Katrina Pets Reunions
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News articles: March 13, 2006 to October 13, 2005
Flooded with Love
Hurricane Katrina survivors reunite with family dog and begin new lives
[Excerpt]
Thanks to Omar Farah of Bluffton for sharing the story of his family's harried escape from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit, and the miraculous reunion with the family dog a week ago on his 42nd birthday.
[Excerpt]
Out of the blue, Omar got a call from his brother in New Orleans. He'd gotten a letter from Austin, Texas. It had a picture of Nuerda on it. The dog had been rescued and taken to Austin by volunteers working with the nonprofit group, Paws of Austin (www.pawsofaustin.org).
A New Orleans dog leaves his adopted SPCA home and reunites with ...
York Daily Record, PA - Mar 4, 2006
[Excerpts]
Three weeks ago, Sam, a 2-year-old Catahoula Leopard Dog, was reunited with his master in New Orleans.
The joyous occasion marked the end of a long ordeal that began with an ominous late summer storm and landed him in southern York County. .....
..... Sam is doing well back in New Orleans, and Paul McKendall said there isn't a day that goes by that he isn't thankful to have at least one of his dogs back in his life.
While his neighborhood is closer than others to returning to normal, Paul McKendall said it is still depressing to drive through other areas.
"Everyone is doing their best," he said, with a sigh during the phone interview. "But things are still very difficult around here. But I'll tell you, (Sam Nash) is a bundle of fun to be around, and anything that can make you smile during this time is a blessing."
Katrina dog back home after stay at local shelter
San Diego Union Tribune, US - Mar 2, 2006
[Excerpts]
ENCINITAS – Before dawn on Aug. 28, Zena Moses poured food and water for her 3-year-old pit bull, Naomi, wept and played with the dog before closing the door of her New Orleans home. .....
..... No one knows exactly what happened after that, but Naomi was later picked up at an intersection and processed at the Lamar-Dixon staging area in Louisiana. A month later, she was airlifted with 100 other dogs to San Diego.
“Mardi,” as she was called by shelter employees, was one of 10 Katrina dogs fostered by the Rancho Coastal Humane Society. She was the last of seven to be reunited with their owners. The other three were adopted locally.
Cat Lost During Hurricane Reunited With Family
WSBtv.com, GA - February 22, 2006
[Excerpt]
ATLANTA A cat lost when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans will be reunited today with its owners -- who now live in Atlanta.
The black cat called "Cupcake" disappeared after the hurricane in August.
Dog owner sees a sweet ending to Sugar’s story
Post-Tribune - Feb. 11, 2006
CROWN POINT — Sugar the beagle should soon be on her way back to New Orleans from the Lake County animal shelter.
The dog’s odyssey, like so many Hurricane Katrina tales, has been fraught with bureaucratic wrangling and malnutrition.
New Orleans resident Edwin Bocage was forced to leave Sugar and other pets behind as he was evacuated from his hurricane-ravaged neighborhood days after Katrina struck.
An animal rescue organization found Sugar and saved her from the devastated area.
A woman in Crown Point agreed to foster the dog until her owner could be tracked down. Bocage spoke to the woman, who he said agreed to hold on to the pooch until he could get a permanent address back in New Orleans.
But Sugar got loose from the woman’s house, according to Matt Lubarski, Lake County Animal Adoption Center director.
“The dog was found on the street on Christmas Eve, and brought in here,” Lubarski said.
“She looked like she had been treated badly, ribs showing, underfed.”
When Bocage called the shelter, he said officials there treated him like a criminal.
“They tried to convince me not to collect her,” Bocage said. “They said the dog looked malnourished. I hadn’t seen her in months. What could I do about that?”
But Lubarski said the shelter simply had to follow procedure to make sure Sugar had her rabies shot and was going home to her rightful owner.
“Mr. Bocage had no proof that she had been vaccinated, so if we can’t find that, we’ll take care of it up here, pay for it and send Sugar on her way,” Lubarski said.
The dog likely will be on a plane bound for New Orleans within the next week, Lubarski said.
Contact John Byrne at 648-3072 or jbyrne@post-trib.com
Katrina pet turns up alive in Q-C
Quad City Times - February 11, 2006
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Daisy, who was feared lost in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, soon will be returned to her original owners in Texas.
Daisy, a dog rescued from Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, has a knack for running away.
“She got away from me one time, and I had to get in the car and go up the street looking her up,” said foster owner Lisa Taylor of Port Byron, Ill. “When she heard the car coming, she stopped, turned around and looked — I jumped out of the car and got her to come to me.”
The desire of the 5-year-old dachshund-chihuahua mix for escaping likely saved her during and after the hurricane.
When Katrina flooded Violet, La., after the Aug. 29 hurricane in the Gulf region, her true owners, Carol and Robert Hamm, were told that they couldn’t bring their four dogs with them during the evacuation.
“I was furious,” Carol Hamm said. “My mixed huskie, Bullet — he was my second child that I could never have.”
Hamm said she and several family members were rescued from the roof of their flooded house, but her husband stayed behind to ride in another boat with their four pets. So, the took them to the second floor of an old middle school building while the family went to a shelter at St. Bernard High School, she said.
The family later learned that the animals had been killed along with animals left at another nearby shelter. The Hamms did leave their name and address on the wall of a former St. Bernard Parish school building where they placed four family pets, urging rescuers to save the animals.
It was two months later, after the Hamms evacuated to Temple, Texas, the couple saw Bullet’s body on CNN. The broadcast contained a story about how all the dogs at the shelter had been shot and killed. No one knows who did it or why.
“It was heartbreaking to find him,” she said.
The Hamms visited the middle school in October and identified three of their dogs. They were unable to find Honey — a 4½-month-old red nose pit bull — among the bodies.
“It felt just like when you identify a loved one,” Hamm said. “I was really crying; I was devastated and had a lot of mixed emotions and a lot of anger.”
But the Hamms got some good news Sunday. They found out that the Muscatine Humane Society had been sheltering Daisy, of course, by way of the dog’s foster family in Port Byron.
“I was on an emotional rollercoaster,” Hamm said.
Hamm said when she was notified that Daisy was alive, she didn’t believe it. However, the dog had the correct tags and looked exactly like Daisy. When she saw the dog’s photo, Hamm finally had no doubt in her mind.
“I am 100 percent sure that it’s Daisy,” Hamm said.
Lisa DeCock, a volunteer for the Muscatine Humane Society, said she brought Daisy back to Iowa after making a trip to Tyler Town, Miss., to return two previously sheltered dogs to their owners. Daisy was one of the dogs at a Katrina animal shelter.
DeCock of Wilton, Iowa, placed Daisy with Taylor while she looked for Daisy’s true owners.
“I had several calls about possible matches for her, but none of them had worked out,” she said. “I did have tags, but when I called the vet’s office, they had the people’s name wrong. They had it as Hammer.”
DeCock was about to give up when she decided to give it one last try. She re-emailed everybody who made inquiries about the sheltered dogs and one respondent just happened to be the owner of Daisy’s mother. Daisy eventually was traced back to the Hamms.
Hamm said the dog the couple identified as Daisy probably was their puppy Honey. But regardless, she said, they are “pretty much thrilled” that Daisy is alive.
Daisy, Hamm added, likes to run away from people. Hamm said the dog probably wiggled her way out of her leash and got away. Daisy probably was one of the initial animals rescued before the shootings began, she said.
Taylor said when she first got Daisy; the dog was fairly worn down.
“She was pretty mopey and slept constantly,” she said. “It took her a good month and a half to start playing.”
However, Taylor said Daisy’s personality has started to come out since then.
“She likes to dance with me, she barks and tries to get me to go up and dance with her,” Taylor said.
For now, the Hamms and the Muscatine Humane Society still are working out the details for Daisy’s transportation back to Texas. The dog will be checked for heartworm next week and also will be spayed before she makes the final trip home, DeCook said.
