Sunday, August 31, 2008

New Orleans

Thanks to yskat for sending this in. It looks like more people and animals are going to be in trouble again in New Orleans. Many of you will remember that in addition to the thousands displaced and homeless people, that many animals were also left lost, abandoned or dead in the wake of Katrina. Let's hope that this time, the damage is not going to be as great - though the news right now is not promising.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hope that with hindsight, family pets would be given adequate care too-whether pets are taken along or otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, hope they are better prepared this time. I watched a docu on animal planet on the Katrina disaster and it was heartbreaking how they had to leave their pets behind. The efforts of the humane societies to rescue them after the typhoon was amazing. Lets hope for the best for those poor animals.

Anonymous said...

Read in the news in TODAY that they are putting pets in crates so that owners can take their pets with them.

They've learnt from Katrina that many owners refused to leave their homes because of their pets.

Hopefully this piece of news is true.

Cat

Dawn said...

Am glad to hear that - and I think that people will be more organised this time. Let's hope that the people and animals of New Orleans (and all the gulf regions affected) remain safe.

Anonymous said...

No pets left behind
Mon, Sep 01, 2008
Reuters




NEW ORLEANS - AUTHORITIES evacuating residents from New Orleans ahead of Hurricane Gustav are making amends with four-legged friends after thousands of pets perished in Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

Animal welfare groups tried to make sure that evacuees had their pets with them, while shelters away from the Gulf Coast accommodated animals this time around.

Many owners stayed in the city during the catastrophic 2005 hurricane because they could not take their pets to shelters and could not bear to leave without them.

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'This city has been hit so badly, they've lost so much, and the last thing they have to hold on to is their animal,' said Ms Laura Bergerol, a volunteer with Animal Rescue New Orleans.

The group stacked up boxes for residents who planned to carry their small pets with them as part of an evacuation on buses and trains through the Union Passenger terminal.

Pet owners stood in line to register their furry friends.

Then they were given a machine readable band to tag on to their pet, in case they became separated.

Among the horrors of Katrina three years ago were dead dogs bobbing in the drowned streets of the city, 80 per cent of which was flooded.

Dog owner Julian Coleman lined up to register his feisty Rottweiler-German shepherd puppy Ali.

'I didn't want to just leave him to get hurt, like so many did in Katrina,' Mr Coleman said as Ali jumped up. 'It makes me feel a little safer having him with me.'

Evacuee Sylvania Moore was anxious about being separated from her mother, but relieved to be able to take her shitsu, Buddy, with her.

'He gets to ride the bus with us, which is good,' said Moore, clutching Buddy in her arms outside the Amtrak terminal.

'It's a relief that we didn't have to leave him behind.' -- REUTERS

jules said...

It's so comforting to know our four-legged friends are not forgotten and left behind this time...