Katrina play opens Sept. 2 in L.A.

I had the pleasure of getting to know Tim last fall, after he spent time volunteering with HSUS in the aftermath of Katrina. While at Lamar Dixon, he became involved with a family's search for their missing dog, and over the next few months, remained devoted to tracking down their dog, who is a major character in the play. Click on the title link for complete details.

A new play by Tim Maddock & Lotti Louise Pharriss

Directed by Emilie Beck

September 2 - 30, 2006
Fridays & Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3pm

The Lounge Theatre
6201 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood

Reservations 818.786.5834 or visit Theatre Mania

Tickets $20 ($5 off if you bring a photo of your pet)
Discounts available for students and groups.

The story of a man and his dog, together again

HOLDING COURT

Thursday, August 17, 2006

By Lynne Jensen

On a broken chair with a big plywood seat, Henry H. Toney sits as a lumberyard watchman, surrounded by a few simple needs: menthol cigarettes, a cell phone and a bowl of dry cat food for his finicky but faithful dog, Chelsea. She guards her master from beneath the makeshift throne where he holds court, conversing with customers.

Toney, 81, has been working at Riverside Lumber Co., now in eastern New Orleans, for 47 years. He's as much a part of the family-owned business as brothers Rusty and Michael Hayden, who oversee the 86-year-old operation with cousin Bruce Hayden.

"I'm the black sheep of the family," Toney said, contrasting his skin color to the Haydens' and recalling decades of living on the lumberyard grounds, where the Hayden brothers and Toney's daughter, Anita, played side by side.

Michael and Rusty Hayden's father, Bobby, helped pay for child-care and then transportation to and from school for Anita, who was 3 when her mother died of cancer in 1968, Toney said.

"I said I'm going to keep my baby," Toney said. "And Mr. Bobby, he said we're going to help you raise your baby."

Toney, who for years drove the company delivery truck, helped to raise the Hayden boys, they said.

Summers away from school meant riding with Toney on deliveries and stopping for ice cream, Michael Hayden said. They'd stop for ice cream cones that cost 26 cents, he said. "Mr. Toney would bring the quarter and we'd bring the penny," he said.

"When I started working for the company, Rusty and Mike were sucking bottles and wearing diapers," Toney said. "And now they say I'm wearing diapers."

Toney, who described himself as "a country boy from Columbia, Mississippi," is someone "we all love," Rusty Hayden said. "I've been knowing him since I knew myself."

Michael Hayden described tearful days of worrying about Toney, who refused to leave his post at the lumberyard for Hurricane Katrina.

"My brother and I cried like babies," Hayden said. "We thought you were dead," he told Toney.

Rusty Hayden recalled a cell phone conversation with Toney as he and Chelsea rode out the flood that followed the storm. The call ended with a loud noise and Toney saying, "Oh my Lord," Rusty Hayden said.

A "big wave" temporarily knocked Toney and Chelsea from the stack of birch plywood where they had ridden out the flood for five days, Toney said. They'd been sharing soft drinks from cans that floated by.

It would be a few more days before the Haydens learned that Toney was rescued by boat, then plucked by helicopter and eventually taken to San Antonio.

Toney was rescued by George Laird, an area businessman who was picking up people by boat in the area when he heard Chelsea, a black Lab, barking.

Debris made it impossible for Laird to maneuver the boat inside the lumber yard. Toney said he struggled and made his way out, but Chelsea "wouldn't get off the plywood and come to me . . . She doesn't like George at all now because he took me away from her."

After spending some time with National Guard personnel, Chelsea wound up in Arizona. Thanks in part to her implanted microchip, she recently was reunited with Toney.

Together again, Toney and Chelsea spend days at the lumber yard entrance. Nights are spent at Anita's house while the lumberyard is being restocked and its buildings replaced.

"The rest of this stuff you can rebuild, but you can't get another Mr. Toney," Michael Hayden said.

"They said I got a home here as long as I live," Toney said about the Haydens. "I take care of the place as if it was mine."

Chedder Homecoming Video

Even though Chedder was one of the dogs I helped to reunite a long time ago, I just saw the full video again of his homecoming,and it made me remember why I have been doing this. Thanks again to Scot Haisley at WARL for fighting with us, rather than against us,to get Chedder back to Renee and her son. This is the original post about Chedder/Chat.