Wayne Ma can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or wma@qctimes.com.
meet the dogs
The Muscatine Humane Society and Sweet Survivors Dog Rescue will sponsor “Meet Our Dogs Day” to celebrate their partnership with a national campaign called Operation Save-A-Pet Katrina.
Pets from shelters will bring displaced pets to Petco, 4411 16th St, Moline, at 11 a.m. today to help get them adopted. Another effort will take place Feb. 18 at Petco, 3860 Elmore Ave., Davenport.
For more information, contact (563) 260-1609.
Hurricane Animals - not home yet
Lewisville Leader, TX - January 25, 2006
[Excerpt]
Months after Katrina struck many are getting back home, but for several Hurricane Katrina victims sheltered at the Flower Mound Humane Society finding a home of their own is difficult. The evacuees, also known as Cinnamon the pit bull, Layla the catahoula pointer mix, Pavlov the shepard mix and Dennis the tabby short hair, were rescued from a New Orleans shelter called Southern Animal Foundation.
They came along with about 20 other cats and dogs to be placed with the town's humane society with the mission to find them a home, FMHS President Linda Norman said. Months after these evacuees are still living with a foster family and are in desperate need of a permanent home to settle in.
Dogs displaced by Katrina to be reunited with owners
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS - January 25, 2006
The Associated Press
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Four months after being brought to Michigan, 11 dogs rescued from Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana are being reunited with their owners.The animals were taken in by the Kent County Humane Society. They headed south Wednesday afternoon in two vans.Their first stop was Memphis to reunite Thunder, a yellow Lab, with his family who relocated there from New Orleans.
The vans will then head to Baton Rouge. Most of the remaining owners now live there, although a few will drive from New Orleans.As of Wednesday, the organization had reunited 26 hurricane-displaced dogs and 19 cats with their owners. Another 64 pets were adopted by people living in the Grand Rapids area.
Hurricane-displaced dogs heading home after Michigan stay
KLFY, LA - January 25, 2006
Hopefulness pays off in reunion between Katrina victim and her cat
Sun-Herald, Biloxi Mississippi - January 8, 2006
The last thing Aprylla Hall did before evacuating her Holley Street house in Biloxi was to put nametags with phone numbers on her pets - one for her dog, Nola, and one for her cat, Smokey.
Her harried drive to a pet shop paid off after fighting evacuation traffic.
To escape Hurricane Katrina, Hall, her fiance and other family members were headed to a shelter, and Hall knew she couldn't take pets.
"They practically had to drag me out of the house because I didn't want to leave them behind," she said.
Katrina claimed all but the front steps of Hall's home and the front half of her car. Her neighborhood was in shambles, and from news she heard at her evacuation site - they ended up in Alabama - she didn't believe Nola and Smokey had survived.
Imagine Hall's joy when she heard from her landlord that someone found the dog. But Smokey, the Siamese rag doll mix dumped on her doorstep a year ago, was MIA.
Four months passed. Internet listings, contact with pet relocation organizations and the Humane Society of South Mississippi. Nothing.
Hall and her fiance, Damien Sentell, relocated to St. Marys, Ga., near Florida, but she refused to change her Mississippi cell number. Maybe someday, she dreamed, someone would call about Smokey.
The day after Christmas, the call came.
Three streets over from Holley, a family living in a FEMA trailer had fed Smokey and was able to get close enough to see the name and phone number on his tag. Smokey was captured and given safe harbor at the Humane Society, whose staff rejoiced in playing a role in another rare Katrina pet reunion.
However, with no car or money to come get him, Hall was in a bind. She put a Yahoo posting on a site, PawsofGoldFelineRescue, dedicated to reuniting Katrina pets to ask if anyone nearby could temporarily care for Smokey.
To shorten the many heartwarming chapters of this story, a Dallas-Fort Worth-based American Airlines employee used her day off and a flying pass Saturday to unite Smokey and Hall at the Jacksonville, Fla., airport.
"It was so overwhelming," Hall recalled through tears. "I can't even describe what it feels like to have Smokey back."
Katrina Orphaned Dog Reunited With Owner
KTVU.com, CA - January 5, 2006
[Excerpt]
MONTEREY -- Four months after Hurricane Katrina ripped him apart from his family, a beloved pet will be reunited with his owner on Friday, the Monterey County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals announced.
Koy, a small black and white spaniel, has been separated from his family for more than three months, the SPCA reported. He came to the SPCA of Monterey County on Sept. 21 along with 31 other dogs orphaned by Hurricane Katrina.
So far, the SPCA has reunited 13 of those wayward pups, but it had trouble initially reuniting Koy with his family because he lacked a microchip or identification.
"All he was wearing was a collar," Beth Brookhouser, Monterey County SPCA director of community outreach, said. However, "we've been lucky to enjoy a very high reunion success rate."
It wasn't until Wednesday that Fanette Craft, a Jefferson Parish, La. resident, called in to the SPCA in search of her missing dog Koy, the SPCA reported.
During that phone conversation, Craft explained to SPCA volunteers that she had left her dog at the local Jefferson Parish animal shelter, not knowing that it would be evacuated as a result of the hurricane.
Hurricane Victim Reunited With His Two Dogs
News 8 San Diego California - January 5, 2006
A Hurricane Katrina evacuee has been reunited with some pets he wasn't sure he'd ever see again.
Bernard Williams was forced to leave behind his beloved Chow Chows, Missy and Champ. But the dogs were sent from a shelter in Louisiana to the Humane Society in San Diego.
The Humane Society did some investigating and tracked down Williams, who believed that the hurricane had killed his dogs.
"No food or nothing. I guess they were... I can't imagine what they were eating. But they were drinking the water out there," said Williams.
The Humane Society was able to fly Williams out to San Diego through its Hurricane Katrina Animal Relief fund.
Canine hurricane victim reunited with family
Plumas County Newspapers, CA - Jan 4, 2006
This is the saga of Jesse Jane, a purebred chow whose personality has touched many lives from Louisiana to Plumas County.
This past summer, as the world watched in horror, thousands of people saw their lives change in a flash as Hurricane Katrina swept in off the Gulf of Mexico, taking everything with her.
In the aftermath of the storm, many found their lives entwined across thousands of miles, even reaching rural Plumas County.
Among the many who lost their homes that day were Hazel, Albert, Andrew and Brittany Jones of New Orleans-along with their four dogs.
Andrew said Jesse began her life with the family quite by luck.
Jesse's sister Brittany was heading home from her aunt's house one day when she ran into a man on a bike being followed by a puppy.
The man said he no longer wanted the puppy and offered her to Brittany. ...
As the hurricane began baring down on the city, residents were ordered to evacuate.
"We didn't want to leave the dogs, but because of limited space in our small SUV with five people, including my grandmother, we couldn't bring the dogs with us," said Andrew.
The family also believed they would be gone for three or four days at most.
Andrew said they filled a storage tub with a 55-pound bag of dog food and filled 10 large pails with water. ...
As the days dragged on, the family members found themselves unable to return home and lost track of the dogs who had by then been rescued themselves.
Oscar, Samantha and Beanie ended up in Gonzales, La., and were found via the Internet. ...
Jesse had traveled from Louisiana to Portola, Calif., and was being taken care of by High Sierra Animal Rescue. ...
Although the family is still unable to return home, they are all together once again-which is what really matters.
Relocated Katrina pets headed home
KOAA, CO - January 1, 2006
Some furry survivors of Hurricane Katrina relocated to Colorado Springs are on their way home.
All Breed Rescue has been taking care of the three dogs since October 17th. Their New Orleans owners were recently located in different areas of the Gulf Coast, so rescue workers got the dogs' ready to go home Thursday. The program's executive director is driving the pets to Louisiana personally.
View video
Hanging on
The Free Press, Mankato Minnesota - December 30, 2005
[Excerpt]
Days after being injured by floating debris and tossed on the street by Hurricane Katrina, Brian Heckler was forced to abandon his best friends under a causeway ramp.
Heckler, 35, is still furious he wasn’t allowed to bring any of his six dogs, who he calls “family,” from the floodwaters of New Orleans.
