I wonder if the people evacuating The Gulf Coast are taking their dogs with them. After Katrina there were thousands of dogs left wandering what was left of their homes. Hopefully with all of the advance preparations this time people will have the decency to take their dogs along. If dogs are left behind I can only hope that The National Guard will turn them over to whatever rescue organizations that are close to the affected areas.
Hi Richard, Are these your babies? I did see where they were letting people on the buses with their pets, so hopefully no one would leave their pets behind. My husband and I have so many pets that if we had to evacuate it would take a while but I would NEVER leave a one of them!!! 5 dogs(smallest is 48lbs), 3 cats, 2 birds(one of which is a big cockatoo), 2 rabbits and my huband has probably 10 to 12 thousand dollars wrapped up in 2 saltwater tanks. What are your babies names?
Richard: Your dogs are absolutely adorable! There are several registries for people that have been separated from their family members of another species. Stolen Horse International and netposse.com have set up a registry just for Gustav. Just click on the photo on the front page captioned "When Disaster Strikes. Bring Them Home." They did the same thing after Katrina.
I can't imagine the added stress of having to leave behind any family member (and that's what they are whether they are a dog, cat, bird, horse, whatever). To make matters worse it looks like Ike may be headed their way later in the week. Let's keep them in our prayers.
Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for us and our animals along the Gulf Coast. As I'm sure most of you know, the evacuation and the destruction following Katrina was unparalleled. Please understand that the many animals who were left behind for Katrina were not left by choice. Families who could not afford the elevated (I'm not joking) hotel rates, and those who could not find a pet-friendly hotel, had to head to shelters. Shelters do not allow pets, nor did they have a separate shelter set up for pets. When the levees broke, the rescuers were under orders to leave pets behind. It was absolute torture for some of those folks, and yes, we had a huge stray population following Katrina. You certainly can't blame folks, difficult as it was, to choose their children and other family members' safety in the face of such danger.
My partner and I have four inside dogs and one inside cat. After Katrina, we scooped up four more outside dogs and two outside cats who simply wandered by our house looking hungry. In addition to expanding our family, we have placed more than a dozen others with friends and neighbors.
I am happy to report that with Gustav, the entire evacuation plan included solutions for pets, and on the human side of things, hotels stayed at their normal rates from what's I've seen, and many relaxed their pet and pet deposit policies. We made a lot of mistakes down here, but hopefully we're learning from them. Especially where pets are concerned. Thanks again to everyone who supported us!
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