Click here to see the video of Chedder's homecoming.

Rescued: Saving Animals from Disaster Available Aug. 28th

From Publishers Weekly
In this mix of heartrending personal stories and practical information, the Andersons (Angel Animals) explore why, out of 16,000 animals rescued in Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, only 3,000 were reunited with their families (many were adopted or taken into foster homes), and find the reasons in the loss of records, the chaotic conditions evacuees faced and euthanizing of unclaimed pets by some shelters. Directed to leave their pets behind when Katrina was bearing down and denied entry to Red Cross shelters with their animals, many residents waited out the storm at home rather than abandon their pets. The authors focus on three major organizations (the ASPCA, the American Humane Association and the Humane Society of the U.S.) that, buttressed by volunteers from all over the country, played a key role in saving animal lives. Believing that domesticated pets are family members and that by helping them one is also helping people, the Andersons detail what has been learned from Katrina and provide instructions for readers in the event that they face an evacuation. The authors stress that owners must take primar responsibility for their pets and that rescue volunteers should be properly
trained. The Andersons can be saccharine, but their advice is well taken. 16
pages of color photos. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Book Description
The inspiration for Rescued was the tragic situation with pets during the Katrina disaster — thousands refusing to leave without their pets, and many animals dying due to official indifference to these “disposable” creatures. Extensively trained in animal rescues, Allen and Linda Anderson interviewed hundreds of volunteers, hurricane survivors, and government officials for this book. Rescued offers both hope and practical suggestions, as well as the latest information on official policy and how to help in future catastrophes. It goes beyond the recent tragedies to talk about the various rescue and sanctuary operations, what volunteers and staff do, and how to help. Using a dramatic structure and photos, the book presents the before, during, and after journeys of people separated from their animals. Rescued puts attention on an unheralded world of animal shelters, organizations, and brave individuals who made a difference during the largest animal disaster in American history.

Why does this dog look so sad?

Probably because he is stuck living with Cruella de Ville.

This male yellow lab mix (PF63333) is one more dog separated from his owners because someone decided to play God. The person who rescued and/or adopted him obviously knows that he belongs to someone else and yet has made no effort to find the owner(s). Anyone can see in this dog's eyes that he is sad. He's probably thinking about the people he loves.

This is what is written in the description on Petfinder:
This pet was rescued from the disaster area, however contact and location information are not available. This pet is in the database to provide closure so that, if at some later date it is identified by its original owner, they will know it was rescued and cared for. He is happy, healthy, and loved in his new surroundings. This pet is no longer being tracked.

Problem is that the dog was never tracked. This Petfinder Found record was posted on August 11, 2006 - almost a year after Katrina. And the email address that Cruella provided in the Petfinder record - to make sure that his owner(s) have no way to ever contact her - is noemail@given.com. I guess Cruella, like so many of the evacuees, also didn't have a computer or internet access all year.

Sheriff Eddie "Big Bubba" Cathey awaits his bigger and better gas chamber

Here are some of the comments from residents of NC posted along with the 3000+ signatures on the petition against this gas chamber. Read and sign the petition here.

(my original post follows the comments)

I knew a guy once who had been inside a vintage gas chamber somewhere over in East Germany. He said that the claw marks in stone made from human fingernails and bone while trying to escape from excruciating pain was a true testament to the evolution of human compassion. Calling an animal processing facility that uses a gas chamber to cheaply, yet painfully, eliminate its unwanted numbers a shelter is like calling Hitler's concentration camps refugee sanctuaries. I have a couple other ideas Union County can use to promote its growth into the 18th century. Possibly juvenile delinquents sentenced to community service hours by the courts can take on the responsibility of the euthanization of these animals by simply using a hammer or other blunt object. That should save the county a few more bucks. Maybe the county should institute MANDATORY I. Q. testing for all legal adults in Union County, and any with an I. Q. less than 65 are immediately processed to a human spay and neuter clinic to help keep unwanted human population down. As I sit here with my rescued black lab mix nudging me with a toy she wants to play with, I can only feel sorry for those individuals who feel that this is a humane and acceptable manner with which to handle animal population. It is merely the cheap and lazy solution. No wonder so many people hate americans. I'm going to go play with my dog now. I hope all of you other animal lovers have a great day!

