San Francisco ? The first major airlift of dogs from the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast left Louisiana on Sunday, carrying about 80 pets to new temporary homes in California.

The Continental Airlines flight from Baton Rouge, La., was chartered for about $50,000 by Texas oil tycoon Boone Pickens and his wife, Madeleine, in a movement dubbed “Operation Pet Lift.”

About half the dogs on Sunday’s flight were headed for San Diego, with the rest bound for San Francisco. Sunday’s move was being organized by PetRelocation.com, based in Austin, Texas.

“The goal was to help rescue 200 dogs,” Pickens’ spokesman Jay Rosser said. “They’re overjoyed that they were able to rescue 80, but clearly disappointed and dismayed at the bureaucracy, which prevented them from taking the full 200.”

Organizers complained that legal requirements were impractical, such as waiting 30 days for owners to claim their pets before transporting the animals.

Kelly Harrington, director of disaster response services for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said a makeshift shelter for up to several thousand dogs had been set up at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, La., about 45 miles northwest of New Orleans.

She hoped other dogs would be flown out in the coming days, but said it was taking time.

“Every animal has to be vet checked, vaccinated and microchipped … so we can track these animals in case an owner does find them,” she said.

Petfinder.com was setting up a database of pet pictures to help reunite owners with lost animals.