Katrina Evacuees Distraught Over Pets

[moobu2]

ATLANTA (AP) - As Valerie Bennett was evacuated from a New Orleans hospital, rescuers told her there was no room in the boat for her dogs. She pleaded. ``I offered him my wedding ring and my mom's wedding ring,'' the 34-year-old nurse recalled Saturday. They wouldn't budge. She and her husband could bring only one item, and they already had a plastic tub containing the medicines her husband, a liver transplant recipient, needed to survive. Such emotional scenes were repeated perhaps thousands of times along the Gulf Coast last week as pet owners were forced to abandon their animals in the midst of evacuation.

In one example reported last week by The Associated Press, a police officer took a dog from one little boy waiting to get on a bus in New Orleans. ``Snowball! Snowball!'' the boy cried until he vomited. The policeman told a reporter he didn't know what would happen to the dog.

At the hospital, a doctor euthanized some animals at the request of their owners, who feared they would be abandoned and starve to death. He set up a small gas chamber out of a plastic-wrapped dog kennel.

``The bigger dogs were fighting it. Fighting the gas. It took them longer. When I saw that, I said 'I can't do it,''' said Bennett's husband, Lorne.

guardian

[Vektor]

1. I think I am going to be sick.

I cannot deal with this.

[not systems]

2. It's a damn shame.

Truly.

[smtpgirl]

60. I feel you

I could not give up my pets, they are my family. This whole thing is making me sick. Old, children, poor, homeless, pets. I have not slept in 4 days.

[aquart]

3. No fucking shit.

The most heartless, stupid, criminally cruel policy I've ever seen. You separate a little old lady from her little old dog and you think either one of them will survive? The guilt alone will kill the old lady.

STUPID STUPID STUPID and WHY? Because no plans were made and Bush wants to show the world how fast things move once he's finally in charge.

Rot in hell, Bush. Rot in hell everyone you hired to carry out your disgusting policies.

REPUBLICANS KILL DOGS.

[MisterP]

12. reminds me of the execution of strays in Fallujah: "kill everything"

the scars of this will be with us for the next seventy goddamn years

[pursuivant]

30. Killing stray dogs in Iraq is one thing . . .

in many countries, they can carry rabies:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4204478.stm

but forcing people to leave their pets behind not only compounds the refugees' grief, it makes recovery more difficult. How many of those forcibly abandoned animals will go feral and/or become diseased, contributing to the risks rescue and recovery workers face?

[moobu2]

4. Countless thousands of pets are still trapped

inside their owners homes because the owners originally thought that they would be evacuating New Orleans and Mississippi for a day or two so they put out a lot of food and water for them and just left. Now the Dogs, Cats and birds are trapped.

There are people working to save them though...read this.

Animal rescue groups have gotten calls from pet owners desperate for someone to rescue animals they'd left behind. "People are frantically calling and telling us their cat is on the third floor of an apartment in New Orleans, or their horses were left in a pasture," Pacelle said.

In many cases, owners evacuated, but left animals inside homes or garages with food and water because they expected to return in a day or so. "Who would have thought they won't be able to pump water out for 90 days? Who would have thought New Orleans would be depopulated?" Pacelle said.

Animal lovers across the country have poured out support, offering everything from dog toys to cat food and volunteering to help in the rescue or to provide foster care for displaced pets. They've donated $3.5 million online at www.hsus.org, far more than has been given in any previous disaster, Pacelle said.

Funds are needed not only for immediate rescues, but also long-term rebuilding and support of shelters throughout the region.

USA Today
[br />

[aquart]

22. I actually wrote Oprah and asked her to do a show on it

Focusing on the pet/owner reunions.

My sister volunteered to foster 12 cats while they wait for reunion. (She just finished building an outdoor cat house on the side of hers.)

Her days of breaking into sealed apartments to rescue starving animals are over, but she's still the best critical care cat nurse I've ever seen.

[shireen]

5. DISPLACED NO'ers WHO LEFT PETS BEHIND: READ THIS

********** **********
From http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlo ...
SPCA help for animals
Friday, 9:50 p.m. (Sept 2)

There's hope for stranded pets in the New Orleans area. The Louisiana SPCA, New Orleans' animal control agency, has begun rescuing pets from owners houses.