But, as a 2-year-old Rottweiler-Lab mix named Mai demands his attention by nuzzling against his legs, Heckler says he’s found in Mankato a place for himself and his love for animals.
[Excerpt]
Actually, he did sneak out one dog — a black, shaggy 11-year-old cocker spaniel mix named Xena — by putting her in a large bag and telling authorities that it contained medicine.
But his leg was becoming increasingly discolored as he was put on a bus and, he says, brought to Mankato by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He stayed at a hotel for a few days before finding a place to live in a mobile home community.
Dog lovers step up
Heckler received antibiotics and was treated at Immanuel St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mankato, then began searching online for his other dogs. He didn’t get far before a social worker from Tacoma, Wash., named Elaine Fidler read his story online and wanted to help.
First, she used connections in New Orleans to send a team over to search his house, but the door was open and the dogs were gone.
Then she scoured the Internet for any sign of the animals on local and national forums for missing pets.
“I almost pulled an all-nighter, scrolling and scrolling and looking,” Fidler said, until she found a picture of a Rottweiler that looked like Heckler’s Big Boy.
After weeks of travel miscues and bureaucratic hold-ups, Brian and Big Boy were reunited in mid-October.
“I was very attached to him and I trusted him with my life,” said Heckler, who has sleep apnea, which causes interrupted breathing at night. He could wear a breathing machine, but preferred to have Big Boy wake him up if he stopped breathing.
“They were soulmates,” Fidler said.
But the reunion was cut short about six weeks later when Big Boy died of a stroke in Heckler’s arms.
“I fought so hard to get him back to me, then he left me,” he said.
A Rotty for Christmas
Kim Guseman was one of dozens who read Heckler’s story in online missing pet forums.
Guseman, a 38-year-old from Pittsburgh, wanted to help disaster efforts, but also wanted to act on a personal level.
“All he wanted for Christmas was a new Rotty,” Guseman said.
So she searched for a service dog, preferably a Rottweiler.
“Here’s someone who not only lost everything, but then got (Big Boy) back just to have his heart ripped out again,” she said. “How much can one person go through in a year?”
She found a Rottweiler at a nearby training school, paid a $100 rescue fee, then drove the 2-year-old, 110-pound dog to Mankato on Dec. 10.
They connected immediately.
“Just to see him interact with the dog was like the most touching thing I’ve ever seen,” Fidler said.
Heckler and his new service dog, also named Big Boy, get along well, the huge dog rarely straying more than a few feet from his owner’s side. They can travel almost anywhere together because Big Boy is a service animal protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Like his predecessor, he’s trained to awaken Heckler if he stops breathing. That’s happened twice in the past few weeks.
“I’m taking time to trust him and it hurts,” Heckler said.
Settling in
Heckler said he isn’t going anywhere, though he might return to New Orleans briefly to search for his family, as well as the two dogs that haven’t yet been found and sent to foster homes.
And his remaining dogs — Xena, Mai and Big Boy — are getting free medicine and reduced-price care at the Nicollet Veterinary Clinic, said vet Gala Beckendorf. She said the clinic learned about Heckler and decided to help.
“Because, obviously, his dogs are his whole life,” Beckendorf said.
'I've got to get back to my babies'
Ruidoso News, Ruduiso New Mexico - Dec 30, 2005
[Excerpts]
On Aug. 28, 2005, Sandra Christensen had to leave her house at 5:30 a.m. to evacuate the mental health patients at the VA Hospital in New Orleans.
A hurricane was coming.
Sandy had worked there for some time and was on the emergency evacuation list with four other staff members. She left plenty of food and water for her dog, three cats and three birds.
The flooding began on Monday, the 29th: All Sandy could think about is "I've got to get back to my babies." Many people had to leave animals for many different reasons, expecting to get right back.
For years, people left prior to a storm and came back in a day or two. In Sandy's case, she just went to work, planning on returning after the hurricane passed. It was a long time before she could get back into her home.
She frantically began calling and emailing Animal Rescue groups. She was beside herself with worry. Where were her animals? Would they drown? Weeks went on and she didn't know. Fortunately, Sandy had a place to stay -- just a hospital room in the VA Hospital but at least she had a roof over her head, and her job continued.
In time, Sandy reached her landlord. He told her the apartment she lived in had 16 inches of flooding. Months later, she finally was able to return to the city to find her home flooded and everything ruined by mold that rose above objects by a foot or more. In addition, she was the victim of looting. She found her pet African Grey parrot dead.
But she found her cats. One was in the house and one was outside. She brought them back to Alexandria, La., and boarded them until she could get settled. She longed for her little dog, Diamond. She prayed that she was rescued.
Sandy learned that the rescued animals were posted on a Web site, www.petfinders.com Pet owners from Katrina had to maneuver through hundreds of photos of found pets, trying to find theirs.
Her niece printed some photos of Chihuahuas, the breed of Diamond. She thought she recognized her dog and called Best Friends Animal Society. The match was made.
Her dog had been rescued and then shipped out to Best Friends in Kanab, Utah, where it was then fostered with Dave and Tina Sturgeon of Flagstaff, Ariz. The volunteer at Best Friends assured her Diamond would be returned to her.
Dave and Tina had wanted to do their part. They agreed to take in little Diamond in early October. Dave had been a truck driver for 18 years and began taking Diamond with him on his cross-country treks.
In early December, when the Sturgeons received the call from Best Friends advising them the owner of Diamond had been located, the news was bittersweet. They were happy for the owner, but they were sad for themselves. They had fallen in love with this little Chihuahua, and she had fallen in love with them. But they never faltered in their original agreement to return the dog if the owner was found. They knew many Katrina pets would not be claimed and they were hoping to adopt Diamond once the fostering period expired.
I called Dave on his cell. I told him I was going east from Ruidoso and could pick up Diamond to deliver her to Sandy in Louisiana. Dave was on a trip to Philadelphia. Of course, Diamond was riding shotgun. He could meet me on the return trip. I was planning an excursion to Tylertown, Miss., to do a few days volunteering for the Best Friends' temporary shelter for Katrina animal victims. I could meet Dave on my way.
Dave and I communicated several times on our cell phones giving our locations. On Saturday, Dec. 10, I met Dave at a truck stop at St. Jon, N.M. on Interstate 40. He pulled up in his beautiful white 18-wheeler. He went around to the passenger side and took out this adorable blond Chihuahua. After doing a quick toilet, she came with me.
Dave said he had to leave or he would get emotional. He drove off, literally into the sunset. Diamond was now in my car but kept looking for him. She would look over at me as if to say "Who are you and why am I here?" When I pulled into a rest stop and she saw the 18-wheelers, she got all excited. I knew she was looking for Dave.
That night I checked into a motel in Texas. Little Diamond proceeded to get on the bed and crawl under the covers, sleeping by my feet. The next day we continued on. I placed a call to Sandy, telling her I had Diamond and we were heading her way. She was very nervous and was worried, praying for safe travel. I too was praying, as I didn't want anything to happen to my special parcel.
Sandy and I arranged to meet at Applebee's in Alex-andria. I got there first. I put a large bow around Diamond's neck and waited just inside the door of the restaurant. I put my jacket over Diamond so she wasn't visible. In a few minutes, Sandy came in. All I said was "Merry Christmas" and handed her Diamond.
They both were ecstatic. Diamond couldn't stop kissing her face. Sandy was crying. I was crying. The employees of the restaurant cried. How can one little Chihuahua cause so many tears?
After a while, Sandy and I sat down and had dinner. I learned she was able to rent a house as of this weekend. She had been living in a room in the hospital all this time. She had nothing but a few clothes. She was so happy, however. She still had a job, she now had her dog, and her cats. In time she could acquire furniture and all the accessories necessary to make a home. She, like many others, decided not to return to New Orleans. She was staying in Alexandria.
We called Dave and Tina from the restaurant. They were happy to hear Diamond made it and they too were touched by Sandy's excitement to have her dog back. Dave told her that Diamond had clocked over 30,000 miles in his 18-wheeler.
