Washington Post: BEST FRIENDS NEED SHELTER, TOO!

[Bluebear]

The week after Hurricane Katrina hit, the media covered the thousands of low-income people trapped for lack of means to get out. Almost two weeks later, thousands still hadn't left, in many cases because official policy would not accept the bond between people and their nonhuman family members. Members of a frustrated rescue team simplified it for a "Dateline" news crew: They said people were refusing to be evacuated simply because "they won't leave their pets."

There is a class issue involved here. While Marriott hotels welcomed the pets of Katrina evacuees as "part of the family," people who had to rely on the Red Cross for shelter were forced to abandon that part of the family or attempt to ride out the storm. It cannot be denied that many poor people are dead as a result of "no pets" policies.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Patricia Penny, who wondered whether her son Billy had survived. She had begged him to leave, but he was afraid to abandon his animals. CNN showed the rescue of a family, including a dog, sitting on a rooftop as a boat pulled up. The boat left without the dog. Staying with a dog and risking their own lives is not an option for people who have children to provide for. The parents were given no choice but to abandon the dog, and to break their children's hearts. As they pulled away they all watched their trusting, confused and terrified canine family member alone on the roof....

Red Cross shelters that do not have animal-friendly areas, or do not coordinate with humane groups to make sure that there are animal shelters nearby, are out of touch with the needs of a society in which 60 percent of families have pets and many view them as intrinsic members of the family.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/09/AR2005090901824.html

[bluestateguy]

1. Are you trying to make me cry with that picture?

The shelters should accept pets, or at the very least we need pet-friendly shelters and no-pet shelters.

I have never had sympathy for people who don't like cats and dogs anyway. Screw them.

[Bluebear]

2. No puppies were harmed in the making of this post.

But the line about the family rowing away and leaving their friend on the roof, yeah that hurts me bad.

[Pirate Smile]

22. I know. That is so horrible. As a parent, you would have to protect

your child - to force people to make that choice is just so cruel.

[FreedomAngel82]

18. Exactly

This is disgusting. Fancy hotels allow pets but not shelters? BS!

[MissB]

3. Our humane society

(from Oregon!) sent down workers and a vehicle to help recover pets. I sure hope other humane societies did the same.

[Bluebear]

4. That is wonderful. Meanwhile EVERY shelter should have pet rooms

A crated dog is no harm to anyone!

[shireen]

5. THIS MUST NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!

We must fight this ... never again. When the immediate crisis is over, we must get together with the animal rescue groups and *forcefully* lobby for changes.

[Bluebear]

6. I stand with you Shireen

This will be MY cause. How do we get started?

[shireen]

9. i'm not sure, but ...

we need to work with rescue shelters to present a unified front. The rescue shelters are currently overwhelmed. Perhaps we could start exchanging ideas and researching the issue on DU right now and when the time is right, start working with the the animal rescue people to figure out how to lobby, write guidelines and legislation, etc.. They're the experts on what will be needed but they're chronically understaffed. We could provide the "muscle" to make things work for our furry and scaly friends.

There are so many other issues we care about, like livestock cruelty, animal testing, etc.. But
for now, as difficult as it will be, we need to stay focused on animal rescue efforts during disasters. One thing at a time ....

Does DU have an animal rescue forum?

[Bluebear]

14. All you need to is suggest a forum

I will be your first signer and we can keep it kicked because posts are sinking fast this week.

Florida residents would be invaluable in such a forum ,as would any hurricane area DUers.

Crated dogs and cats pose no harm to a shelter, it is outrageous that our friends are left to die in events such as this.

[peacebaby3]

7. I agree and I'm in. I wonder if DU would let us form a group just for this

purpose. Or maybe if there is an animal rights group already, but we need to be very focused and organized.

This is an issue about saving human and animal lives.

[Bluebear]

8. Let's not forget this...

It started for me last year when I saw the picture of a woman left out in a hurricane in Port Charlotte, Florida, she was on a cell phone desparately looking for shelter for her and this little doggy.

[shireen]

11. this hurricane has exposed so much

about our society on a massive scale. Racism. Poverty. Incompetence. We could make a very long list.

One of the issues it's uncovered is the callous treatment of animals, and the horrific choices that families are forced to make. As some people have pointed out in other posts, many chose to stay because pets were not allowed at shelters. One of the things we need to do is gather documented evidence of this, to prove that these lives could have been saved if the companion animals were evacuated with them.

There's so much work to do ....

[peacebuzzard]

15. There already is a structure for one.

there is an animal rights group together with the Vegan and Vegetarians. Maybe Elad, who is the mod there might have a suggstion for this concept which goes w/ animal rights,

[elfin]

10. Gave my only donation thus far

to the US Humane Society.

Will probably also give to Habitat for Humanity and thinking about Oprah's Angle network. Staying away from the Red Cross for the time being.

[shireen]

13. i now regret giving to the red cross. n/t

[peacebuzzard]

16. I want to make sure my donations goes to the best one for the rescues.

[Carla in Ca]

29. Me, too

I gave $100.00 each to the ASPCA and Humane Society.
This is my 'baby'. I'd NEVER leave her. I'd also like to know if that Bassett needs a home. We would adopt it.