Louisiana SPCA director Laura Maloney said shelter workers follow other agencies and crews through neighborhoods and rescue pets, some that are locked in houses. At the owners' request, "we break in," she said.

Owners have to call or email the operation and give their name and address and information about where the pet is confined.

The hotline number is: 1-225-578-6111. E-mail should be sent to [e-mail] .

The hotline already is in effect, Maloney said. "It's busy an awful lot. We are trying to get a bank of telephones"
********** **********

Links for helping pets:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=4618677

[moobu2]

8. Thank you so much for posting that...

[anitar1]

21. You can also donate to --Humane Society af the U.S,

They already have rescue sites set up in Biloxi,Baton Rouge and are going into New Orleans to rescue animals. This is a good organization. You can e-mail them and get info.

[aquart]

23. This is very good news.

Thank you for posting it.

[leftchick]

24. Thank God!

I so hope their efforts are not stopped by the authorities

:cry:

[Solly Mack]

6. ...

:cry:

[NorthernSpy]

7. disgraceful! PLEASE let Snowball and that little boy be reunited!

:cry:

In other countries, they let you take a reasonable number of chickens on the bus. Here, neither head nor heart seems to be in charge. Our policies emanate from much lower down.


Also, I couldn't help but notice this:

ATLANTA (AP) - As Valerie Bennett was evacuated from a New Orleans hospital, rescuers told her there was no room in the boat for her dogs. She pleaded. ``I offered him my wedding ring and my mom's wedding ring,'' the 34-year-old nurse recalled Saturday.

Somebody here was recently telling me that I was an idiot for believing that one reason why survivors might need to have valuable goods on hand would be to have something to trade for other things that they desperately needed. Well, dear O______, you were just plain-ass wrong!



(edit:sp)

[fortyfeetunder]

9. inhumanity all around

We see the most vulnerable broken in spirit...

:cry:

[newswolf56]

10. People -- especially children -- are horribly traumatized...

by such episodes: I was forcibly parted from a beloved dog at age five -- 60 years ago -- and I will carry the hurt to my grave.

The material loss suffered by the people of New Orleans can be healed. The psychological scars will last as long as they live. Indeed the psychological wounding will be of a magnitude never before seen in the United States. But the Bush Administration -- with its bottomless hostility to functional social safety nets -- will make a great Rove/Norquist/Goebbels PR production out of compassion but will in fact do absolutely nothing.

We live in the nation that proudly and even smugly proclaims itself the crown jewel of capitalism. Yet the institutionalized indifference to psychological well-being reveals the unspeakable savagery that is the true heart of capitalism -- especially when compared to the genuine concern reflected by the Cuban policy of evacuating not just people but all their animals as well: pets most assuredly included.

Once again, we are shown how -- in the great United States -- "care" is merely a four-letter word for something you have to buy. And if you're too poor to pay for it, you don't get it.

[shockra]

29. Well put.

:cry:

[SoCalDem]

33. Imagine if Barney had to be "left behind"?

:(

I know it's an emergency situation, but certainly people should be allowed to at least TRY to contact someone NOT living in NO, and perhaps be transported with pets to a place just outside the flooded areas, so that they and their pets could "camp" together..

Not a perfect solution, but a thought..

Out here in CA, people go INTO fire areas to rescue animals that are not even their own.. I have seen people wrestling with hosres , sometimes breaking fences, and running down roads leadins 3 or 4 horses that are not even their own..

In the mean world we live in, pets are sometimes the ONLY positive thing in some people's lives:cry:

[LisaL]

49. Yea, sure, they would leave Barney behind...

They would send in the plane just to pick up Barney.

[jessicazi]

11. we live in a cruel cruel world.

God be with the animals and people left behind.

[Horse with no Name]

13. And then there is this

FWD: URGENT Info from New Orleans

I will write a more detailed post tomorrow, actually today, but my
husband finally reached me. He is safe, well protected by our Police
force when they are fighting the fires, but I need to get this out
ASAP.