Hurricane Doggie Finds His Family
6abc.com, PA - December 29, 2005
What a holiday gift for this pooch!
"Coco" a cocker spaniel who was stranded on the streets of New Orleans during the flood ... is going home to his loving owners.
He was among ten pets separated from their owners in New Orleans, that were taken in by Molly's Country Kennels in Lansdale, PA.
Four remain. The others, like Coco, were reunited with their owners or placed in foster homes. Coco's owners tracked his whereabouts using the Internet.
Video
‘We have friends for life’
Buffalo Grove family reunites Katrina victims with pet pooch
Daily Herald, Chicago Illinois - December 28, 2005
[Excerpt]
Buffalo Grove resident Cynthia Schleich and Quintetta Keene of New Orleans will be forever linked by a dog.
Schleich and members of the Almost Home Foundation helped reunite the Keene family, which lost virtually everything in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with its missing dog, Ginger.
Dog, family to reunite after separation by Katrina
Globe and Mail, Canada - December 27, 2005
A dog thought orphaned by hurricane Katrina is heading back to Louisiana today after her family was found.
Noel, a rottweiler, was one of dozens of dogs rescued by animal-loving Canadian volunteers who went to New Orleans after the hurricane lashed the area.
Noel will be transported by another crew of volunteers heading south today, a group of 18 going to Metarie to find canine victims of the storm.
The volunteers brought back more than a dozen dogs on their most recent trip and almost all have been adopted. These animals were cared for in the interim by the Humane Society in Cambridge, Ont.
Humane society reunites dogs with Katrina-displaced owner
The Daily Comet - December 24, 2005
HOUMA -- Around 5 p.m. Friday, a group of cars pulled into the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center parking lot. Out of one stepped a smiling old man, while out of another bounded two large black dogs, each excitedly dragging a young girl on a leash behind them toward the man.
[Excerpt]
In the days immediately after he lost his home to Hurricane Katrina, Merritt and his dogs arrived in Terrebonne Parish in a convoy led by law-enforcement officials. St. Pierre met Merritt as he looked for a ride to the veterinarian’s office to board Flossie and George so he could begin looking for a new home.
"When we were going, he started crying, because he didn’t think he would be able to take them back," St. Pierre said. "He was going to ask a doctor to put them to sleep."
St. Pierre told the vet to contact her through the Humane Society if Merritt wasn’t able to retrieve the dogs. A few days later, Merritt called to say he didn’t know when he would be back to get them.
"I knew they would have a good home, that was the only relief," Merritt said. "I didn’t think I would ever see them again."
While Merritt searched throughout Louisiana and even into Alabama for a place to live, Flossie and George stayed with the St. Pierres as foster pets.
Sergeant Bluff family gives dog back to hurricane-stricken family
Adopted Lab goes from being Mimi to Fay, then Mimi again
Sioux City Journal, IA - December 24, 2005
... She was one of the 12 "hurricane dogs" taken in by the shelter and offered ... online and attended a conference in New Orleans for people with lost pets, but only ...
[Excerpt]
Mimi, who has been cared for by Dennis and Pam Pottorff in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, will soon be reunited with her family in New Orleans.
Dog displaced in hurricane reunited with owner
Benton Courier, AR - December 23, 2005
[Excerpt]
Rosa, one of many dogs displaced by Hurricane Katrina, is home for the holidays.Saline County residents Paul and Kathy Covert provided a foster home for Rosa for the past three months and a few days ago took the dog back to her owner, a man in poor health, just in time for Christmas.
Ann Sanders, president of the Humane Society of Saline County, called the Coverts “two of many kind-hearted volunteers that came out to the Humane Society as we were receiving animals that had been rescued from Hurricane Katrina.”The Humane Society provided refuge for many of the animals victimized by the hurricane and some volunteers took part in the actual rescue projects in conjunction with volunteers from other areas.The Coverts decided to offer their help by fostering one of the displaced dogs and selected Rosa after learning how she and her owner had to be separated in the aftermath of the tragedy.“Rosa's owner had serious medical problems and was talked into surrendering the dog to volunteers working with Arkansans for Animals and the Humane Society of Saline County so he could be taken to a medical facility because of his condition,” Sanders said.There was a time when Humane Society representatives in this county did not have the name or location of Rosa's owner, Sanders noted.“Kathy and Paul took Rosa to their home and started making calls to track down her owner,” she said. “They were able to get his name, Mr. Al Runco, from a volunteer that had taken in the animal and then they searched the Red Cross' information site and determined an original site where he was transported.“From there, they were able to track him from one special needs shelter to another and finally talked with a worker who contacted the friends with whom he had gone to stay in Mississippi,” she said. “They called and let Mr. Runco speak to Rosa and have kept in contact with him ever since.”
Separated by storm, man gets dog back
A cancer patient lost his dog during Hurricane Katrina, but a Hallandale Beach policewoman made his one Christmas wish come true.
Miami Herald, FL - December 22, 2005
... When Katrina struck the Gulf in August, the Lewises, who lived in St. ... Frantically, he and other family members began searching for the pets. ...
[Excerpt]
Dennis Lewis lost his home near New Orleans this summer and he is battling leukemia. But he got one great Christmas present: After a three-month cross-country search, his beloved Crystal Blue, a blue-eyed Louisiana hound, was found in Hollywood.
Hurricane evacuee is reunited with her dog
KLFY, LA - Dec 21, 2005
Ellorine Edinburgh's dog, Buddy, was one of thousands of pets separated from their owners during Hurricane Katrina. He's now in ...
Four-Legged Katrina Victim Reunited With Owner
Owner Presumed Dog Had Drowned
10News.com, CA - Dec 18, 2005
SAN DIEGO -- A dog stranded after Hurricane Katrina was reunited with its owner in San Diego Saturday before being flown back to New Orleans.
Brutus and his owner, William Gugliuzza, were separated in early September after rescuers found them stranded on a rooftop, days after the hurricane swamped the Gulf Coast city, county officials said.
Gugliuzza was rescued, but told he couldn't take his dog with him, and for weeks had presumed the pet had drowned, according to the county.
Luckily, Brutus was later saved and flown to San Diego, where a County Animal Services employee was able to track down the owner online.
Gugliuzza was scheduled to fly to San Diego from New Orleans before being reunited with Brutus in the morning at the County Animal Shelter, 5480 Gaines St., then taken back home in time for the holidays.
Displaced by hurricane, pet dog is going home
The Grand Rapids Press, MI - December 16, 2005
[Excerpt]
ADA TOWNSHIP -- After a month of caring for Charlie, a hurricane survivor, Betsy Ernst got news that the dog's real name is Dingo and his owner had been found in New Orleans.
Ernst admits it felt "bittersweet." The beagle mix enjoys running in snow and gets along well with her black Lab, Oliver. She figured the dog's temporary home here could become permanent.
But now, Ernst said her "greatest joy" will be seeing the pair reunited. An e-mail this week from the owner brought tears to the art teacher and her students at Forest Hills Eastern High School.
The words have become a simple gift at the right time of year, a poignant lesson in overcoming struggles in a city that has seen too much misery.
"I am a breast cancer survivor," Sonya Hardy, 46, wrote. "Dingo was my companion (best friend) during my diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and ongoing recovery.
"Dingo's energy, eagerness to please and his unconditional devotion keep me active and focused," she said. "Honestly, who can look at those ears and that tail and not smile? ... Words cannot express how it feels to know that Dingo has found his way into your hearts and home."
Reached by phone Thursday in New Orleans, Hardy shared more details about the hurricane and her search for Dingo. She's eager to hug her dog again -- "what a Christmas present" -- but a bit worried about him taking a return flight in cold weather next week.
The Humane Society of Kent County has been the caretaker of nearly 150 cats and dogs from Katrina. In turn, some animals have been placed with foster families, such as Betsy and Kris Ernst of Ada, who took in Hardy's dog and, not knowing his name, called him Charlie.
