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Tonight (Monday) at 11 on CTV - Pets in New Orleans

twodogsandacat
September 5th, 2005, 09:05 PM
CTV just had a preview of tonights news. The re is going to be a story on saving the pets.

Prin
September 5th, 2005, 10:14 PM
I saw it. It's so sad!!! There was one that looked like Lisa's Dodger last night on the news and it was so sad! These poor doggies. There was one who died holding onto a roof with his teeth?! He just got too tired. :( :( :( And the people who refused the boat rides out because they wouldn't allow pets! I love them for their way of thinking. I would have done the same.

twodogsandacat
September 5th, 2005, 10:19 PM
Possibly thousands of pets are homeless and helpless. Sadly rescue crews looking for human survivors have strict orders to steer clear of pets. As the boats passed dogs swam out to be rescued but they stuck to orders and did not rescue them.

Pointers, Hound Dogs, Labs, Rottis and Pits all left to fend for themselves, very heartbreaking.

I'm shutting down my computer and I'm going to let the dogs sleep on the bed tonight and not in their cages.

Bless them all. :angel:

Prin
September 5th, 2005, 11:22 PM
I would die of guilt if I left a doggy swimming towards me to just keep swimming. (especially since he was a lab- I grew up with a yellow lab... I have a soft spot for them. We need some boats!!) SO SAD!

They say that even if they wanted to they couldn't rescue them because they're probably vicious from the lack of food. Why not throw them some food and come back in an hour and pick 'em all up? Sigh.

lezzpezz
September 6th, 2005, 08:49 AM
I couldn't make it thru this and when I read it aloud to family, there wasn't a dry eye......so terribly sad......

MANY FORCED TO LEAVE LOVED PETS BEHIND
Sunday, September 4, 2005


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 yesterday.

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, a police officer took a dog from a little boy waiting to get on a bus in New Orleans. "Snowball! Snowball!" the boy cried until he vomited. The police officer told a reporter he didn't know what would happen to the dog.

The fate of pets is a huge but underappreciated cause of anguish for storm survivors, said Richard Garfield, a professor at New York's Columbia University.

lezzpezz
September 6th, 2005, 09:50 AM
read this from CNN news...they are trying to find Snowball and reunite her with the child!! Hooray!! :love:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/06/katrina.pets.ap/index.html

Shamrock
September 6th, 2005, 12:46 PM
omg. :sad: .. if that doesnt bring tears to the eyes.... :sad: ::

I didnt see the story,reading about Snowball and the other examples on the CNN story is absolutely heartwrenching.

The image of swimming dogs being left behind is hard to deal with. This tragedy and the suffering of these people is incomprensible, their losses are staggering. Imagine being forced to leave behind your precious animals that you consider part of your family.
Like everyone, I will be praying little Snowball is found for the little boy, and that many pets that have survived will eventually be reunited with their families.

chico2
September 6th, 2005, 01:56 PM
I saw last night on CNN how they were rescuing dogs/cats,so far they have rescued 400,but I am sure there are thousands.
I also heard,anyone leaving their dog tied up to drown will eventually get charge.
I saw several pictures where large dogs were left,confused and skinny...I have a hard time dealing with this,but of course saving people have to come first.I would NEVER leave my animals to drown,I am older,if they drown I drown....
The worst picture,was of a beautiful Doberman on a ledge of a house,chained,with no chance of surviving :sad:
They will get to the animals eventually,at least the animals in the Zoo were safe,except for 3.

Jackie467
September 6th, 2005, 02:05 PM
It's horrible that these animals had to be left. I would have stayed with mine in my circumstances now, but if I had children I couldn't just let strangers take them. My children would have to come first. And I couldn't imagine how I would feel if I brought my dog and she was the reason another person had to stay on their roof and die. I couldn't handle that.

babyrocky1
September 6th, 2005, 02:07 PM
I can't read or look at most of it, just cant handle it...It would be such comfort to the people if they could at least have their pets with them...On the up-side they are going in there now specifically to rescue the pets! I think its the spca but Im not sure, I heard they had a million bucks so far to rescue the surviving pets and try and match them up with their owners or put them up for adoption.

twodogsandacat
September 7th, 2005, 06:54 AM
Noah's Wish is currently rescuing animals. Imagine how brave they are to approach animals that are hungry and confused. Nice to see they don't discriminate either.

