A group of Kansas City area animal lovers has driven to New Orleans and returned with about 30 dogs and 16 cats that had been left stranded by Hurricane Katrina. Some of the animals were near death and have been nursed back to health. Others were pregnant and have been able to deliver their litters. The worst case: A brown retriever mix with oily tar in her coat after being tethered to a porch which the flood waters overran and covered. One of the rescuers says the dog was about dead. An IV sustained her during the drive and she seems to have responded to the treatment at the kennels in Cass County.