Twenty-two pets have been reunited with owners down South, and 13 more await a trip home. "They're thrilled to get a family member they thought they'd never see again," Director Karen Terpstra said.
Evacuee family gets beloved dog back
Houston Chronicle, Texas - December 14, 2005
[Excerpt]
Nureka Chapman-Jacobs and her five children never dreamed they'd have Snow for Christmas.
But late Wednesday, the white dog they hadn't seen since before Hurricane Katrina's devastation in New Orleans arrived at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
"It was a real tearful moment for me," said Jacobs, soon after she and her daughters greeted the much skinnier dog, who was flown from Tulsa, Okla. "Now my family is complete."
Jacobs had been forced to leave the samoyed mix behind in her backyard when she loaded her Dodge minivan with her five daughters, her Pomeranian and a 95-year-old woman she was caring for and fled New Orleans just before the storm's arrival. She had no idea she would be leaving for good.
Boxer dogs rescued and returned to Gulf by local couple
Sequim Gazette, WA - December 14, 2005
[Excerpt]
When Doug and Leslee Francis went to Mississippi to help deliver and distribute supplies to Hurricane Katrina victims, they never imagined they would bring home two dogs.
After bringing the canine friends into their life and home, they did not think it was realistic the dogs would ever be reunited with their family, but two months after their initial disappearance, they were. Doug and Leslee traveled to the Gulf with a group of 14 fellow volunteers Oct. 18 and returned home with 7-year-old and 9-month-old boxer dogs Nov. 2. "If we could have brought back 50 of them, we would of," Doug said. The dogs, nicknamed Katrina and Rita, were in less than perfect health and had no collars or microchips to help track down their owners. Their coats were scruffy and scarred and the pads on their paws were rubbed raw and bleeding from running, Leslee said.
[Excerpt]
The owners, Rhonda and Michael Griffith, placed missing dog fliers at the coffee stand where their 15-year-old daughters, Katie and Abby Griffith, work. "Time passed, and we gave up hope," Rhonda said. Eventually, somebody recognized the dogs from the picture and remembered seeing them with a church-based group from a town about 30 miles from the coffee stand. He called the Griffiths and told them he might know where their dogs were but needed to do a little bit of research, Rhonda said. The man tracked down Impact Ministries, the nonprofit group Doug and Leslee donated their time with, got their contact information and passed it on to the Griffiths. Rhonda called Doug and Leslee to see if the dogs they brought back to Washington state matched the description of their beloved family pets. It turned out to be a perfect match. "We cried because we could not believe it," Rhonda said. The Griffiths took the dogs, whose real names are Maddie and Nana, to the shelter with them when they evacuated the rubble of what was once their home. Although safe from the destruction of the hurricane, the dogs were abducted, Rhonda said. "It was just so devastating while they were gone because we lost everything in the storm and then to lose our family pets as well was almost too much to handle."
Lucky pup is reunited with victims of Katrina
NorthJersey.com, NJ - December 12, 2005
... During Hurricane Katrina, thousands of animals were deserted, as flood victims were forced to evacuate without their pets. In the ...
[Excerpt]
The house was flooded. There was dog food in the second-floor bathroom. And Soldja's owners were drifting away from their New Orleans home in a boat.
The confused puppy, a German shepherd-Labrador retriever mix, crawled out the window and swam toward them.
"You can't come, Soldja!" the Raglin family cried, gesturing from the edge of the boat. "You can't come!"
Soldja followed as far as he could before turning around. He returned to the second-floor bathroom. For three weeks he survived on the food and water the Raglin family left for him. When animal rescuers finally came to his aid, he was still there - a little skinny, a little nervous, but otherwise in good spirits.
[Excerpt]
Vincent Raglin, his wife, Angela, and their 13-year-old daughter, Samira, relocated to Alabama, where they have relatives. They also lost contact with Raglin's father and niece during the storm.
The family called animal shelters and looked online for Soldja. They feared he might not have survived the storm.
Soldja had made his way north, with the aid of an "underground railroad" of volunteers that worked to rescue stranded Katrina animals and take them to shelters throughout the country.
The puppy eventually reached the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in Oakland, where two cats and more than a dozen dogs abandoned during Hurricane Katrina ended up. He seemed nervous but still cheerful. As volunteers poured affection on the blond 10-month-old canine, he would jump all over them and give sloppy kisses, said Christine Taylor, executive director of the Animal Refuge.
Soldja stayed at the Oakland shelter for several weeks. When no one called to claim him, Taylor made arrangements to send him to a foster family. Two days before he was set to go, she got a call from Vincent Raglin, looking for a lost dog that met the description of Soldja. He sent a photo. It was a match.
"We were so happy that we reunited him with his dog," said Taylor. "All of us were crying tears of happiness."
Soldja and Raglin were reunited at the end of October in a McDonald's restaurant in Georgia. A couple of volunteers drove the dog down from New Jersey. As soon as he saw Raglin, Soldja affectionately gnawed on his owner's hand. Raglin was surprised that Soldja could remember him - but more impressed that the dog weathered such a deadly storm, he said.
Fancy that: Happy ending for forlorn dog 'I WAS VERY surprised she ...
The Free Lance-Star, VA - December 10, 2005
... was gone. Duplessis spent many hours searching Internet sites loaded with pictures of pets made homeless by Katrina. "I thought ...
Katrina Dog Safely Returned Home
WTVY, AL - December 9, 2005
... They were planning to go back home within a few days, but Katrina changed those ... The deadline the Humane Society is giving owners to claim their pets is Saturday ...
VCA Reunites Displaced Pets with Louisiana Family Following ...
Business Wire (press release), CA - December 9, 2005
... In the midst of the New Orleans evacuation just days before Hurricane Katrina made landfall ... The pets, Chihuahuas CheeWee and PeeWee, were left in the Tyler home ...
Katrina Pet Reunion Put on Hold
WTVY, AL - December 9, 2005
... Debbie and Joe Loustalot, escaped Katrina’s wrath in late August, and had to leave almost everything behind, including their pet. ...
[Excerpt]
We told you about a family of Katrina victims that were to be reunited with their dog.
But Thursday night, inclement weather has prevented that. Debbie and Joe Loustalot, escaped Katrina’s wrath in late August, and had to leave almost everything behind, including their pet.
But the family arrived at the airport only to hear bad news.
After the flight was delayed three times, both Debbie and Joe Loustalot waited at the cargo exit, where their pooch was supposed to be delivered to them, but it didn't happen. Cloudy weather sent the plane to Tallahassee, where Gigi the Chow-Labrador mix, will unload and possibly be loaded up again.
Humane Society's hurricane rescue leads to dog-owner reunion
Minot Daily News, ND - December 8, 2005
[Excerpt]
Pepper is going home for Christmas.
The 6-year-old Chihuahua has only a few more days of Minot's sweater-weather left before hopping a plane to Mississippi to be reunited with an owner she hasn't seen since they were separated after Hurricane Katrina
Tony Licciardi said he became separated from Pepper and his two other dogs when police came to rescue him from his home flooded under seven feet of water. When the police went back for the dogs, they couldn't find them.
Licciardi said he spent a couple of days on a Navy boat and it was some time before he could search for his dogs.
"I have been all over looking for them, calling everybody," he said. The two missing dogs are a Chihuahua and Pomeranian.
Pepper, who had been known as Booboo at Souris Valley Humane Society until identified about three weeks ago, is recovering from the trauma of the hurricane.
Tanis Starck Starts Over
SDSUniverse, CA - December 5, 2005
... from New Orleans, just as a precaution, as hurricane Katrina was approaching ... they had lost everything – their home, their possessions, their pets, and their ...
[Excerpt]
In late October, Tanis and Aaron Starck returned to New Orleans for the first time to assess the damage. With the exception of some clothing, everything else was destroyed. The one silver lining is that the Starcks were reunited with their cat, Tiffany, who came back to San Diego with them.
