Wednesday afternoon, Wells Fargo's 40-foot semi-trailer from the Cartwright Ranch in Benbrook, Texas, arrived at Monster Park  in San Francisco. Normally, the truck arrives with the Wells Fargo stagecoach and horses on board, for an appearance at a community parade or other event. But this was a special trip: on board were 80 homeless cats and dogs from New Orleans and the area wrecked by hurricanes Katrina and Rita over a year ago.

Only a fraction of displaced people have returned to the New Orleans area, and there are thousands of animals living on the street .There are few local options for adoption and fostering. There is little for homeless animals to scavenge to eat, and demolition leaves strays further displaced. The only viable option is to transport them out of Louisiana.

Cody Riess of Three Wishes Foundation , a non-profit rescue resource in New Orleans, has organized a national adoption event for kittens, puppies, cats, and dogs rescued from the streets of the city post-Katrina. Animal care groups across the country are taking part.

"The disaster was at such a scale that we are overwhelmed here. By transporting a number of animals out of state, the goal is to save as many animals as possible from having to be returned to the disaster zone of New Orleans' streets," said Cody. "We have been working night and day to solve this problem."

The Southern Animal Foundation  has recently received a HSUS grant to spay and neuter the growing population of strays that are still living in New Orleans. Riess coordinates organizations to spay and neuter dozens of animals EACH DAY. All the animals have health certificates, rabies tags, vaccinations and micro chips, and they are spayed or neutered before leaving the city.

Several Northern California rescue groups received animals that will be offered for adoption at fairs and events scheduled this weekend, including:

• Bay Area Cat Rescue 
• GEPDA USA 
• Homeless Animals Response Program (H.A.R.P.) 
• Itty Bitty Orphan Kitty Rescue 
• KATMOM 
• La Honda Mountain Cats Rescue 
• TOPCats on the Ridge, Inc. 
• Purrfect Cat Rescue 
• Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation 
• Town Cats 

Each animal is "sponsored" by a group whose adoption approval processes screen homes that meet their criteria.