(http://216.12.200.153/Hurricane%20Katrina.htm)

chico2
September 7th, 2005, 07:18 AM
It's wonderful to see what Noah's Wish is doing and I hope they get help from other Animal Rescue Org's.
I do understand(reluctantly)how people have to be rescued first and of course if I had little kids they would be first on my mind.
But a familymember is just that,be they four-legged or two,leaving an animal,knowing they would die a horrific death would haunt me forever,it would not be an option.
Of course I hope none of us ever have to experience this kind of tragedy,or have to make such a fateful desicion,this horror beats anything I've ever seen before.

babyrocky1
September 7th, 2005, 12:45 PM
The Canadian Humane Society is there helping out. I can't remember the gentlemans last name, Michael someone, he testified against the pit bull ban and is now involved in the rescue in Atlanta, he did an interview about it on House Calls last night. Soooo sad. He was suggesting that all families havae a "disaster plan" that includes there pets! He also made the point that rescuing people and animals don't have to be mutually exclusive. He was pointing out that many people refused to be evacuated because they would not leave there pets...so had there been a proper evacuation plan that included the pets it may have actually saved human lives as well. I can just imagain how many people on this site would have stayed with there animals no matter what! They really screwed this up! I cant believe how badly the first few days were handled....and now were finding out that they had been prepared for so long...I just don't get it! Well thats governments for you :evil: Michaels last name is OSullivan, just read it in a newspaper article :)

twodogsandacat
September 7th, 2005, 03:41 PM
Click on the link found here http://www.cnn.com/ to a see a photo series titled "Best Friends in Need".

AND

Saving Cats. http://dynamic.cnn.com/apps/tp/video/us/2005/09/07/koinange.cat.rescue.pkg.cnn.cnn/video.ws.asx?NGUserID=aa54a11-26340-1126094252

CyberKitten
September 7th, 2005, 06:25 PM
Alas, Snowball has not yet been found. The ppl who thought they found him had a terrier but in fact, the dog was a Bichon. Maybe I should not say in fact - he LOOKED like a bichon. There is a woman who has set up a web site to help pets - she was so moved by Snowball and the little boy's sad story. Her site is here and yeah,. I believe she was featured on CNN:

http://www.katrinafoundpets.com/

I love this picture from the National Geographic. The cats looked scared but this kid is at least ensuring they go with him and good for him!!!!



http://flickr.com/photos/jersey/39392505/

There are some pretty heart rendering stories in the NO newspaper too - of people searching for their pets!

http://www.nola.com/forums/animals/index.ssf?initial=true

twodogsandacat
September 8th, 2005, 07:18 AM
Swimming for Life.

A pit bull was released by rescue worker George Davis, who discovered the animal chained and starving inside a home, swims among debris alongside Davis’ boat before returning to it’s home in a neighbourhood of New Orleans Sept 4.


This one would really tick Michael Bryant off.

BMDLuver
September 8th, 2005, 07:24 AM
Noah's Wish is currently rescuing animals. Imagine how brave they are to approach animals that are hungry and confused. Nice to see they don't discriminate either.

(http://216.12.200.153/Hurricane%20Katrina.htm)
I love that photo, it says it all! Seems many rescues are finding that Noah's Wish is excellent and really helping on the front lines! Several rescue lists I'm on have chosen them to send the collection of contributions to. :thumbs up

chico2
September 8th, 2005, 07:27 AM
I read part of the story about pets in NO in the Star this morning,but just could not read all :sad:
Of course they had to write about 4 Pit-Bulls killing a horse and dogs attacking corpses,as horrible as it sounds,it is a question of survival for these animals,abandonned by their owners.
The most touching picture I've seen was of a grown man hugging one of his 2 Great Danes,crying his heart out...he refuses to leave his dogs to fate,as did so many others and I know for certain I would feel the same way,no question about it!

CK,the pic from NG with the cats is wonderful.
But the story of Snowball,being thrown by the side of the bus,while a little boy is crying,just makes me so angry,she looks like a pup and I doubt she survived :sad: It's just one of the many horror-stories,but one that certainly makes you cry :sad:
I just cannot read any more about desperate animals.....

BMDLuver
September 8th, 2005, 08:02 AM
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=hurricane_diary

This is the ASPCA daily diary for rescues and it's a very uplifting site to read in lieu of all the tragic ones.

chico2
September 8th, 2005, 09:17 AM
BMDlover,thank's for that site,it certainly was uplifting..these people are doing a wonderful thing in an impossible situation :thumbs up

twodogsandacat
September 9th, 2005, 07:18 AM
Another slide show.

http://gallery.phillyburbs.com/albums/Katrina+pets.aspx

Prin
September 9th, 2005, 07:20 PM
I like this doggy from that link twodogs- one of the dogs that was rescued-- see her eyes? Not a mean bone in that body.

twodogsandacat
September 9th, 2005, 09:27 PM
And there is no way I would ever believe that she would of deserved to slowly die alone.