What he told me is so disturbing and urgent, if there is anyone out
there with the power to do something quickly, this has to get out.
I do have more inside info but I'm too drained to write more.
My husband said that a shoot to kill order with regards to animals
may begin soon. They believe it is the most humane way to handle
the multitude of animals that are starving and ill, or injured.
I cannot fathom this, and I can't bear to think that someone's family
pet will end like this. Please, please, please try to get this order
rescinded. I don't know who it came from. But someone will know
the right person to contact. Let them begin on the Westbank, it
isn't flooded, and there are secure back highways to come in. The
rescues are just waiting for the word to go, and the military is
coming in, and they will take care of the criminals that have better
weapons than our own police force.

I will post more, later after I've rested. Permission to crosspost.
I stand behind the validity of this information.
Siberianly,
Lynn Szymurski
Richlynn Siberians
New Orleans, LA
www.richlynn.com

:cry:

[kestrel91316]

16. As sad as it is, I understand the perception of need for doing this.

There is a serious rabies problem in the Southeast, and the pets belonging to the poor are less likely to have been vaccinated. Also, the threat of wandering dog packs exists.

I'm not saying this is a good thing to have to do, just that i understand why they have to consider it. I wouldn't want to be in the position of deciding this policy.

[Trillo]

18. Will the wandering dogs be checked for a collar

and license before the assumption of rabies is made in each case?

At some point, if things keep going this way, these types of decisions will be made about people. Oh, wait. Isn't that what Katrina is now teaching us? That "some" groups of people are, in fact, expendable to TPTB?

[Horse with no Name]

14. What's really the cruelest cut

Is that our fucking president got off the plane holding his dog.
That evil old bastard who has more money than God can have his dog but the National Guard takes "Snowball" away from a little boy that has lost everything.
:cry:
I don't know how much more I can take...

[expatriot]

15. I hope to god my wife never sees this article.

:cry: :cry:

[roguevalley]

17. I could just die. I could die, die, die. Please, God. Have mercy on

us. I could die.

[undergroundpanther]

20. My cat was murdered by neighborhood bullies

I couldn't get loose to save him.

The psychological scars of a bully taking away a beloved companion NEVER go away.


FUCK BUSH

I wish I could TAKE barney away.

But the truth is Barney is nothing but a PROP for him a way to look"presiddential" He loves NO ONE,no animal,no human,no living beings that has a will of it's own..

I wish The Earth would rumble..and bush would just fall into a crack in the Earth and be swallowed up along with every fucking bully and neocon on this planet.

May they all come to RUIN. and soon,because I cannot take this shit it's pure EVIL.

[booksenkatz]

27. Frankly, I skimmed a few lines, I did not read the article

Unfortunately, I find that I am a sponge for the sadness I read or hear about in this world, and it takes me a good deal longer to get past it than it does most people (we never forget it entirely, we just sort of get past it and go forward). I think we're called "sensitive" or "tender-hearted" types. Sounds like your wife is one. It makes for a very difficult life at times. I always wanted to be a veterinarian, but I knew I'd never be able to stand the sad parts of the job. And I always send lots of donation money to people who work at the front lines of animal rescue -- I cannot do it myself, but am so glad that there are those who can! People like that are the right combination of sensitive and strong, and I admire it deeply.

This entire week, it has been hell to read about all of the suffering, but the man-made suffering is worst of all.

[allalone]

19. I shouldn't have read this

it has pushed me over the edge. god help us. the children and the animals who have no understanding of what is happening and that it could have been prevented. I'm signing off. I just can't take anymore.

[booksenkatz]

25. Any ONE of the following would overwhelm the strongest of us:

death of a pet
death of a family member
death of many family members
loss of home
loss of all possessions
loss of job
endless days in squalor
endless days in hunger
endless days in thirst
endless days of no sleep
an encounter with an alligator or snake
witnessing death and suffering of others
a swim through filth
...and a hundred others

These survivors have lived through at least one of, if not many of, if not ALL of, the above. The first item on my list shouldn't have to happen at all, but at least don't make these people CHOOSE it. It may be the only comfort they have left, and for some, the only family member they have left.

I know that many of the dead who stayed behind are "fools" like me, who would never, ever be able to leave their furry family members behind if there were no way to leave the city. And I will never forget their sacrifice.

[Zodiak]

39. After reading this article,I wondered this, too

"I know that many of the dead who stayed behind are "fools" like me, who would never, ever be able to leave their furry family members behind if there were no way to leave the city. And I will never forget their sacrifice."