Cat, owner separated by Katrina reunited
El Paso Times, TX - December 1, 2005
An almost three-month separation caused by the evacuation of New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina is scheduled to end today for a woman and her cat.After the hurricane, Mary Marino, 46, ended up in El Paso. Her black cat, Mia, 6, ended up missing. But after weeks of searching, she was recently found in a California animal shelter.The long awaited reunion is scheduled today, when Mia is flown into El Paso International Airport."It's just miraculous," Marino said. "I think for anybody to be able to recover their pets after this total disaster -- it's just miraculous."Marino said the separation was filled with "a lot of sadness, a lot of tears, just not knowing. It was not just a black cat; to me it was my little girl."
New Orleans dog to be reunited with owners
KHOU (subscription), TX - November 30, 2005
Thousands of people and their pets were caught in Hurricane Katrina’s rising waters, and some owners and their pets were separated. One lucky Shar-Pei in Houston, however, is going to be reunited with her owners. They thought they had lost their beloved dog in addition to their house. Debby Smith has been fostering China, a Shar-Pei, since local rescuers brought her to Houston after the hurricane. It ...
Rescued from Katrina, lady dog named Luther is now pampered in ...
Journal Times Online, WI - November 30, 2005
[Scroll down to, excerpted here]
Four lives and counting
Goldie is proving the old saying about cats having nine lives. He's now on about his fourth. He's also back home with his owner in New Orleans, by way of Racine.Meredith Appleton, formerly of St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana, had rescued Goldie when he was about a year old. He was abandoned, living near the docks, and was the subject of abuse by some of the locals.When Hurricane Katrina opened the levees, Appleton said, the family and their two cats had to hole up in the attic for three days.Then it was time to leave, and Appleton had to leave Goldie behind; she only had one cat carrier, and the other cat had always been an indoor cat. She figured Goldie had the better chance of surviving if they were never reunited."It wasn't a choice that I wanted to make," Appleton said. "I didn't want to leave to begin with."They were taken up the Mississippi River on a barge, but Appleton wasn't allowed to take her other cat, Lynx, on board. So she had to leave him behind, as well. To this day, Appleton doesn't know what became of Lynx.After the barge, the family stayed on the Interstate for two days, then went to the Astrodome, and finally to join her parents in Massachusetts.Once settled, Appleton started looking for her cats throughhttp://www.petfinder.org/ It's a Web site that Racine's HOPE Safehouse volunteers use to post available animals. Goldie turned up there.He had been found by animal rescue people at a neighbor's house very close to Appleton's former house. That helped determine that it was Goldie, and not some other similar-looking cat.Did he remember her? "Oh, yeah," Appleton said. But Goldie had lost two more teeth during his ordeal."The people at HOPE Safehouse are amazing," said Appleton, who has gone to New Orleans to live."I was thrilled to have Goldie home. It made a goodThanksgiving."
To the Rescue
Sherman Denison Herald Democrat, TX - Nov 27, 2005
[Excerpt]
Barbara Cater sat with her arms wrapped around her dogs, Buddy and Allie. It was difficult to tell who was smiling more - Cater or her devoted pets. The three had been separated more than two months ago when Cater was rescued from her New Orleans apartment. She'd had to leave Buddy and Allie behind and had almost given up ever seeing them again until the determination of two Bonham women paid off.
‘I have my baby back’
Quad City Times, IA -November 26, 2005
[Excerpt]
For the past several weeks, Toppy the chihuahua acted as snarly and nippy as a Midwestern winter.
Toppy, who had become accustomed to having toastier pavement under his paws as a southern pooch from New Orleans, had ended up in the Quad-Cities after Hurricane Katrina separated him from his owner, Myra Clark. A group from Fairfield, Iowa, called Heavenly Pets Sanctuary had made the trip to the Big Easy to retrieve animals lost in the storm.
When he reached Iowa, FluffyButts Rescue Resort of Washington, Iowa, found Toppy an adopted home. The group also posted a picture of Toppy on a Web site called Petfinder.com in the hopes that his original owner might track him down.
Clark found Toppy on the Web site, and on Friday, the pair had a reunion that warmed the cockles of everybody’s hearts.
The long tale of Murphy Brown
Edwardsville Intelligencer, IL - November 25, 2005
[Excerpt]
MEHS helps reunite dog, hurricane victim
The Metro-East Humane Society, the Internet, and the efforts of numerous volunteers led to the reunion of hurricane evacuee Gloria Richardson, 71, with her 9-year old black lab, Murphy Brown. Murphy and Gloria were reunited last week at Lambert St. Louis International Airport when Ellen Brantley, Murphy's foster mother, brought him from Sonoma, Calif.
They were separated after Richardson was evacuated with Murphy from New Orleans, but told that she could not take him with her.
Murphy Brown's recovery is the third pet-owner reunion orchestrated by MEHS. Two others, a German Shepherd and a Chihuahua, have rejoined their owners, said MEHS Operations Manager and Vet Tech Ellen Steen.
The story of how two paths twisted apart by the storm came back together is not one of a simple phone call or Internet search.
Rather, it is a 10-week saga spearheaded by Steen, MEHS board member Mary Britsch, and volunteer Debbie Musgrave. Musgrave spent hours searching among hundreds of displaced black labs on the Internet, recruiting other volunteers (via the Internet) to help and had members of her family call possible leads.
"I was the first person she saw that possibly could have helped her track down Murphy," said Steen, who met Richardson when she was helping pets of evacuees at the shelter in Alton.
"Little did I know that it was going to take 10 weeks and a multitude of e-mails," she said. "Black labs could not be any more common."
Reuniting With Dog Brings Thanksgiving Joy To Couple
WLOX, MS - November 23, 2005
Five-year old Bailey, doesn't stray far from his loving owner Mark Tritt. Since Hurricane Rita, Tritt and his wife Thelma didn't know if they'd ever see Bailey and their other dog Annie again.
"At first I said, 'Well there's no way I'm going to get him back,'" says Tritt.
The story started with Hurricane Katrina. Thelma Tritt rode it out in Florida with family. Her husband stayed in their Bay St. Louis home, climbing into the attic with the two dogs to escape 17 feet of water filling their house.
"Yeah, we got right here and he didn't want to go so I had to more or less boot him up and then he stayed on that end of the attic and the other dog stayed about middle ways and I was on that end of the attic but we survived it. I mean we stayed up there during all the wind and everything else."
After Hurricane Katrina, Tritt joined his wife in Florida. Then Rita blew through, but he wasn't worried about his pets because he knew his neighbors were taking care of them. But when the couple came home, their dogs were gone. They had been picked up and taken to a shelter in Hattiesburg. Bailey then went to Tampa and Annie went to St. Louis.
"So I had to pick out their pictures out of the book and identify them, and they got in touch with the people, and the people called me from day to day checking with me, and that's how I got my dogs back," Tritt says.
The Tampa SPCA arranged for Bailey to get home Tuesday night. Annie will arrive next week.
"He loves his dogs and I knew he wasn't going to leave without them," says Thelma Tritt.
Along with Bailey and Annie the Tritt's have a cat named Midnight. Annie's return will make the family complete once again.
"Wonderful feeling cause I love my animals," Tritt says.
Bailey was adopted by a volunteer who lives in Florida and was working at the Hattiesburg shelter. She agreed to give the dog up if its owners were found.
Dog lost after Katrina finds happy ending
The Record-Courier, NV - November 23, 2005
... Ross was hoping to adopt a big black dog she named John Coffey, orphaned in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. ... 31, to give owners time to reclaim their pets. ...
Evacuees have 'much to be thankful for'
Eufaula Tribune, AL - Nov 22, 2005
[Excerpts]
Flood waters in New Orleans took most of the material possessions of Sue and Dan Reeves and their daughter and son-in-law, Morris and Deborah Billiot. But Thursday will be a true day of giving thanks as they reflect not on what they lost but the truly important things they have-family and friends.
And after several weeks of searching the SPCA website, Deborah has even been able to locate the cat, Bernard, they left behind in New Orleans. He is being housed at a shelter in Bogalusa, La.
