During the Katrina evacuation of the Superdome in New Orleans, thousands of people were pushed against barricades trying to get a seat on a bus that would get them out of hell. Among the pushing bodies, a small child was clutching a small dog. They were both scared, hungry and thirsty. Hope abounded as the buses finally began to arrive. Then, cleverly, a police officer confiscated the boy’s dog. Dogs are not allowed on the bus. As the dog prayed from his hands, the boy cried out in anguish, “Snowball, snowball…” and he was so overwhelmed with pain that he vomited.
Hurricane Katrina has devastated the Gulf Coast and the human death toll is rising. For survivors, worry about pets left behind only adds to their trauma. Some evacuees who had vehicles were able to bring their pets with them, but thousands entered the Superdome and were forced to leave the animals they love behind to fend for themselves. He heartbreakingly left to face a terrifying hurricane, all alone.
For those animals that did not perish in the hell that was Katrina, the worst was yet to come. The water began to rise. Many lost and confused animals began to wander the streets of a world they did not recognize, hungry and thirsty and longing for their guardians.
One woman ran back to find her entire apartment reduced to oversized matches, but the loss she expressed was only because of her dog. “My dog was in the apartment!” she screamed and tears streamed down her face.
A white lab stuck in a tree, stranded and terrified, looked confused as people passed him. But the human rescue effort doesn’t have a social heart big enough to include our animals.
Dogs that were carefully rescued and kept by families on rooftops were abandoned while humans were evacuated. Senior residents who had stayed in flooded residences for five days just to protect their beloved animals were forced to leave their animals to starve, perhaps to drain them. An old man got into the boat, his dog patiently waiting for him to invite him to get on, but instead, he saw his owner float away. “Max” the man yelled… “Max” he yelled realizing his madness too late as his rescuers hurriedly moved them out of his reach.
A brave group of animal rescue organizations mobilized to find and rescue dogs, pets, horses and other animals. A shelter was discovered with animals still inside that had not had food or water for three days.
Frantic emails over the Internet made one sick to the stomach. “Could someone go and feed my animals?” Not knowing if their animals were alive after a week without food or water, or if their homes actually still existed, all they wanted was for things to be that simple…just feed the animals. A poignant image of a cat in the open packed suitcase made one cry. If only they could have left the luggage and taken the cat.
Samson, a big brown and white boxer, had only been out a week, survived. He was left at a veterinary office when the hurricane hit and his family was evacuated to Dallas without him. His calm face was compelling enough for rescuers to offer to drive from other states to seek shelter in the disaster area.
“THEY FOUND HIM!” shouted the posted message. “He was taken to González with the other animals in the clinic. THANK YOU for your help and understanding. Eternally grateful…” his contagious joy snatched away as a small consolation for all those who needed something good to hold on to in the midst of all the pain .
A pet shelter has been set up at Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette, right next to the Cajundome. Evacuees could bring their pets there to stay. They reiterated that they had “PLENTY of food, water, crates, cages, bedding, and newspapers. BUT owners are responsible for feeding, drinking, walking, and medicating their own pets.” And then the cruelest cut of all.
Many of those pets who hugged their guardians and survived the hurricane, floods, hunger, thirst and evacuation have been dealt a final blow by financial need. They have been given up for adoption. Are your guardians in greater need? To rescue yourself right now.
A group of LSU students set up an ad-hoc rescue center at the LSU AgCenter/Parker Coliseum that houses animals in cages, the “tent” for dogs. But rescuers can bring in large numbers of animals and lock them up while they wait to be reunited with their owners.
But money for animals is much harder to find. They need 1,000 extra-large air kennels (open boxes), animal supplies, towels, bowls, veterinary supplies, tick and flea medication, and experienced animal shelter volunteers.
“Please donate to MuttShack Animal Rescue. We need more animal homes! Every box is one more life saved!” says Amanda St. John, founder of MuttShack Animal Rescue.
Hopefully, somewhere among the rows of boxes filled with broken-hearted animals, we’ll find Snowball.
God bless the boy who shocked our national consciousness and made us look with disgust at ourselves and how we treat our animals…