Well-said

Authorities are simply categorizing some peope as "refusing" to leave. This is one good reason I can see to refuse to leave. Just take the damned dog and get the person out of there. Leash them all and kennel them under quarantine. This isn't impossible and has an ENORMOUS impact on the survivors.

As if animal shelters across the country wouldn;t try to accommodate this. Get PetCo and Petsmart on the line. Time for some corporate extortion....they "care" about pets? Then pony-up!!!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. Ok...I'm officially a mess now.

If there's a God, please let that poor little boy find his Snowball.

I have to stop reading for awhile...can't see through the tears.

[Nikia]

28. People should be able to bring what they can carry

If a person wants to carry his or her dog onto the bus or boat instead of a bag of clothing, he or she should have that oppurtunity.

[Doremus]

32. Yes! And if it's a decision based on food/water rations...

pet owners should have the right to decide if they'd like to share their rations with their beloved pets.

The state as judge, jury and executioner.

I'm literally seething.

[SocratesInSpirit]

31. This is too cruel!

That is truly heartless! I couldn't even imagine abandoning my pets - it would be like abandoning a family member. Come on! These people have lost everything, must they also lose their pets as well?? :mad:

[natrat]

34. pain

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/articles/2005/09/02/local_news/news/news02.txt

[GoddessOfGuinness]

37. Thank you for posting this...

It truly helps to know there are people with a heart out there.

I can't stop thinking about that little boy, though. I want to find some way to reunite him with his pet...

[barb162]

35. this is why a lot of people stayed behind

and if I didn't have a car and had pets I'd probably do the same. I couldn't leave them indefinitely without food and water. God have mercy on these animals. Putting them down with gas is really disgusting; they should be using hypos

[restorefreedom]

42. using gas is hideous and painful..

and in 2005 it is shameful. It was a hospital - they didn't have access to pentobarbital?

God have mercy on all the creatures suffering because of this.

The basement of hell is not adequate for the monsters responsible for this disaster.

[barb162]

43. Yeah it's so disgusting. Gassing them is barbaric.

[Southpaw Bookworm]

46. I think of my grandmother

At 78, she would rather say "Well, it's been a good life and this is just my time" than have to abandon her little dog, who has been her constant companion for the past 12 years. She just couldn't do it.

[MattNC]

36. I wouldn't leave without my pet

I'd just assume stay there and die with it rather than leaving it alone.

[moobu2]

50. I'm with you, I could never leave my best friends.

Would they leave me? never, so I just could never in a million years leave them. I read of people refusing to leave because they were told the pet couldn’t go. That would have been me.

After the storm, when we didn’t have power for day's, I wet Alex, my elderly dog and fanned him for hours with a piece of Styrofoam sheeting to keep him as comfortable as possible. My 3 dogs are like family to me.

[Opusnone]

38. I would stay and die with my dogs

I know it sounds crazy to non pet owners, but they are my children. Would you leave your children?
Anyone who doesn't like dogs is very suspicious to me anyway.

[restorefreedom]

40. "Anyone who doesn't like dogs is very suspicious to me anyway."

well said.

[Zodiak]

41. former pets will feast on bodies to survive

Perhaps BushCo likes the idea of the bodies being eaten by former pets that could have left with their owners. When their job is done removing evidence....then shoot to kill time. This way no one can tell who died of the hurricane, who drowned, and who died of neglect. Because of the trauma of being eaten, perhaps they can claim a great proportion died from the "crime-wave" of dark people raping and pillaging.

I know...tinfoil and creepy for me to think they would do something like this for the sake of covering their butts, but tell me one of those slimy bastards in the administration didn't think of it before I did.

[truth2power]

44. Oh, Moobu...I just posted your info over in GD..

Here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4626516&mesg_id=4626516

I sincerely hope you don't mind. I went to the Humane society site and donated with my debit card.

I can only imagine what these people are going through, added to the other heartbreak they're experiencing.

I have pets, and I would carry my dog on my back if need be - and he weighs 75 lbs. :cry:

Thank you for posting on this.