[Coastie for Truth]

12. I am a Red Cross volunteer in an area that is more disaster prone

then NOLA (I lived in NOLA for two years -- now I live between the San Andreas and Calaveras-Hayward Faults and in the Guadalupe-Coyote Creek-Alviso Flood Plain).

Many of us have done the Humane Society-Veterinary Clinic-Pet Fostering thing -- and have our unofficial lists of Humane Societies, Veterinarians, and Fostering groups that will foster pets in the event of a disaster. We "network" those lists around. This informal networking worked during Loma Prieta.

We are pretty well prepared to move our pets to "pre-identified" safe havens for our pets in the event of the inevitable "Big One".

<>

And the Big One is inevitable ---> we train, we drill, we prepare --- in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our communities--->







By the way - the threat is just as real here as anywhere else --- and Bush/Cheney/Rove and Hastert/Frist hate the SFBay area more then they hate NOLA. This is where Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi live.


<><>
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I live in the Red, "VIII-Very Strong" at the southern tip of SF Bay

Near me--> <>
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Near my kids'-->

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Nera where I work part time -->
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[shireen]

17. OMG! That's terrible!

you realize that the areas nearby are on the list of three mega-disasters named by FEMA.
1. terrorist attack on NY
2. hurricane in New Orleans
3. earthquake in bay area.

[Coastie for Truth]

20. Why do you think we train, train, train

drill, drill, drill, -- prepare, prepare, prepare

Have 2-3 weeks of bottle water, 2-3 weeks of food that doesn't require refrigeration/cooking, keep copies of health records, keep at least 1/2-3/4's tank of gas, have batteries coming out the ying-yang, portable radios and tv's, battery powered scanners (police, fire, ems, etc) in our homes and cars, major first aid kits (not band aids and aspirin - but heavy duty stuff), and "go kits" ready to go.

We keep our cat carrier, a bag with our latest complete hard drive "My Documents" on backup CD's, health records, dry food, bottled waters, meds, etc. in the guest closet by the front door.

Plus, all of us have been through the Red Cross "Life on the Fault Line" and First Aid" courses, and the San Jose Prepared-CERT earthquake survival courses.

BTW - the Red Cross is NOT the problem with pets in shelters -- it is the owner of the Shelter (school district, parks/recreation department, stadium authority, etc.) and the Health Department. If it was strictly up to the volunteers and professional staff - pets would be allowed (been there - been at the meetings -- been the helmeted volunteer in the rain with a cell phone).

[shireen]

19. btw, about those remarks regarding the Red Cross ....

I would give in a heartbeat to a local Red Cross chapter. But the national chapter seems to be a lumbering bureaucracy. 40% overhead seems pretty amazing. Just wanted to clarify that seeing that you are a volunteer.

[Coastie for Truth]

21. I don't get paid anything

I buy my own hard hat and safety shoes, my own clip board and cell phone and palm pilot and Red Cross uniform. We get charged for much of our training.

They do "give us" workers comp insurance and liability insurance coverage during a mobilization.

[Kadie]

23. A child and his dog. Look at this touching photo.

They were lucky enough to get out early. You can just see the love and the bond between these two.



A long way from Louisiana: Colin McDonald, his parents and Fuzzy left their boarded-up home in Kenner, La., before Hurricane Katrina hit and drove to the home of family friends in Bakersfield, Calif. Now they are trying to decide what to do next.

[shireen]

24. DU animal groups

I just checked the forums. There is a group called "Vegetarian, Vegan, and Animal Rights".

I am not a vegetarian, I don't belong there. I happen to like beef, chicken and pork, and feel comfortable about eating it because humans are at the top of the food chain, as are lions, tigers, and bears. However, I respect the animals that supply my food and am grateful to them. So stopping livestock cruelty is very important to me, and I protest it by not buying meat from the regular chain supermarkets. Fortunately, Whole Foods Supermarket has the same philosophy about humane treatment of livestock and buy meats from companies that feel the same way (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/list_meat.html. I wish more supermarkets would follow their lead. Maybe someday, our meats will be grown by tissue culture in labs -- wouldn't that be cool?!

We should ask DU admin if we can set up a "Humane Treatment of Animals" forum under "politics and issues". That seems to be the right home, since our mission would be to help animal rescue groups like the Noah's Wish, UAN, Humane Society, and SPCA press Congress, as well as local, state, and federal government agencies for better public policy regarding this issue (that way, it would not involve the carnivore vs. vegetarian philosophy). If you agree, please let the DU admin know as well -- the more people ask, perhaps the more willing they'll be to allow this new forum.

[shireen]

25. KICK n/t

[Genki]

26. Kick

Kisses to the puppies.

[shireen]

27. kick n/t

[Auntie Bush]

28. Good luck with your rescue work and thanks.

I have a niece named Shireen. I comment because it's very rare.

[dsc]

30. I am a childless pet owner

and I would not leave my pet. I know it isn't as important to help pets as it is to help people, but many people are imperiled by not helping pets. We need to rethink this now.