The mission was simple enough: find Cam.

After waiting most of the day Monday for the winds of Hurricane Gustav to drop below 50 miles per hour, Best Friends Animal Society’s search and rescue team hit the streets of Jefferson Parish. But would Cam be there? It had been more than 24 hours since the dog had first been reported alone in his back yard as the storm approached.

Cam, the beloved dog of Denea Junius and her two sons, was by a strange set of circumstances left behind Sunday afternoon as families fled the oncoming storm. His family had evacuated early and a neighbor — with full intentions of staying put through the storm — offered to watch the affable brindle-and-white pit bull.

But then the mandatory order to evacuate came and the neighbor, not knowing what else to do, called Best Friends. “Please go get Cam. We had to leave and we didn’t have room in the car,” she pleaded. But as darkness set in and the bands of pelting rain came ashore, it was just too late to go get the dog.

Best Friends contacted Denea, by now evacuated to Dallas, Texas. She was grateful to hear from Best Friends and explained: “I understand why my neighbor had to leave. Her safety was important. And we remembered Best Friends from Katrina. My sister adopted one of the dogs Best Friends rescued. So thank you, and yes, please go get my dog.”

Late Monday, Best Friends Rapid Response Manager Rich Crook and his team went to the house and there he was—a very frightened Cam running around in a safely fenced, and locked back yard. Rich scaled the tall fence and dropped into the back yard. With the house locked, the only way to get Cam out was to hoist him over the fence.

“Cam’s a good dog, he put up with being pushed over a fence,” Crook said. “I was able to call Denea and tell her we had the dog.”

Because Cam’s family granted Best Friends permission to pick up their dog, Cam is safely tucked in at Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter tonight, where he will stay there until his family picks him up.

“Best Friends will stay in touch with the animal shelter and they will watch over him until Denea picks him up in a few days,” Crook said. Meanwhile the team was able to determine on their first assessment that there are many, many more- too many- dogs and cats left behind to brave the storm. The team had to cut short their search mission because of rapidly deteriorating weather conditions. “Our full search and rescue team is arriving over night, and with the weather settling, we’ll be able to do full sweeps across the whole area, beginning tomorrow morning.

“We were unable to contact owners of the animals we spotted, so tonight we just noted their locations, made sure they were safe and secure, and left them fresh food and water. We will be back out first thing in the morning,” Crook said.

Denea was overjoyed and her sons, ages 17 and 7, were cheering in the background when they heard the news that their dog would be waiting for them.

“We should be home in the next several days. My boys were so worried. We are so excited. You know, Cam’s a character. Besides playing ball with the boys, his favorite thing is to grab the welcome mat and run around the yard with it. He keeps us entertained.”

In anticipation of his family’s return, Cam will surely have the welcome mat out.

Check out our Rapid Response web page for more info on Best Friends preparations for the hurricane season.

Donate to help the animals when disaster strikes.

September 9, 2008 : 5:22 AM ET
posted by: SUNNEE

sarahsavage why do you even bother to post here. This site is for true committed animal lovers and not half witts that have obviously no understanding of what it takes to to being a true friend and guardian to their pet . You keep harping on the same story all the time when there are thousands to be concerned with. It's not only about that one Pitbul .There is no logic to evacuate your sorry self and leave your pet behind thinking it doesn't get that bad. Why leave at all! Wether it's this Pitbull the clinic or everybody else. Again one can't argue with idiots or callous people. You have no idea what people blogging here have endured themselves to save their pets under different circumstances without the luxury to being warned days in advanced. It boils down to being stupid and ignorant to have this type of disaster unfold on that magnitude for the second time. On a new site here at BF some want to put people like that out to sea in a boat without food and water. Sounds fair. I'm all for it.

