Searching for Katrina Pets

Posted by Joy Butler Apr 20, 2006

Almost eight months after Hurricane Katrina, there are still pets unclaimed by their original families. Some are in foster homes, some have been adopted to new families but, as more time passes, it appears they'll never see their original families again. On the other hand, there are still pet owners searching desperately for some clue to what happened to their beloved pet. The system failed them. I know everyone did the best they could under the circumstances but somehow this just shouldn't have happened. We should have been better prepared. Some of the rescue organizations have set up programs for volunteers to help search online data bases and try to reunite these searching families and leftover pets. Seeing an opportunity to help, I volunteered. I was matched with a family still hoping to find their 8 year old dog. The infuriating thing to me is that this family told me how they managed to swim out of their flooded home and, with great effort, made sure their dog made it out with them. Walking on the side of a highway in the middle of devastation, they were picked up by a rescue truck, yet their rescuers made them leave their dog. That's the last they ever heard of their beloved pet. They've done everything humanly possible to find her. Personally, I've searched dozens of data bases and perused hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of rescued dogs. So far, I've found none resembling theirs. If only their dog could have gone with them in the rescue truck and been dropped off at a pet shelter site! The only way to make sure this disgrace never happens again is to examine what went wrong, recognize what went right, and pay attention to the heroes who didn't discriminate.