can't see the damage that you can hear is taking place.

"We were most afraid for the dogs in the outside kennels. Not all of our kennels are properly secured because we have not yet been able to get the funds to do so. Also, some of the roofs are temporary, providing more protection from the sun and normal rain than being strong enough to resist hurricanes. The third area we were vulnerable in was our electricity because of outdated wiring.

"What we were left with after the winds and rain passed was a downed perimeter fence, no electricity, flooded food and medicine supplies, and damaged roofs on the portable kennels.

"We are seriously in need of help so that we can take care of the rewiring and get the electricity back, repair the fence and replace the food, medicine, and roof coverings."

If you can help the Animal House in Jamaica, please visit their website.

We are pleased to report that Save-A-Sato in Puerto Rico did not sustain any damage from Hurricane Gustav.

Update 9/15/2008: A donor has stepped forward to cover the cost of electrical rewiring! Animal House is still seeing assistance with fencing, food, and medication replacement.