I am a volunteer at the local SPCA shelter and I am speechless. I cannot believe that these types of people are in charge of our country. I am in tears just thinking about the dogs and cats that are dying and don't need to be. Can you not hear their screams? How can you sleep at night? DO NOT BUILD A GAS CHAMBER!!! These are innocent animals. They didn't ask to be born, what did they do that deserves death?

Please don't spend my tax dollars on a Gas Chamber

As I sit here typing with my dogs head in my lap, I cannot stress enough the importance of these terrific creatures of ours called ANIMALS! They cannot speak up so we will do it for them!!

Please remember that these are beautiful, innocent little creatures that deserve a better way. Take compassion on these animals that bring joy to people's lives, for some they are like children.

In the year 2006, how could you even think of a gas chamber, it maybe cheaper than IV injections but money isn't everything...these animals SHOULD not have to pay for humans stupidity, just because we don't spay and neuter. WE are 20 yrs behind some states in their treatment of these animals> its past time we thought of these animals before they are birthed......where is the luxury taxes to pay for spay-neuter programs........

If the gas chamber is not humane enough for rapists and murderers, why would you use it on innocent animals who have done nothing wrong? Please reconsider.

PLEASE STOP THIS HIDEOUS PRACTICE!

It is bad enough that it is society's fault these animals are even in the situation of being in shelters. We can at least allow them to have dignity in death since we are the cause of it. I think it is time we look at the reasons these animals are in the shelters and solve that. These animlas deserve to have a peaceful death. We give humans that right and I know there are plenty that we have put to death with lethal injection that have committed crimes beyond belief. What crimes have many of these animals committed that are in the shelters? It is really our crimes that they are being punished for! Give them the chance to have a more peaceful end of life.

As a Union County resident I hate to think that my tax dollars are going towards an inhumane method of putting animals to death! If we have to kill them let's at least show as much compasion as possible.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sheriff Eddie Cathey of Union County, NC seems a little too happy about the arrival of his new gas chamber for the animal shelter - larger than the current one he demonstrated for the TV cameras.

I especially like his it's my way or the highway style. Real nice.

Here are some of Sheriff Eddie's quotes:

In this new, pro-active role, we, as the members of the Sheriff's Office, will work diligently to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Union County.
hey, Sheriff Eddie, why not improve the quality of life for the animals as well as quality of death by allowing them at least the more humane death from lethal injection?

We seek to be more accountable by allowing more public input into the ways in which our services are planned and provided.
Sure doesn't look like you want any public input on this. How you euthanize the unwanted pets of Union County is a servce you plan and provide, and everyone within Union County and around the country is objecting to your new gas chamber. I'd say that counts as public input.

We seek to be more resourceful, imaginative, and aggressive in our approach to crime.
Why not start with being more resourceful and imaginative about how your euthanize your unwanted animals?

To the people of Union County: keep an eye on your pets; repair your fences, keep your pets' tags on them and up to date. And if you find a stray, take it in and try to find the owner, or take it anywhere but here.

To think that an animal shelter would actually replace an old gas chamber with a newer and bigger model in the year 2006 is beyond belief.

Brandy & the Pets Alive Sanctuary in NY

Just an Old Golden Retriever
By Sara Whalen

I grew up in your average middle-class Jewish home where pets were not available. I never had a pet. There was a lot of plastic on the furniture. Basically, pets were considered dirty, unwanted things. Animals were not part of my experience, so I had not conscience about them.

I got married in 1968, and in 1970 I had a baby. When he was 18 months old, we were living in a bungalow colony in upstate New York while waiting for our home to be built. An elderly woman and her old golden retriever lived next door. I used to see them together when the woman was outside gardening. My son liked the dog, and she was a friendly animal, but that was all as far as I was concerned.

When the woman died, her relatives came up, and they emptied her house of her treasures, her clothing, anything they thought of value. They contacted a real estate agent who put out a For Sale sign on her property. Then they locked the dog out and drove away.

