This story appeared in the print edition of yesterday's L.A. Times. As you can see from the quiet weekend, and my busy Monday, I'm still catching up. Join me, won't you? (if you haven't caught all these stories already from other sources)
The point of the article seems to be to highlight a bill in Louisiana that would address a glaring need revealed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina:
In some cases, owners were forced to leave their pets behind because rescue teams were obliged to concentrate on saving human lives; and shelters where evacuees were taken would rarely accommodate animals.But beyond this, the article spends more time discussing the (yes) ongoing rescue efforts in New Orleans:
"I felt we were derelict in our duties to the citizens of Louisiana, because we didn't make arrangements for pets," said state Sen. Heulette "Clo" Fontenot, who planned to formally introduce legislation Monday that would ensure that an emergency evacuation plan specifically for pets is put into place.
"I don't think we recognize that pet-human bond that was there, and a lot of people refused to evacuate because they weren't going to leave their pets behind," Fontenot said.
"There really is no end," said Charlotte Bass Lilly, executive director of Animal Rescue New Orleans.While reunification of companion animals with their people has been relatively low (about 3,000 have the 16,000 animals rescued in Louisiana since Katrina have been reunited with their owners, which is still an astonishing number), the story features a couple of heartening adoption stories that give hope that many of the rescued animals will find a new home.
In January alone, her group rescued 1,000 animals, thought to be Katrina survivors because of the areas in which they were found. The group has set up 4,000 animal food and water stations in areas that were devastated.
Placing the pets up for adoption has seemed the most humane solution, said Maloney of the LA/SPCA. She added that the group hoped the new owners would be willing to relinquish their pets if the original owner were found.
Categories: Katrina | pets | companion animals | animal rescue | animal adoption