[Lorien]

45. Our Florida based rescue is heading up there with food and supplies

and driving back with as many pets as we can carry. Gulfport is actually one of the worst situations right now; officials are so concerned about the spread of disease that they are rounding up dogs and cats and dumping them in an empty Holiday Inn swimming pool and shooting them!:cry: The shelters are overwhelmed and are simply out of room and supplies. Our convoy can't make it up there until the 24th (we're doing adopt-o-thons know to try to free up more space in our kennels and foster homes) but we're taking donations for additional van rentals and gasoline. If anyone wishes to help out, go here: www.petrescuebyjudy.com

[sakabatou]

47. ;_;

:cry:

[leftchick]

48. omg CNN Just Showed two dogs on a porch surrounded by water

it was during the clip with robert reich. There was a highway right next to the house. One of the dogs was tied up. Is there a way to locate them and rescue them?

:cry:

[tblue37]

51. My 19-year-old cat died at the beginning of July.

She had aggressive cancer and I had to have her put to sleep. It is 2 months now, and I have a new kitten to keep me and my other cat company, and I still can't stop grieving for her. She had a long, happy life, but I still feel pain over the loss.

I don't think I would ever get over it if one of my pets had to be left behind to suffer starvation and terror, to feel that I had abandoned her. I have been worrying about the animals all week. Anyone who loves his or her pet is not going to recover from this. I know for a fact that I never would.

[judaspriestess]

55. My babycat passed away May 31st

a day after my birthday. He was only 15. I cry for him everyday. I have his ashes in a beautiful urn and his pic next to it.
He had intestinal cancer and I had to put him down too. he died in my arms.

I am crying right now over all these pets. I am sorry but I would rather die than leave my babies behind. I have two dogs and now I have two lil kittens who will never replace kittyboy but they are precious babies and are so happy. They are siblings.
These pets are helpless and I hate how they are treated like they are expendible.

Do you think the fucking Bush dogs would be left behind? Hell no they would take in a damn battleship to rescue them.


and yes I am donating to any org that is rescuing these animals.

[gauguin57]

52. Bush should give Barney to the little boy who lost Snowball.

Period.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

53. NOAH'S WISH.ORG

Are on the sceene and rescueing pets.

Go to their website and support their efforts:

http://wwwnoahswish.org

[DeepModem Mom]

54. Did I read here that they're not letting the Humane Society into NO?

Only one of many organizations and individuals, apparently, who want to help alleviate suffering in NO but are being kept out by "red tape." OMG, this is unbelievable horror, all of it.

[Coastie for Truth]

62. They are not letting the Red Cross,

the ARRL-ARES, the Salvation Army, etc. in.

Are Michael Brown and Karl Rove and Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfield and Michael Chertoff and His Most Omnipotent, Serene Highness Bonnie King George trying to hide something?

The whole world is watching.

[complain jane]

56. This president has a stain on his soul.

May he rot in hell.

[Double T]

57. If there is a hell, this is it......

[PylesMalfunction]

58. Humane groups reach out to animals

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_09.html#076917">Humane groups reach out to animals

"Humane groups and parish animal control agencies are hoping to stem the tide of what could become another heart-breaking after-effect of Hurricane Katrina, the deaths of hundreds or thousands of pets left behind in houses and yards by owners expecting to be able to return to their homes in just a few days."

<snip>

"With Jefferson residents being allowed to return to their homes today, Smith said he expects many calls about strays and dog bites as homeowners are out trying to clean up. Best Friends will assist by taking about 100 more pets to the Mississippi facility.

Each will be photographed and their pictures posted at the group's Web site, www.bestfriends.org, along with an electronic form owners can fill out if they see their pet, Berry said. The organization will hold animals for up to three months, using a network among its 250,000 members nationwide to provide foster homes."

[SillyGoose]

59. I've often thought many people won't evacuate because they don't want

to leave their pets behind. Its so very sad. We need more pet friendly shelters.

[Coastie for Truth]

61. If they want my cat

<>
they will first have to unwrap my cold dead dead fingers from around the barrel of my rifle.


<><>

"Coastie"
Lieutenant, USCG (Honorably Discharged)
Authorized by the Commandant to wear the Coast Guard Rifle Marksman Medal and the Coast Guard Pistol Marksman Medal

"by direction of the Commandant"