Because I’d grown up with no conscience about animals, it didn’t even cross my mind to say, "Wait a minute. Someone should be taking care of this dog" or "who is going to be responsible for her?" It just didn’t. I was not responsible for the dog.

Some of the neighbors mentioned that they’d feed her occasionally, but the dog mostly stayed near the house where she’d lived, where her owner had died. When the dog would come over to play with my son, Adam, he would feed her cookies; once in a while I would give her some leftovers.

One afternoon I went to get Adam, who’d been outside playing in our yard—a safe, level grassy area—and he was gone. Just gone. I was frantic. I looked for him, and then neighbors helped me look for him. We called the police. For three hours the police looked for him, then they called the state police. The state police brought in helicopters. My husband rushed home form the city. I was hysterical. We could not find Adam. We didn’t know if he’d been abducted. We didn’t know if he was alive. We could not find him.

The search had been going on for six hours when a neighbor, who’d just returned home, said, "Where’s Brandy?"

Brandy? The dog? Why was he asking about the dog?

Someone else said, "Maybe he’s with Adam."

What did I know about animals? I said, "Why would she be with Adam? What does that mean?"

One of the troopers recalled that he’d heard a dog barking deep in the woods when they were doing the foot search. And suddenly everybody started to yell "Brandy!" including me.

We heard faint barking and followed the sound.

We found my 18-month-old son, standing up, fast asleep, pressed against the trunk of a tree. Brandy was holding him there with one shoulder. One of her legs was hanging over a 35-foot drop to a stream below.

She must have followed Adam when he wandered off, just as a dog will with a child, and she saw danger. She was a better mother than I; she’d pushed him out of harm’s way – and held him there. This was an old dog. Adam was an 18-month-old child. He struggled, I’m sure, but she’d held him there for all those hours. When I picked him up, she collapsed.

As the trooper carried my son back home, I, sobbing with relief, carried Brandy. I knew in that instant that she was coming home with me, too. Brandy spent the rest of her life with us, and I loved her completely; she lived to be 17 years old.

From then on, I made it a point to learn everything I could about animals. My focus at the time was old golden retrievers. Obviously, I thought they were the smartest, the best, and there was nothing like them. I started the first golden retriever rescue and have had as many as 35 of them in the house at a time, and it mushroomed from there.

Because of Brandy, I have a calling. I have a reason to get up in the morning. Because of Brandy, thousands of unwanted animals have been given safe lives. I can’t save them all, but I can make a difference. We now have 300 animals—all kinds, including birds and pot-bellied pigs—and are a well-recognized humane animal sanctuary. We take the animals that other shelters won’t take—the ones my mother would have said were dirty; the old ones who are incontinent, the blind, the ugly ones; they’re all beautiful to me. So many organizations feel it’s easier to euthanize these animals. I don’t agree. How could I? If someone had put an abandoned 11-year-old golden retriever to sleep 29 years ago, I would not have a child. I wouldn’t have a son who is the light of my life.

Pets Alive is a life-affirming memorial to Brandy.

Click on the title link above or the permanant link to the right for more information or to make a donation.

REUNION: The OTHER dog from Doylestown arrives in New Orleans

Click on the above link or here to see a short video clip of Rose arriving in New Orleans yesterday and reuniting Mojo with his family.

Click here to read a local (PA) newspaper story.

Click here to see Rose, her son, a family friend, and Mojo take off for New Orleans.

Thanks again Rose for all you did - have a safe drive back home.

Funny stuff here (not for the easily offended)

and just up the road from Doylestown....

By JOHN ANASTASI
The Intelligencer

New Orleans' Earle Bryant III is suing a Montgomery County kennel for allowing a local resident to adopt a German shepherd that Bryant left behind when he evacuated his home to escape from Hurricane Katrina last summer.

Ragnar, the dog, ended up at Molly's Country Kennels in Worcester in September after the shelter took on some animals that were being housed at a temporary rescue area in Louisiana.

The suit, filed this month in Montgomery County Court, claims Molly's kennel did not give Bryant enough time to claim the animal before allowing someone to adopt it. He has been trying to get the 2-year-old dog back since January.