Family that fled hurricane gets pet dog back
KATC, LA - November 16, 2005
Family that fled hurricane gets pet dog back
Times Picayune, LA - November 16, 2005
[Excerpt]
Daisy, a 70-pound part-boxer, Doberman mix, was placed in a travel container Wednesday for a flight from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to Orlando International Airport, where her former New Orleans family welcomed her back.
A rescue team from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had sent Daisy in a truck to Ohio along with three other dogs rescued in New Orleans. Since Oct. 14, Daisy's home had been at the Geauga County Humane Society.
"I can't believe she's alive. This is the happiest day of my life," said Ann Gadel, 47, shortly after being reunited with Daisy.
BUDDY HEADS FOR HOME
Review Journal, Las Vegas Nevada - November 16, 2005
[Excerpts]
Owner reclaims dog left behind in New Orleans
When Mildred Grover last saw her best friend Buddy this summer, he was lounging around her New Orleans backyard.
Grover, who evacuated with her family before the hurricane hit New Orleans, said she was forced to leave Buddy behind.
"Most of the emergency shelters wouldn't allow pets," she said. "We thought if something horrible happens, his best chance of survival would be in the yard, with the gate open."
Grover's home was destroyed, but Buddy survived. He ended up sharing space with hundreds of stranded dogs, cats, hamsters, turtles and other pets at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, about 40 miles northwest of New Orleans. That's where Kristen Marciniak, a good Samaritan from Las Vegas, found him.
"(Grover) spotted Buddy on the Web site and couldn't believe he was in Las Vegas," NSPCA Director Doug Duke said. "She didn't even know if he had survived. She called us and said, 'I think that's my dog.' "
Katrina pets slowly find their way home
King County Journal, WA - November 13, 2005
[Excerpt]
Four dogs and a cat brought to Pasado's Safe Haven after Hurricane Katrina have been reunited with their original owners and sent home to Louisiana.
Sixteen other animals that wound up in the Puget Sound region have been adopted by the foster families who had been caring for them since their arrival Sept. 27.
Hurricane Katrina left hundreds of pets ownerless and homeless. All told, Pasado's volunteers rescued 1,200 animals from the wreckage of the Gulf Coast. Most were sent to shelters across the country for holding and treatment. Those shelters have been tasked with trying to find the original owners.
``I'd say maybe one-tenth of them have been claimed,'' said Susan Michaels, co-founder of Pasado's, an animal rescue organization in Snohomish County that's named for a beloved donkey at Bellevue's Kelsey Creek Park.
Owners are still calling, including three on Friday, she said.
Katrina dogs reunited with owners
Aspen Daily News, CO - November 12, 2005
[Excerpt]
But through a twist of fate, Hager's dog - a Pomeranian called Solomon - ended up in Aspen. It was one of 18 dogs brought here by local volunteers keen to rescue animals from the Gonzales shelter, which was overcrowded and stiflingly hot. The four Aspen Animal Shelter volunteers - Bland Nesbit, Melinda Goldrich, Jan Panico and Anne Gurchick - had been assured that the dogs they were taking to Aspen were in all likelihood strays and would not have owners looking for them. It is now clear that those assertions were wrong. Many of the dogs were pets with owners frantic to know their fate. "We were told they were strays and were the least likely ever to be reunited," said Nesbit. "Everything was so screwed up down there. It was nobody's fault, there were just a lot of people trying to help." As a precaution, the 18 Katrina dogs were fostered out on the understanding that they might be returned to the South. Goldrich fostered Solomon; other canines found new homes throughout the valley. More than two months passed, so Goldrich thought she was going to keep Solomon. But she recently got a call from a woman in Texas who had been scouring Internet pet sites trying to reconnect animals with owners. The woman told Goldrich that the dog was not stray.
Dog displaced by Katrina returned to family
Reno Gazette Journal, NV - Nov 12, 2005
[Excerpt]
Brandy, a dog rescued after Hurricane Katrina and taken to a shelter in Northern Nevada, was reunited Friday with her family in Louisiana.
"She traveled a long way, from Louisiana to Nevada and back, so I'm glad it finally came full circle for this dog," said Steve Ricker, executive director of Pet Network, a nonprofit shelter in Incline Village.
A golden lab mix, Brandy originally had been taken to Sacramento. It was one of the distribution points from which animals displaced by Katrina and Hurricane Rita were sent to shelters. They could stay there until their owners were located.
On Oct. 10, Pet Network brought Brandy to Incline Village, along with two other dogs, a cat and her seven kittens, Ricker said.
"We put the kittens up for adoption because they were born in Sacramento, after the fact," he said.
It took several weeks of searching the Internet, using petfinder.com, to look at online pleas and photos posted by frantic pet owners, before they located the Henry Guepet family, Brandy's owners in Metairie, La.
Improbable reunion for Katrina canine
She's finally home.
North Lake Tahoe Bonanza - November 13, 2005
[Excerpt]
"Savannah" as it turns out is really named "Brandy" and her real home is Metairie, Louisiana.
Man, dog reunite after post-Katrina separation
News 8 Austin, TX - November 12, 2005
[Excerpt]
After five weeks without food and water, a dog rescued from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is now back with her owner.
Hershey, a chocolate lab, was rescued by the SPCA on Sept. 25. Owner Rene Kinsella recognized his dog and contacted the organization.
SPCA volunteers dropped Hershey off while traveling from Dallas to Houston delivering missing pets to relocated evacuees. Hershey was the only rescued dog delivered here in Austin.
Kinsella was overcome with emotion after finding his beloved pet.
Katrina Pet Returned To Rightful Owner
Hamptons Independents, NY - November 11, 2005
[Excerpt]
The reunion was a long time coming. “Sly,” a semi-long haired cat that was rescued from Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast region, was claimed by his owner, Alison Wells on November 1. Sly was one of five cats and 15 dogs picked up from Camp Katrina in Tyler, Mississippi by staff members and volunteers from the Animal Rescue Center of the Hamptons in Wainscott. The animals had been displaced by the storm.
Hurricane survivor reunited with cats
Tahlequah Daily Press, OK - November 11, 2005
[Excerpt]
When Janice Mahaney swam, boated, and hiked her way out of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina swamped the city, she never expected to see her two cats again.But Mahaney recently discovered Lilly and Minnette both survived the flood, one living for almost a month in the attic of her house. Lilly's been reunited with her human companion here in Tahlequah, and Minnette's currently kicking back in Louisiana with some of Mahaney's friends.
Nine lives: Cat survives Katrina, ends up here
Pioneer Press Online, IL - November 10, 2005
[Excerpts]
For a cat the U.S. Coast Guard required be left behind in New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina hit, Tommy got some breaks to reconnect with owners Joseph and Linda Wallace here in Highland Park.
Indeed, if he hadn't gotten trapped in Florida by Hurricane Wilma last month, Tommy might have arrived sooner. As it was, he spent a month trapped in a single story home with three feet of water in it.
Tommy had to await rescue by members of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New Orleans. He was placed in a pet carrier, eventually got an identification microchip under his fur coat, and settled down to live for a few weeks at a shelter in Gonzales, La.
Then, one morning, Tommy was in a batch of rescued pets who were sent to another shelter in Florida. He left early in the morning when Joe Wallace arrived later at the Gonzales shelter to bring Tommy home to Highland Park.
Joseph Wallace did not tell wife Linda he finally found Tommy and collected him at O'Hare airport. Linda Wallace works during the day, so it was somewhat easy for Joseph to resupply the house with cat litter, food and Tommy in order to set the stage for a surprise reunion when she came home from work.
"(Linda) just cried," said Joseph Wallace. "It was amazing. He knew us right away.
So far, there has been no word about the Wallaces' two Labrador retrievers, Amber and Eve, who also had to be left behind during evacuation.
Sister-in-law Iris Morgan had two greyhounds Bell and Mustang, and a yellow Labrador retriever, George, which she too was required to leave behind in New Orleans. She has since learned that all her dogs have been adopted.