Hopefully the government has taken this lesson away from Katrina...save our pets or we go it alone.

justncase
September 9th, 2005, 09:46 PM
Is it the same rescue groups every time something like this happens? And how many is that? If each rescue group( and there must be thousands across the U.S.A. ) sent one representative with one rubber dingy and a portable 2-5 horsepower motor more could probably be accomplished then what is acutally being accomplished. Let's see, the hurricane ended August 31/2005. And in that time how many animals were actually rescued ? How many could have been rescued with a little more planning. It's not like something like this hasn't happened before,and still no plan in place. Still the same few trying to carry the whole load. Let's see, in Louisiana alone according to the Worldwide Shelter Directory(Hugs for Homeless Animals
www.h4ha.org/shelters/) there are at least 50 animal welfare agencies. If a representatiive from each from given supplies totalling less than a couple of hundred dollars- each one, that's 50, if they rescued 5 animals a day that's 250 animals a day and in ten days since the last of the hurricane that would add up to 2,500 animals. And that's just using the animal welfare agencies from Louisiana. What about Alabama and Mississippi? How many are actually being rescued, by comparison?

It seems also that the plea to transport animals out of the area was unfounded. The original post which began,

PLEASE CONTACT FOR INFO

Lynda V. at: 203 515 3024 (cell)
Home: 203 227 5308
Email: Lynda@portone.com

Transport Provided to Anywhere - Room Desperately Needed! (For the Animal Victims of Katrina)

There is transportation provided, with people ready and waiting, for upwards of 200 dogs and 150 cats so far rescued from the devastation of hurricane Katrina. What these animals need is a place to go. Kennels, boarding, vets offices, shelters with any extra space, foster homes and rescues. Even one or two open kennels would greatly help.

From what we know, all animals have been vaccinated and are in good health considering the conditions. There are dogs and cats of every breed and size. Some are in groups of two, three or four, hailing from the same family, while some are solitary. ANY KENNEL SPACE AVAILABLE CAN CERTAINLY BE USED. These drivers are willing to move these animals ANYWHERE they need to go. Absolutely anywhere.

The current safe houses for these animals are being inundated and some of these pets will have to be euthanized if they are not moved to make room for the incoming animals.


When anothr person went to the site that the above mentioned person is associated with this came up:


"I went to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine's website:
http://www.vetmed.lsu.edu/

From the website:
Quote:
NOTE: Rumors that we have run out of room are NOT TRUE. We have plenty of space and are still accepting animals. We will remain in operation as long as necessary to reunite as many people and pets as possible. "



So it appears there's plenty of room. So that leads by to the oriiginal question, why aren't these places being filled faster than they are? And if boats, rescuing people are told to pass by animals swimming for their lives, why is not, at least a floater( for buoyancy) slipped onto each one( cost for each is pennies) or at least the animal is brought to higher ground?

twodogsandacat
September 9th, 2005, 10:32 PM
It is dire that as many of these animals are rescued as possible. Once the forced evacuation is complete it is likely that lone dogs and packs of dogs will have just one fate when law enforcement or National Guard cross their paths.

Just five minutes ago Anderson Cooper of CNN asked the chief of police if it was true that strays will start to be shot. The chief did not answer the question. BTW the chief has been there working around the clock and sleeping in his office. These guys deserve long paid vacations when this is over.

chico2
September 10th, 2005, 07:29 AM
Cudos to the unwavering hardworking police Chief!!
However,I will from now on not watch CNN,I was sick to my soul all evening after the surprise shooting of in the soldiers words"rabid"dogs protecting a home,a barrage of bullets were peppered in to these dogs :sad:
It's debatable what is best for these animals,dying a slow death in infested waters or being shot.Rescuing these former pets does not seem to be an option,although I know up to a 1000 have been saved.When the soldiers go house to house looking for bodies or survivors,why not bring some SPCA people along??
I know,it's easy to judge from the comfort of my home,but it makes me even more convinced I would never leave my animals..
CNN has not shown as much about the animals as has the Canadian news-channels and I thought CNN was all about shock-value!

twodogsandacat
September 10th, 2005, 09:08 AM
I have had the TV locked onto CNN for the last few days mostly ‘in the background’ and I do think they are doing a good job.

CNN (especially Anderson Cooper) have been mentioning pets on a continuing basis. They have also mentioned that one of the primary reasons some stayed was their pets and honestly I believe they see the rules regarding pets as something that has to change. They are critical of the no pets policy.

Sadly though the pet issue wasn’t picked up on for the first few days but now it has to be addressed in any new FEMA plans. In fact it seems that most of the FEMA plans need to be redrawn as they failed miserably.

I could not believe that food and water did not arrive at that stadium within 24 hours. It is an embarrassment for the USA. Wal-Mart has a hugely efficient distribution network and within hours could start loading skids with products including food and water onto trucks just as if it were another load for another store. The government needs to tap into these companies in times like these rather than to try and invent their own wheel. Sure it sounds simple but in the aftermath of this it’s hard to believe that there weren’t truck loads of supplies heading their within hours of the first broadcast of the information.