“The fact is, I'm very, very close to my animals, and I see them as part of the family,” Bryant said last week. “I won't give up. I'm disgusted. This really makes me upset. I can't even express how angry this has made me.”

His is the latest case of a pet owner from the Gulf Coast trying to reclaim a dog that made its way to the Philadelphia suburbs following Hurricane Katrina.

Lynne and Joseph Welsh of Doylestown adopted a dog named Rocket whose owner has come forward and asked for her pet's return. The Welshes have said, through their attorney, that they don't want to return the dog to its owner unless she comes to Pennsylvania.

A happier outcome has been reached by a New Orleans family and the Reith family of Doylestown Township. The Reiths have plans to return Mojo, a 9-year-old blond terrier-chow mix, to the McNeils of New Orleans later this week.

Bryant, who is now home in New Orleans, said the dog initially belonged to his mother, but he was taking care of it. When the hurricane hit in late August, Bryant packed up his belongings and loaded them and his own three dogs into his 1995 Chevrolet Blazer.

Bryant said there was simply no room for Ragnar, especially since one of the other dogs was very aggressive. So, he gave Ragnar plenty of food and water, attached tags bearing the owner's name and telephone number and left for Oklahoma.

“That I was unable to take him was a painful choice,” said Bryant, who got Ragnar at a Mississippi rescue agency. “He's not an aggressive dog. He's a very submissive, altered male. He's a pure-bred German shepherd who was very well taken care of.”

Bryant contacted Louisiana's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the United States to request that the dog be rescued and provided them with his cell phone number.

Once he returned to Louisiana in October, he tried to track the dog down with no luck. In December, Bryant contacted an animal rescue organization that helped him post a “lost” notice on www.petfinder.com.

On Dec., 31, an organization representative realized that Molly's Country Kennels had posted a notice about the dog on the same site in September but deactivated the posting in early October, the suit claims.

That notice indicated that all Katrina adoptions from Molly's would be final on Jan. 1, the suit said.

On Jan. 1, Bryant sent an e-mail to Molly's representatives to claim the dog and learned it had already been adopted. Molly's has refused to provide Bryant with the name, address and phone number of the person who adopted the dog.

“This is unacceptable if you ask me,” Bryant said of the pre-Jan. 1 adoption.

Colorado Springs attorney Mark Francis represented Molly's in discussions with Bryant's lawyer earlier this spring. Reached Friday, Francis said he has since advised Molly's officials to obtain local counsel.

A phone call to the kennel business for comment was not immediately returned.

Oh, look - here is a video of all the dogs arriving at Molly's Country Kennels!
Go to page 25 and then click on the video dated 10/18: Finding Homes for Stranded Pets

And here are dogs that were brought back to Last Chance Ranch in PA!

Story is also on MSNBC

ATTENTION: owners of Katrina Kitties

I've been in contact recently with a woman from Waveland who I first met in September, helping to locate her three dogs. She told me that she found the remains of one - a 17 year old Chow-Shepherd mix. She also found and was reunited with one of her cats, who tragically died six months later from heartworms. Heartworms are rare in cats, and cats are not usually tested. She had an autopsy done on her cat who was fine one minute and dead the next.

If your cat was rescued after Katrina, or if you adopted a Katrina kitty that had been wondering around for some time before being trapped, consult with your vet about having them checked for heartworms.

Videos and photos of Katrina dogs brought to PA

http://kyw.com/video/?id=16115@kyw.dayport.com

http://kyw.com/video/?id=16080@kyw.dayport.com

http://kyw.com/video/?id=15727@kyw.dayport.com

Here are most of the dogs brought to Mollys on this awesome Flickr Site
Be sure to click on both pages of photos.

PA dog trainer charged with animal cruelty

SHOHOLA - State police have charged a Birchwood Lakes woman with four misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

Pike County Humane Society Supervisor Barry Heim reported he answered a call from neighbors in Birchwood Lake on May 24. He found nine animals dead and three still living at the residence.

Danielle Assante, the homeowner, a professional trainer of show dogs is alleged to have left her home for three weeks, leaving the pets without food or water.

The dead animals were a five month-old Border Collie, three Staffordshire Bull Terriers, three cats, a rabbit, and a cockatiel.

