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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
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Hurricane Gustav Credit: National Weather Service

Also see: Jackpedia: Hurricane Gustav to get/post vital information.

Sept. 1, 2008—The Mississippi Animal Rescue League in Jackson is housing hundreds of dogs and cats from other shelters in South Mississippi and Louisiana at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds. They are in great need of clay litter, food, feeding bowls. Please call MARL if you can help, or if you’re an evacuee and need help with your pets at 601-969-1631 or 601-969-1633 for information on where to take them. Or, take supplies to the Fairgrounds; here’s a map.

Mississippi Board of Animal Health Hot line for people needing to board pets at the fairgrounds.
MBAH: 1-888-722-3106
Beth Adcock: Manager of Pet Shelter at Fairgrounds – 769-798-3137

The MS State Fairgrounds are located:
1207 Mississippi St
Jackson, MS 39202

Previous Comments

MEMA says they cannot shelter any more horses at the Fairgrounds. So call the above numbers to find out where to take them. As of this morning, they could still take 200 more small animals, though, at the Coliseum.

Founding Editor Donna Ladd is a writer, journalist and editor from Philadelphia, Miss., a graduate of Mississippi State University and later the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she was an alumni award recipient in 2021. She writes about racism/whiteness, poverty, gender, violence, journalism and the criminal justice system. She contributes long-form features and essays to The Guardian when she has time, and was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press. She co-founded the statewide nonprofit Mississippi Free Press with Kimberly Griffin in March 2020, and the Mississippi Business Journal named her one of the state's top CEOs in 2024. Read more at donnaladd.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @donnerkay and email her at donna@mississippifreepress.org.