http://www.wdsu.com/video/4922195/detail.html

What gets me is that the guy didnt hesitate to leave the poor dog behind. Im still crying over this......

:( I'm crying over it too. That's so sad. :(

The video doesn't come up for me, but I've thought a lot lately about what I would do if I were put in that kind of situation, and I don't know what I would do... From my dry, safe, calm perspective it's very easy for me to say that I could never leave my dogs behind. I'd like to be the guy that stayed with his dog and refused to leave with the rescue helicopter until they could take his dog too. It was heartwarming to read about those kind of people. But if I was in a state of panic, worrying about surviving, I don't know if I'd have the strength or willpower to stay behind with my pets. God it would tear me up afterwards if I survived and they didn't though because I left them.

The vid didn't work for me either, Rain. Honestly, I would be one of the people that would have died along with their pets rather than abandoning them. As kpickell said, it's easy for me to say from my dry,safe,calm perspective..but I know how much I love my cats. The fish would be a bit of a different story, as they couldn't survive flooded sewage water, but they would also only live a finite amount of time in a bucket or plastic bag without air.
I have made a promise to Arlo (and the other 2 cats) that we'll be together no matter what. (long story)
I don't plan on betraying that promise, or their love towards me anytime soon.

God, the video worked for me and I'm so sorry it did. That poor dog just looked so bewildered. Yes, I agree with Brandon, to take care of my animals - it's a committment as deep as any other in my life.

I was able to get the video to work this time. :( Geez, he didn't even look back or hug the dog or anything. Depressing.


To offset that I saw this nice story on BestFriends email list:
ETA: story removed due to forum's inane copyright rule. Summary: A guy hid his dog in a trash bag in order to get him to Houston.

What morons. Even the dog seems confused why he or she is left alone on the roof. These people are suppose to rescue everyone, not only humans. If I was in that same boat, I would hit everyone on the head to remind them about the dog.

awww, thats so sad. Moreso when you actually see the video :(

I would take a thick newspaper and slap each of them one by one on their heads.

Can't these animals swim and swim and swim, going from makeshift flotation device to makeshift flotation device, to dry land? Or do they just not have the instincts for it?

OMG, I almost wish I hadn't watched that. How heartbreaking. Not only did he leave the dog without a backward glance, it looks like it is chained up and I certainly didn't see a pile of food anywhere around. What chance does the dog have, tied up with no food and surrounded by toxic water??

I could NEVER do that....never, never, never. Either put my dog in the boat, or Good Day to you....go rescue someone else. The look on that dog's face will haunt me.

I'm not sure if this is the same story:
Hate to ask of you but I'm pissed. KCAL-9 just ran a story on their noon broadcast today
about a man who has stayed behind in New Orleans because he has nowhere else to go. There was a beautiful black lab foraging for food next to him and he told the reporter that the dog was a stray and had SAVED HIS LIFE by pulling him from the flood waters while he was drowning. The reporter praised the dog and convinced the man to get into the news van so that he could be taken to a shelter. The news van then drove off and left the dog behind to starve in the street! I couldn't believe it! Please email the station and plead for them to return to that block with an animal rescue organization.

The Humane Society, ASPCA, Best Friends, PETA and many local shelters all have rescuers and space available for recovery. There was no reason that they couldn't have taken the dog to a shelter as well.

If enough people respond, I'm confident that they will be shamed into writing a happy ending to their own story.
Please direct emails to: http://kcal9.com/feedback or call (323) 467 9999. Please also send this to as many folks that you think might take a second to comment.



But there is a good ending to it . . .

Hey everyone, the rescued the Black Lab. They just had the story on Channel 9 along with the Lab in the back of a truck.
Great News! He is a hero!

. . . . You can see the story on http://www.kcal.com. It's in the "Top Videos" section.

That is so sad...

I just read a story about a man being told he MUST leave his home, and he left his dog behind? I'm sorry but I COULD NEVER EVER EVER leave my dog/pets/animals, that would be like saying to my son, ok well no room for you but mommys going to safety. When these people are being evacuated, are they allowed to bring their pets with??? I can't imagine someone looking me in the eyes, telling me i had to leave my dog behind, while he was standing faithfully beside me, just as confused and tired, and hungry as i was. Just curious if they are being given an option here..and if not? Who makes up those rules?

Can't really expect people to be so fanatical about their, especially not in situations where they are fearing hunger, or death.

From what I heard, they were taking people whether they want to go or not and if they refused, then they went to jail. But it's going against a law PETA and some other organization put together a few years ago about disasters and pets. But I heard they are letting them take the animals with them though now. But imagine how many got left behind while the government was trying to get their a$$es straight....

But it's going against a law PETA and some other organization put together a few years ago about disasters and pets.


Got a source for this? And as far as I know, they are still not required to allow people to bring their pets.

Look, there are people still trapped. Room in the boats is limited, and if I was stuck on aroof and saw a boat load of animals go floating by, I would get pretty ticked off.

Can't these animals swim and swim and swim, going from makeshift flotation device to makeshift flotation device, to dry land? Or do they just not have the instincts for it?

How exactly are they supposed to climb on the "makeshift flotation device"? AND eventually they will be so weak from hunger they will drown.

^^^^Don't feed the trolls.

I won't watch the video. My computer can't handle some video clips and I know I couldn't handle this one.

The HSUS and Noah's Wish and others are working their butts off to get to animals like these. They are going house to house now. But they need money to keep going. Donate whatever you can. Every dollar counts.

My boss told me one of the shelters not too far from here is sending volunteers and supplies. I'm trying to find out more about it so I can send supplies with them, in addition to what I've donated to HSUS.

Got a source for this? And as far as I know, they are still not required to allow people to bring their pets.

Look, there are people still trapped. Room in the boats is limited, and if I was stuck on aroof and saw a boat load of animals go floating by, I would get pretty ticked off.

http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=78236 The law in louisiana about animals. Abandoning them whether in a disaster or regular day is illegal.

As far as them letting them take animals now is what was heard on the news. I dont know if its in certain parts or all over.

How exactly are they supposed to climb on the "makeshift flotation device"? AND eventually they will be so weak from hunger they will drown.

^^^^Don't feed the trolls.

I won't watch the video. My computer can't handle some video clips and I know I couldn't handle this one.

The HSUS and Noah's Wish and others are working their butts off to get to animals like these. They are going house to house now. But they need money to keep going. Donate whatever you can. Every dollar counts.

My boss told me one of the shelters not too far from here is sending volunteers and supplies. I'm trying to find out more about it so I can send supplies with them, in addition to what I've donated to HSUS.


I wasn't Trolling! I take offense to that. Mine was a genuine question. What I was asking was, couldn't some of the animals try swimming to dry land that is more elevated, towards the rest of the country that isn't under water? And by makeshift floatation devices,I mean that some animals like dogs were seen floating on pieces and such. I dunno, I just somehow imigine, and would hope that dogs would be able to swim through the water, to the rooftops or whatever that are accessible, on a determined voyage to safer areas where they can find food.

Many animals have these types of survival instincts, I guess I just wish this kind of thing could happen, rather than the dogs and cats just sitting out there, hopeless, and so depressed at not being able to do anything but sit, wait, grow hungry and die.

http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=78236 The law in louisiana about animals. Abandoning them whether in a disaster or regular day is illegal.



Okay, first, that isn't a "special" law put together by PETA and other groups about "pets and distasters". It is standard animal welfare legislation.
Second, it makes no mention of disaster situations, which you claimed.
Third, as leaving a flooded home due to mandatory evacuation is a special circumstance, this law would not apply.

Okay, first, that isn't a "special" law put together by PETA and other groups about "pets and distasters". It is standard animal welfare legislation.
Second, it makes no mention of disaster situations, which you claimed.
Third, as leaving a flooded home due to mandatory evacuation is a special circumstance, this law would not apply.

Good grief chill out. I'm only going by an email I got from a friend who is signed up for newsletters. I dont know which one.

Urgent: Demand That Federal and New Orleans Officials Allow Animals to Be Evacuated
Please respond immediately and forward widely.

On August 29, Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast. In addition to the human misery that the storm left in its wake, Katrina left many thousands of animals dead and dying. But the greater problem has turned out to be state and federal governments adding to this toll—and causing the slow and agonizing deaths of many thousands of much-loved dogs, cats, and other animals—through its failure to allow animal protection agents to rescue animals.

Worse, although the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) guidelines on animal handling in a disaster were carefully crafted years ago in cooperation with PETA and other animal organizations, our government has evidently thrown them out the window, even going so far as to order citizens to abandon their animals under threat of arrest—animals who in many cases were considered members of the family and were all that these people had left.

Volunteer Steve Miller told The Advocate in Baton Rouge that "FEMA has told us we cannot take the pets" along with the distraught human victims that they are evacuating. "They told [us] that we could not take one cat or dog in our boats," Miller said. "It's a stupid rule. More people are going to die because of that."

Telling these exasperated citizens of our country to abandon the animals they care for so deeply is, in fact, illegal. Chapter 14, Section 102.1(A)(1)(d) of Louisiana's Revised Statutes, for example, states that anyone who abandons an animal is guilty of the crime of cruelty to animals.

Please politely call on Michael Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response and head of FEMA, to immediately order his subordinates and their brave volunteers to evacuate animals with their human families, effective today, from areas affected by Katrina. Tell Mr. Brown that in these United States, we can and must do better for our citizens and their animals:

The Honorable Michael Brown
Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response
500 C St. S.W.
Washington, DC 20472
202-646-3900
202-646-3930 (fax)
FEMAOPA@dhs.gov
On Tuesday, September 6, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin reportedly issued a mandatory evacuation order and authorized police to remove people from their homes regardless of the residents' wishes, according to CNN. Although Lt. Gen. Russel Honore-Commander of the First U.S. Army and the man in charge in New Orleans-apparently stated that his military units will not carry out such evacuations, New Orleans police officers and other law enforcement agents may force city residents to abandon their animals when evacuating. Please ask Mayor Nagin to ensure that his beleaguered constitutents are allowed to bring their companion animals along should they be evacuated:

The Honorable Ray Nagin
Mayor of New Orleans
Send an e-mail to the Mayor's Office

My neighbor to the west is a vet and spent a couple of weeks down there helping with animal rescue. She has a couple of dogs that she brought back with her.

The video doesn't work for me either. @#$@# proprietary crap.

I have just one animal, and in a disaster, I'd absolutely stuff her in a pillowcase and bring her with me.

Got a source for this? And as far as I know, they are still not required to allow people to bring their pets.

Look, there are people still trapped. Room in the boats is limited, and if I was stuck on aroof and saw a boat load of animals go floating by, I would get pretty ticked off.


I'd be ticked off too.