Still alive but severely emaciated were three other dogs, two Rotweillers and a Sheltie Collie, which were taken to the animal shelter and are recovering. One of the surviving Rotweilers, which was just 59 pounds, is now back at 95 pounds.

Assante was interviewed by Trooper McCarthy at the Blooming Grove State Police barracks and arrested. She was charged with Animal Cruelty, a misdemeanor and four summary charges of neglect and unsanitary conditions as reported by Heim.

“She’ll get fined and serve minimal jail time. The state does not crack down hard enough on people like this,” said Heim.

Assante is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Steve McBride of District Court in Dingmans Ferry on August 8 for a preliminary hearing regarding the charges.

Sharon Gorski's open letter to the rescuers

Have you seen the movie "Eight Below?" If not you have to watch that movie, as it should explain something very important to you.

It sends a message to every single animal lover on this earth. We saw this same determination with the rescues who made their way down to ground zero, and with the rescuers that followed them.

In the very beginning when the small guys went past Lamar-Dixon, and said we can do better than them. We said we will work together to save the animals. We actually went our seperate ways, but we accomplished much. But the real reason you went down there, was because you wanted to save the pets and return them to their owners.

Yes, some did get back to their owners, but there are still a lot of them who did not, and you know what, a lot of their owners have now lost large chunk of their heart, and it is for them that I write this. Because when you lose a piece of your heart, you are never whole until you find that piece and return it to it's rightful place.

This is what we should ALL be working towards, to return those pets that were saved, brought to safety, and taken care of by their guardian angels, but they need to go home to the ones who are missing them, missing that piece of themselves, and their pet is the only thing that will help live thru the rest of this terrible ordeal.

You came together in December to help these people find their loved and lost pets, why can you not open your hearts, and once again help these people find their pets, you are the only hope they have, and most of you are shutting the doors in their faces. It has been almost one year, won't you consider another chance to help them find their pets.

I do not care what ya'll think of me, I am an animal lover, and I have compassion for all humans, and with those two virtues, I am rich, when in reality I am poor.

I lost my home and a couple of pets to a house fire a few years back, so I know the feeling that these pet owners go thru. I cannot get my pets they are gone forever, but these people they know these pets were rescued, and alive somewhere, that gives them hope.

I will not ceast and desist, I have nothing to sue for except my voice. And this voice will not quit until, you have at least tried one more time to help the pet owners of the pets you helped to rescue.

I am speaking to the founders of these rescues, prove to me and the rest of the world that you really are the animal lovers you say you are. Prove it to these owners. If you do not at least try, then we will know that you are not what you say you are, you are not animal lovers and you do not have human compassion.

Sharon Gorski
"Possecop"

Reward Offered for Abuser of Chihuahua

Severely Injured Chihuahua in Guarded Condition

Charlotte on day of rescue - July 27, 2006

Charlotte recovering - July 31, 2006

The Humane Society of Missouri is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or person(s) who severely abused a one-year-old, reddish brown, female Chihuahua.

When brought to Humane Society headquarters, the dog had a hard plastic zip tie tightly attached to her neck. Her head was grotesquely swollen to the size of a grapefruit and she was unable to swallow. The dog, staff have named Charlotte, also is very skinny.

A St. Louis city resident found the dog on her front porch and brought her to Humane Society of Missouri headquarters. Humane Society staff immediately transported the dog to the Animal Emergency Center where the zip tie was removed and emergency treatment administered. This morning the Chihuahua was brought back to the Humane Society of Missouri. Treatment will continue under the direction of Humane Society veterinarians.

Dr. Melinda Fleming, Assistant Director of the Humane Society’s Veterinary Clinics, says the dog is in guarded condition. “We are monitoring her closely and giving her time to stabilize before we perform further examinations and diagnostics. She is receiving medication and is now able to eat and drink in small amounts.”

Report information about this incident or report animal abuse: 314-647-4400
Make a donation to help care for Charlotte: 314-951-1542

I seem to be in a political sort of mood tonight

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore

At least 20 lawsuits now filed for return of Katrina pets

Above link is to an article in yesterday's Dallas Morning News. Some of the 20 cases have been filed against the shelters or rescue groups that adopted away owned dogs, and in other cases the lawsuits are filed against the individuals with the dogs.

