I emailed the article from my July 16th post (“They have absolutely no right to keep the dog” says law professor) to many of the Katrina evacuees whose pets are still missing as well as some who have been reunited, and got this letter back from Peter, the owner of Nestle.More letters from pet owners will be posted soon. Their voices need to and will be heard.
That article has me so angry. Why should these people judge those from Katrina? Do they tend to forget that these pets were not just left behind because "oh we just don't care," or "they are just property." No, they were left behind because of how fast we had to evacuate or where we had to go. People tend to forget all of this was very sudden and in a panic things get blurred. My dog is one of those that was lost in the shuffle. He was left behind with a family member, who was rescued and guess what they made him leave the dog! People need to think about that owners were MADE TO LEAVE THEIR PET!!!!!!!! The lady talking about heartworms well knowing that you have to give your pet the heartworm pill every month they were left for that long. It's not like they can just go do it for themselves! I am tired of being called inhuman and not a loving and caring owner. I've looked far and wide for my dog who I miss so much. They just don't understand that all of this is just like losing a child. It's hard enough still dealing with that to have people say I was wrong and horrible because I didn't have a way to bring him with me.
Well let them be in that situation for once and see what happens. No body knew it was going to be that bad; if we did things may have been prevented by opening shelters where you could leave your pet til it was over. But then again that wasn't all that safe either.
I am sorry that I am sending this to you but I have no idea where else to send it. I'm really glad people are standing up for their pets rights. If I found my dog I would want him back too. It's only right for those who have lost their pet and those who have fostered or adopted get together and really see what's in the best interest of the dog. These dogs were not neglected out of spite or hatred, they were left behind because people didn't know what to do and the parish presidents and all those above didn't make it very easy to take your pet along now, did they? Of course by the time Rita hit you could take your pet everywhere. So those of us from Katrina have to still suffer because of all the indecisions made so early. If people want me to feel like a horrible person for doing what I thought was the best for my dog, well they've accomplished it. I love my dog very much and never wanted to see anything horrible happen to him. He was my baby and he was treated like a King. All I can hope is that he's making someone else just as happy as he made me for five years. I just want people to know that there isn't a day that goes by that he's not on my mind or in my prayers. I lost everything but for me nothing is worse than this.
Just wanted to share my thoughts on this matter. Thanks for all of the support from different organizations and the tireless efforts of all those who have helped me look. It's very much appreciated. Thanks again and God bless.
Peter Pelas
Nestle was left in a house in Violet (St. Bernard Parish). Please come forward if you recognize this dog or have any information on the person who rescued and/or transported him.
Note to Pam Bondi, Lynne Welsh, Roland Blais & daughter Elizabeth (aka snowballschance), and all the rest you who have someone's dog - please feel free to post a comment to Peter's letter. And have the courage to sign your name to it just like Peter did rather than hide behind "anonymous."
My most sincere apologies for removing the above comment for a few days while a friend of mine was trying to isolate some weird HTML code on my blog. Please see July 29 post for more on this specifically as it relates to the Snowball Kids.
4 comments:
Dear Peter,
Please know there are so many of us out here whose hearts break with yours. The judgemental, callous, self-righteous , above the law attitudes of people that have stolen Katrina pets angers me beyond believe. They claim to love the animals but they seem to not even understand that these pets are as bonded to their owners as the owners are to them. Ten months does not make years of love disappear! These people are the exact definition of what is WRONG with this world and this country in particular. I believe in Karma and they will get theirs. They can try to lie to themselves and pretend to others.....but they can't lie to the all knowing and all seeing.
I am sending lots of loving hugs to you, and keeping hope alive that your sweet beautiful Nestle will be home with you one day again.
Denise
There but for the grace of God go you or I. Thank you for sharing this letter, Peter and Anita.
It's regrettable that hurricane survivors, on top of everything else they have had to cope with over the last year, are being stigmatized by complete strangers who know next to nothing about the individual circumstances that led to their animals becoming separated from them. That stimatization is a pretty good definition of "prejudice", no matter what the skin color or race etc. This is revealing a very ugly, grasping, selfish side of human nature devoid of tenderness or compassion. Sure sheds some light on why the world is in the mess it's in.
Im not as compassionate as the posters above. With what I do, its rare that I hear or see actions that are not without megalomania.
I feel, the "regular" shelter animals were overlooked so the "adopter" could brag about how they "saved" a Katrina pet. Why else would so many Katrina pets be adopter over the regulars?
The shelters should get hip and say all of their animals are from Katrina....might solve the overpopulated shelter problem.
I do agree with you on that. I adopted Nestle from a group that takes in abandoned dogs (a no kill shelter). I've always gotten my other pets from the streets or shelters. I strongly believe in adopting these animals.
There is a horrible epidemic on our hands with pets. But this is about those who have lost pets and found them but can't get them back. It's great that people at these pets times of need did step up and take care of them. But if they were found by the original owners it's time to give them back or find the best solution.
People do need to remember all of those other animals out there with no homes. Katrina pets needed help and so do many other abandoned animals. I just wanted people to understand that decisions made prior to the storm which in most cases was only 24 hrs, weren't made out of hate but out of fear and compassion. It's very hard to be an owner and make that decision.
I really do think people need to adopt other animals outside of the hurricane disaster.
But let's not forget those lost in the shuffle. Thank you Sharon for maybe opening up people's eyes to the problems that are still out there.
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