September 8, 2008 : 11:20 PM ET
posted by: d2or3

Yep, just like during Katrina, look at all the poor pitbulls down south who were chained, left in the yard, sick, HW+, etc. I say get all the pitbulls out of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and bring them to sanctuary. They are the most abused dogs on the planet. If you don't believe me, watch this video: http://www.weartv.com/players/news/top_stories/wear_vid_4137.shtml ---> Page comes up as "Top Stories," then screen comes up. Click on little arrow to left at bottom of screen. Article is below video screen.

September 8, 2008 : 3:45 PM ET
posted by: isembard

People who abandon or hurt their animals or children don't need apologists to come in and make excuses for them: they have plenty of their own. Yes, I'm judgemental. I believe that when you make a commitment to someone smaller or weaker than you, you commit wholeheartedly regardless of the consequences or the situation. And, fyi, Sara, I grew up dirt poor, but when the tornado warnings started coming in, we piled into the car along with our dozen+ animals and drove away from the danger. We didn't pack our clothes or books or toys, but we did take the entire family with us. Even had I not experience that, I would not need any particular understanding of poverty or fear to know that wrong is wrong, and abandoning family members to starvation, dehydration, disease, terror, and heaven-knows-what else it not excusable under any circumstance. Since Katrina, I've thought about this many times, and frankly, unless my little ones are with me, I will not leave, not if hell itself is about to open up and swallow me. We are family. They wouldn't abandon me, and I sure as the devil will never abandon them.

Consider this also, these current hurrican victims lived through the entire Katrina/Rita experience, so they, of all people on earth, should have had an emergency evacuation plan in place.

In the end, it's another chance to Best Friends to prove what a gift from God they are.

September 8, 2008 : 2:12 PM ET
posted by: sarahsavage253

Wow, could you people really get a grip? You are ready to lynch the owners and myself here. The only thing that I said is you can never know what situation the owners were in here and you have no right to judge. Do I agree with them leaving their pet? Absolutely not. Would I do it, ever, for any reason? Absolutely not, I would never leave my dog anywhere, especially in the path of a storm. Anyone can be judgmental when you're sitting on the West Coast eating your granola and claiming that only your view is the right one. But let me advise you, a large amount of people in the area in question are at or below the poverty line and struggle to make it even to work, much less out of state for a hurricane. So I stand by my earlier statements. YOU have no idea what these people experienced and why Cam was left behind with a trusted neighbor. Therefore, YOU can say nothing. As for the story of the vet tech that ditched the animals in Metairie, I assure it is one hundred percent true. For a time, I was a vet tech in the area and still maintain contact with many people still within that network. I will not disclose the name of the clinic or the doctors that owned the clinic, but yes, it is true. Why was only one person left at the clinic? Everyone that evacuated believed that they would be home in one night, two tops. Can you imagine the trauma of not even being allowed close to your home for a month, guns in your face, mp's and cops questioning your every move??? No, you probably can't. And your dim, narrow mind won't allow you to look outside yourself and understand that the entire world isn't fed with a silver spoon. And don't you dare begin the argument, "if they're poor, they shouldn't have a pet". I've known poor people who took better care of their pets, without the resources available to the wealthy or middle class, than people that paid thousands of dollars for a show-worthy dog. I've seen it all, both when I worked as a tech and living through Katrina. So stay on your high horse, if you must, but don't be surprised if one day, you fall flat on your face with that attitude.

September 5, 2008 : 7:04 PM ET
posted by: SUNNEE

Very well said Maggieshouse. I knew about this from years ago and that's why I never moved to places like that despite the fact that beautiful homes and land are dirt cheap in comparison to the West. It would have been nice for my horses to have a constant pasture for instance in Missouri instead of just one acre of barren soil with just some trees. However the emotional toll would have been too much for me to enjoy my life looking at the ignorance everywhere. On a short trip thru Kansas and Missouri I created quite the stirr when in one State the Vet wouldn't respond because it was 'just a kitten' and the other when I freaked out when I heard of a small dog that was being castrated by his owner by having his testicles wrapped tightly with a rubber band. This was common practice. My deepest respect is for the people that fight this battle in the midst of these subhumans and keep doing so day after day.