I would hate to be among those not-yet-sued, harboring Katrina dogs, wondering when the other shoe will drop, wondering when the subpoena will arrive. Yes, this would be the dark side of being a martyr.

But I also imagine that this would be a really good time for those people to find some escape route that allows them to return the dogs in whatever way they can find to save face. We have already seen that it's impossible for any of these people to say "I'm sorry, I made a mistake and I want to give you back your dog." But there are lots of varied and creative ways that someone can do this, such as Lynne Welsh having declared that the Dog Whisperer told her that Rocket needs to be returned to his family in New Orleans (of course she changed her mind again after that and decided not to return Rocket).

Here are a few suggestions.

1. Say that you were just diagnosed with a terminal illness and given the extenuating circumstances decided it would be best to return the dog to its original owners. Be sure to allow yourself to maintain your martyrdom to possibly even evoke some sympathy in the process.

2. Announce that the unexplained symptoms you've had for the past ___ months were recently diagnosed as an allergy to Chow mixes/poodles/St. Bernards/Shih Tzu/Yorkies...and that your doctor ordered you to get rid of the dog. Better yet, say that your child developed the horrible allergy to the dog.

3. Claim that your job is relocating you to Beirut and you thought it best to find a new home for the dog here.

4. Another good one that hasn't been tried yet is to announce that you have recently been saved and declared Jesus as your personal savior, repented all your sins and have come to see your evil ways. Beg for forgiveness. If this can work with mass murderers I imagine it will work quite well for Pam, Lynne, Biannca, Elizabeth, Lisa, etc.

I made a mistake and I apologize: update to my review of Dark Water Rising

On July 4th I posted my "review" of the film Dark Water Rising. On July 10th I received an email that began hello, this is larry from the movie.

Uh-oh.
I'm thinking...he's going to ream me out for my comments about him and Aaron and Winn Dixie. He's going to use a lot of capital letters and exclamation marks and be all huffy and defensive* because I was critical of them for making choices that precluded many animals ever getting reunited. I was so pleasantly wrong. His email was polite, calm and in some ways, very sweet (with no caps or exclamation marks). He informed me of those things I was wrong about. For one, he was not the one smoking with the tattoos (even though I have nothing against tattoos). He told me that the collar on the dog in the scene I wrote about was very tight on the dog's neck in spite of the dog having lost 20 or more pounds. That was what made him so mad and made him toss the collar at the house once he was able to remove it. He also said that what sounded like tags were not tags, but actually the buckle. All of this of course was not clear from the film itself.

We exchanged emails and stories about our experiences of the past 11 months and in our first (multi-hour) phone conversation, shared thoughts and ideas about the future of animal rescue - one of those "we can make the world a better place" sort of conversations.

Larry and I are now friends. He was one of those people I immediately trusted when we began to exchange emails. I have come to realize that he is, without a doubt, one of the real heroes of all this, and one of the most truly dedicated and compassionate animal people I've ever met. Through him I came to understand that many of the animals that he/they encountered had been abused or neglected. And he understands fully that the pet owners we have been working with are not searching for those abused and neglected dogs. We both recognize that Winn Dixie, just like Lamar Dixon, Best Friends, Pasados...all had people there who stole dogs regardless of what one wants to call it.

In my mind, if a person went to the Gulf Coast after Katrina to "rescue" pets or volunteer at a staging area or film a movie or sightsee, and took an animal (or several) home to "foster" and did not immediately post that animal on Petfinder (the AERN database which was set up specifically for Katrina-rescued pets) and did not actively search for the owner (preferably with the help of a Stealth Volunteer) than the pet was stolen. Period.

I hope that this update to my review of the film doesn't embarrass Larry. He and I have agreed to disagree about those things we disagree about which is what all friends should be able to do. Thanks Larry for the 2 1/2 months you spent in New Orleans for the animals. And thanks for getting in touch with me a few weeks ago.