I passed a school bus parking area in Atlanta earlier this year and thought ‘man that’s a lot of buses’. For this reason I find it hard to understand why they only had a hundred or so buses used for evacuation when I know for a fact that a single school board in Atlanta has that many alone.

chico2
September 10th, 2005, 10:09 AM
I believe Anderson Cooper is always trying to bring up the truth and is often aggressive in doing so.
I give him lots of credit for what he's doing,he is starting to look really tired and often shows real true emotions.
I also heard they are going to work out a plan to include pets in any evacuation plan,it is devastating enough to loose your home and belongings,but they can eventually be replaced...leaving a much loved pet can do nothing more than add to their misery.

Rick C
September 10th, 2005, 11:09 AM
I believe Anderson Cooper is always trying to bring up the truth and is often aggressive in doing so.
I give him lots of credit for what he's doing,he is starting to look really tired and often shows real true emotions.
I also heard they are going to work out a plan to include pets in any evacuation plan,it is devastating enough to loose your home and belongings,but they can eventually be replaced...leaving a much loved pet can do nothing more than add to their misery.

I put this in another thread but it seems appropriate here: one conclusion from the Ontario government post-mortem of its reaction to the 1998 Ice Storm:

Another factor to be recognized is the subject of handling pets in emergencies. Today's pet owners no longer are prepared to leave their loved companions at home, just to respond to an evacuation. Working with animal rights agencies will become standard procedure if we are to continue upgrading the quality and effectiveness of our response and recovery efforts, while at the same time, maintaining the most important commodity — public confidence.

http://www.ocipep.gc.ca/ep/ep_digest/aj_98_fea2_e.asp

Rick C
www.goldentales.ca

justncase
September 10th, 2005, 07:14 PM
Does anyone know what contributions the pet food companies are making? How about distributing some food, dropped off on the streets for the strays. If they're concerned about these dogs forming packs, a fed pack is a more manageable pack, a starving pack is not. For the amount they've received from pet owners over the years, one would think that their contribution could reflect that. By the way, if only 1,000 animals have been rescued so far, that's a mere drop in the bucket over a ten day time-span seeing that there are over 1,000 rescue groups/shelters/organzations across the U.S. It has been said that there are countless volunteers offering to help and they stand with nothing to do while animals are swimming for their lives. It would seen that someone somewhere is not doing an adequate enough job in getting the help to where it is needed most. A tribute to bad planning and worse execution.

doggy lover
September 10th, 2005, 08:35 PM
I hate hearing about all the pets stuck there. How could they start shooting them, its not their fault that they are in this situation and its not like their families had a choice in leaving them behind. If something happened here I could go to my mums in Bradford or to my cottage and take Tucker and my cats with me. But not alot of people can get away, they don't have that option.

Puppyluv
September 10th, 2005, 08:46 PM
They had another news clip about the pet rescues in New Orleans right now. They showed this video of a goat who had died in his pen, he was hanging from the top of one of the sides of the pen, and you could see from the way that he was hanging, that he was making every effort to stay above the water level. It's so unbelievably sad :sad:

twodogsandacat
September 10th, 2005, 09:36 PM
I hate hearing about all the pets stuck there. How could they start shooting them, its not their fault that they are in this situation and its not like their families had a choice in leaving them behind. If something happened here I could go to my mums in Bradford or to my cottage and take Tucker and my cats with me. But not alot of people can get away, they don't have that option.

I just saw were the 82nd Airborne found a young black puppy. They checked and the order was to leave it. They said they would report the location to the HSUS\ASPCA (I'm not sure which one). It would of made more sense to me to throw it into the truck and then hand it over as they hadn't found any hold outs so why send more people into that area. Still they didn't shoot it and the news anchor asked the reporter to let us know how the puppy makes out.

The last shot of the puppy showed it drinking from the street (filth).

chico2
September 11th, 2005, 06:43 AM
Justncase,although I swore off CNN,I cannot help watching and yesterday the soldiers found a black,what looked to be Lab-puppy on a door-step.
He eagerly wagged his tail at the sight of people.
Unfortunately they had to leave him behind and he ended up drinking from the fetid water,still alone and abandonned on an empty porch.
Why cannot the soldiers carry dog/cat food on their boats???
I am sure these soldiers are just as heartbroken leaving a puppy behind starving,as we are watching it :sad:
Yes,I understand people have to come first!!! But this is totally inhumane and to me a shame on everyone involved.
ASPCA,is not allowed to enter the flood-area..but I believe others are.
I am sure Pet-Food companies have donated food,cages,bedding etc...
Many of the dogs/cats and other animals in shelters are the animals owners had to leave there since shelters did not take pets,not many have been rescued from the flood-waters and I am sorry,the whole situation to me is sickening!

chico2
September 11th, 2005, 06:57 AM
I wish I could drive down there,rent a boat and pick up every abandonned,starving animal,who are left to die in a watery filthy grave :sad: