Public howling turns tide for four-legged evacuees
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By Susan Berger and Michael Martinez, Chicago Tribune. Tribune staff
reporter Ray Quintanilla contributed to this report. Tribune national
correspondent Michael Martinez reported from New Orleans; fre
September 10, 2005
NEW ORLEANS -- Two disheveled dogs and a cat flew with their people to
Iowa on Friday, where they got food, a bath and a physical exam.
The scene, a far cry from the wrenching images of stranded pooches on
rooftops, was a victory for pet lovers, who have beseeched the
government to allow pets to remain with their owners during evacuations.
Heartbreaking stories about people being forced to leave pets
behind--and estimates that 50,000 dogs and cats were stranded in Hurricane
Katrina's wake--have filled Internet message boards. On Thursday, an urgent
message told of 150 dogs on the rooftop of American Can Corp. in New
Orleans, another of a man rescued through his roof who had to leave his
dog and two cats with no food or water.
Pet lovers throughout the country have joined in a massive effort to
organize veterinarians, boats and food to help save displaced animals.
Convoys have been coordinated through message boards at nola.com,
petfinder.com and craigslist.org.
And on Friday, authorities in Louisiana who have struggled for nearly
two weeks to save human lives in this devastated swampland started
making more time for the animals.
The military began providing animal cages and equipment to homeowners
who would evacuate only if they could bring their pets with them. "We
got the capacity," said Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, "and it seemed like
the right thing to do."
Many residents had refused to leave New Orleans--much of which remains
covered by contaminated water and debris--because they didn't want to
abandon their pets. An increasing number of evacuees in recent days have
also tried to bring their pets along, officials said.
Jennifer Mullin, spokeswoman for Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, said evacuees
"didn't want to leave their animals behind."
"When you think about it, you can't leave a family pet to fend for
itself in those kinds of conditions," she said. The dogs and cat taken to
Iowa--which "are supposed to be really cute," Mullin said--will be
allowed to remain with their owners.
The military's edict on pets answers a petition drive started by
Margaret Barry, 64, of Webster, Mass., demanding that an evacuation order
include pets. By Friday, she had collected 40,000 signatures.
But all along, rescue workers have worried about abandoned pets.
On Tuesday, a scared and skinny golden Labrador stood on a porch on the
edge of the filthy water. A SWAT team from the Chicago area sent to New
Orleans to protect city workers got closer. Three more dogs appeared.
"It was not safe to get off the boat," said Mikel Milks, Glencoe
director of public safety and a volunteer member of the SWAT team. "With 50
pounds of protective gear, if we fell in, we would drown."
Milks and the team returned the next day when the water had receded by
a foot. Conditions were worse, however. Gasoline and oil from motor
vehicles were leaking into the water. In addition to human bodies, Milks
said he saw dead dogs and cats floating amid the debris.
"We yelled, and there was no answer," Milks said. "And then we saw
three Humane Society boats and an animal ambulance from Boston. We yelled
to them the address and they rescued all four dogs."
Although the Humane Society of the United States reported 2,500 animal
rescues as of Friday, time is clearly running out, said Wayne Pacelle,
the society's president.
"There is quite a drama unfolding," Pacelle said Friday. He had heard
of animals being shot and said that while there is an order in St.
Bernard Parish to kill any dog maiming or defacing a human corpse, he has
heard of local authorities shooting when that is not the case.
"We have room for the dogs. There is no need for it," Pacelle said.
"They are scared. They are hungry. But they are alive."
But that will not be the case in a few more days, he said.
Pacelle said it is imperative that all government responders--the Navy,
Army, Coast Guard, police, firefighters and others--assist in capturing
the animals and bringing them to a shelter.
PAWS, a Chicago rescue group, drove a caravan to the Humane Society in
Bauxite, Ark., and returned at 3 a.m. Thursday with 200 homeless pets
so the Arkansas shelter would have room for additional animals displaced
by the storm.
Pet owners went to great lengths to escape with their animals. Three
days after Hurricane Katrina struck, 42-year-old hairdresser Wendy
Seibert towed an unusual companion through the flooded alleys of downtown New
Orleans, joining hundreds of refugees who trailblazed a backdoor route
to the sanctuary of the Superdome.
It was Rusty, her cat, looking dry and comfortably ensconced in a
carryall.
"It's like my child," said Seibert, who ranked Rusty as important as
the two bottles of water she carried to sustain them as they slowly
marched through knee-deep, filthy water.
As incongruous a scene as it was, Seibert wasn't alone at a time when
people were dying while waiting to be rescued on the other side of
downtown at the city's convention center.
Behind her in the pilgrimage-like line through a flooded wasteland was
Dama Fountain, a 45-year-old artist, who was carrying Babette, her
15-year-old cat, also in a small cage. She was joined by her husband, Royce
Osborn, 46, a writer and filmmaker.
Many of the animals have not been so lucky. Milks heard from state
patrol officers that packs of aggressive dogs roving in the streets are
being shot or caught and euthanized.
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