* so many "animal people" are so out there and reactionary....often if I post something on my blog that someone doesn't agree with, I'll get a ranting email. These emails tend to be predictable and follow a pattern. The author of the email almost always first attacks me and then gives an overly lengthy and detailed accounting of all the wonderful things she has done for the animals. And for some reason, most people feel it necessary to also tell me how much money they have spent. This last part perplexes me as I think they have me confused with their accountant. Anymore I don't respond because a) of having very limited time and b) because anytime Me thinks doth protest too much I already have all the information I need. Footnote: Several years ago I stopped working in the mental health field because it was driving me crazy (pun intended) but this past year, working with so many "animal people" and seeing so much deplorable behavior, my background has been a huge benefit.

Revisiting Nahnook

Many people have asked me if Nahnook was ever returned to her owner. The answer is no, not yet. This was originally posted here on January 16th but it seems like a good time to bump it back up to the top. I deleted a few things about Maria, Nahnook's owner, that are not relevant now.

We tried to resolve this quietly and privately but Elizabeth (who is the administrator of the website www.snowballschance.org) is refusing to return Nahnook to her owner after she and the owner met at a half-way point two weeks ago. The owner of Nahnook spent some time playing with her dog but then Elizabeth/Emily declared that it wasn't her dog and took the dog and drove away.

This comes directly from www.snowballschance.org:
This organization will aide [sic] in re-uniting pets with their loved ones [sic] Animals "taken" from their families, missing, or forced to abandon & [sic] Displaced in shelters or foster homes [sic]

Maria, Nahnook's owner has been in Intensive Care for over a week and we just learned will need to remain in the hospital longer. Like most others, Maria and her husband lost everything and are waiting to get their FEMA trailer to return to New Orleans. They are living temporarily in Mississippi although she is in a New Orleans hospital.

The photo below is the only picture that Maria has of Nahnook, saved on her cell phone.

The horribly manipulated photo below is the one that Elizabeth posted on Petfinder in December after she had been "fostering" the dog for three months. Elizabeth erased all the color from Nahnook's eyes because in her mind, the owner had one chance to come up with the right answer about which eye is blue and which brown without being told which perspective the answer was to be based on (looking at the dog or the dog's right/left)

The photo below is of Nahnook badly Photoshopped to look like it is two different dogs. Elizabeth copied the photo of Nahnook (the one from the owner's cell phone) and a photo she took of Nahnook on to a black background and then blacked out part of Nahnook's muzzle in the top photo and whited out an area on the face, just above the (dog's) right eye.

The photo below is another one that Elizabeth posted to "prove" that it is not Nahnook. It is obvious that this eyes of this photo have been manipulated/altered in some way.

To the evil person who threw this dog out of the car...

Here is one more dog "adopted" after Katrina and later discarded, disposed of, gotten rid of....thrown out of a car by her grateful, loving new owners.

To the person who did this heinous act - may you rot in hell. I bet that you must have felt like quite the armchair hero for "adopting" a Katrina pit. But you're nothing but a pathetic loser. Loser for all the obvious reasons and loser because someone else will adopt this sweet dog and give her all the love she deserves for the rest of her life, and be rewarded 1000X over.

In fact I want to adopt her even though I live far away from this shelter. She has stolen my heart. How can anyone look at those eyes and do what you did to her? Please don't let me find out that you did that with your kids in the car.

And to all the rest of you who adopted a Katrina dog - because none of the other 236752 available dogs at shelters all over the country were quite right - when you realize that your Katrina dog pees on the carpet and chews up expensive Italian leather shoes and barks at absolutely nothing when you're trying to watch The Sopranos and throws up great big gobs of grass pate on the couch just like all dogs, P-L-E-A-S-E have the compassion take it to a no-kill shelter and be honest about why you no longer want to keep it. Do Not throw it out of your car.

And this sweetheart, after all she's been through, still likes to ride in cars. Amazing. Some dogs have more humanity than the humans who own them.

Notes: Munchkin is a Hurricane Katrina survivor and has been through a lot. She is a mellow quiet gal who is still adjusting from being in the hurricane. She was adopted from the shelter previously but her owners dumped her out of their vehicle and drove off. Thankfully she was picked up by a good samaritan. She would do best as the only dog or with a non dominant male dog. She is very gentle, loves to ride in the car, loves to lay on the couch and loves treats. She needs a stable home where she will get a lot of love and attention.