Mustang is in sunny suburban Riverside, Calif., living with Lidia and Michael Seebeck and their greyhounds, Slim and Blue Bird. George is known to be living with another family in Pittsburgh.
Katrina evacuee reunited with dog
Victoria Advocate, TX - November 6, 2005
[Excerpts]
Max Keene seemed to have lost everything to Hurricane Katrina, but he got a piece of his life back early Halloween morning
Like many New Orleanians, Keene had to leave his dog behind. But Clyde the beagle was not about to forsake his master. He would see Keene again, with a little help from some friends.
"Clyde, name unknown at the time, was taken into the Monroe, La., shelter and eventually found his way to Wilmington, N.C., with 28 other dogs," said Pat Nowak of Carolina Canines Katrina Animal Relief.
Carolina Canines had stepped out of their day-to-day business of training service dogs to shelter cats and dogs evacuated from Katrina, and to return them to their owners.
Lost Katrina kitty finds a circuitous way home
Oakland Tribune, CA - November 4, 2005
[Excerpts]
After just a couple weeks, a woman named Elizabeth from Washington, D.C., contacted us thinking that our Lolita might be a missing cat named Pearl, owned by a prolific, displaced online poster named Jane from New Orleans. Elizabeth was going through thousands and thousands of pictures on Web sites for lost and found animals and thought she had a match. We looked at the paperwork and sure enough, despite all the odds of this gray cat being that gray cat, she was.
At about the same time, Trish and Jon brought the cat in to see the veterinarian. She had some redness and discharge from her nipple and the vet prescribed antibiotics.
We contacted Jane, who was ecstatic that Pearl had been found. But that was before the complications of bringing Pearl back home to a life that was no longer there sunk in.
Jane had lost two cats and a dog to the hurricane, so she was happy to hear that Pearl was safe. Jane also told us that Pearl had had mammary cancer so we knew the infection was probably more serious than we originally thought. We brought Pearl back in again for X-rays and more tests. Pearl needed surgery, and soon.
Trish and Jon had fallen for this affectionate kitty, so this was the worst possible news. Coincidentally, they'd had three cats with this condition and were worried about Pearl getting care and getting it quickly. They wanted to take her to their own veterinarian who had helped them through the process all three times before. They wanted to adopt her.
But now Pearl had an owner. This was no longer a homeless pet for whom we make all medical decisions. Pearl didn't have just one person who loved her; she had three. We discussed with Jane the arrangements that were needed to send Pearl back after surgery. Jane thought it through in the context of her recent losses. She realized that while she loved Pearl, she couldn't put her through another upheaval, and that if Trish and Jon would love her and care for her, she would relinquish Pearl to us. Jane put this all in writing, and thanked us.
Trish and Jon were thrilled and adopted her "as is" that same day. They had the surgery done two days later — and at their own expense.
San Antonian helps reunite man and his best friend
San Antonio Express (subscription), TX - November 4, 2005
[Excerpts]
In just minutes, he would be reunited with the dog he had to leave behind in his New Orleans home as the floodwaters rose around him and his wife, Gloria.
Sims, a gospel musician, tried to stay behind with his beloved Peanut, a small dog he rescued off the street two years earlier. But the National Guardsman who put his wife in the boat would not leave without Sims, and wouldn't take the dog.
Distraught, Lionel left all the food and water he had available for Peanut, then locked him in.
The boat took the couple to the Convention Center, where a helicopter flew them to a plane that would bring them to San Antonio.
It was there, in the Windsor Park Mall shelter, that the Simses met volunteer Lori Putt.
"Lionel was the saddest-looking man I had ever seen," Putt said.
Separated by Katrina, woman, pet reunited
Houston Chronicle, United States - November 4, 2005
[Excerpts]
On Thursday, Messick, now living with her brother in Katy, and Carmine, who traveled from a Louisiana shelter to Mississippi and, finally, New Mexico, were again brought together at a suburban pet store in what may have been one of the most unlikely dog-and-owner reunions of the hurricane season.
Blair, founder and president of the animal-welfare group Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, traveled to the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast to assist with animal rescues. She took responsibility for Carmine and 50 other dogs at the Humane Society's crowded emergency shelter at Gonzales, La.
"Cats and dogs died on the trucks waiting to get into the shelter," Blair said Thursday at the PetSmart at 140 FM 1960 East.
Blair transported the animals to a makeshift shelter near Jackson, Miss., from which the animals were moved to other areas. Carmine ended up at the clinic of Alamogordo, N.M., veterinarian Dr. Chris Staley, and Messick spotted his photo on a hurricane-oriented lost-pet Web site.
Katrina family and pooch pair reunited
Denver Post, CO - November 2, 2005
[Excerpts]
Eight weeks after Debra Barbain-Johnson and her husband, Albert, evacuated their home in east New Orleans, they were reunited with their dogs in Denver on Tuesday afternoon.
Hershey Kiss Johnson, an 8-month-old Brussels Griffon, and Miss T, a 2-year-old teacup poodle, arrived at the United cargo docks near DIA, after being found in foster care in California. An animal-rescue team had driven the dogs cross-country from New Orleans to Hopalong Animal Rescue, a nonprofit shelter in Oakland, Calif.
"I got on every website and e-mailed everyone I could find," she said. Her determination paid off: In mid-October, she discovered her dogs' pictures posted on the Hopalong website.
Maryanne Dell's pets column: Happy ending for one Katrina pet
OCRegister (subscription), CA - November 1, 2005
... I spent hours looking at petfinder.com, one of the Internet clearinghouses with information about lost and found Katrina pets. Anyone ...
‘Katrina Kitties’ in Fallbrook
Village News Network, CA - October 28, 2005
Through the Internet Karen and Janet were able to locate the owner of one of the cats. Brandi Bowen of New Orleans was reunited on Saturday with her cat “Muses,” who is nicknamed “Scrappy.” Karen picked up the cat from the Sanctuary on Friday night, then drove her to LAX at 5:00 a.m. the next morning for a Continental Airlines cargo flight. “I slept with the cat that night because I was paranoid that I would lose it,” said Karen. “At that point nothing mattered to me but getting the cat back [to her owner].”
“By the end of September I knew that Scrappy’s food and water had probably run out and I hadn’t been able to locate her,” explained Brandi. A friend who was able to get back to Brandi’s house was happy to report that he found an inscription spray-painted on the wall of her home: “9/26 SPCA One Cat Out.” Brandi was told that her cat was taken to the Dixon Correctional Facility, but when she called the facility she was told that a cat fitting Scrappy’s description had been flown to Los Angeles. Through 1-800-Save-A-Pet.com Brandi was put in touch with Karen and plans for the happy reunion began. “We confirmed it was Scrappy based on her markings,” Brandi noted. “Karen was as wonderful as she could be and it touched my heart that she cared so much. I appreciate the work of these people I have never met.”
Family Finds Lost Dog
KAIT, AR - October 27, 2005
[Excerpts]
The Lewis family left behind 3 dogs in St. Bernard Parish outside of New Orleans
"They ship these dogs all over the united states so it is very hard for you to track down your own dog," said Terry.
Since moving to Jonesboro Terry and Dennis checked websites like http://www.petfinder.com/ and http://www.petharbor.com/ multiple times a day hoping to find there lost dogs.
"They just put the pictures up there and you really have to look everyday and that is what I have been doing everyday looking for these dogs," said Terry.
But three weeks ago Terry and Dennis found one of their three missing dogs, and today they were reunited with Dakota in Memphis. The feeling of finding a loved one is priceless.
Cold Noses, Warm Hearts
Winston-Salem Journal, NC - October 26, 2005
[Excerpt]
For the animals, it had been a long road home.
After Hurricane Katrina ravaged their hometown in Mississippi, they ended up in a temporary shelter set up for homeless pets. There, veterinarians evaluated them, and shelter volunteers photographed them and collected information. The photos and information were put into a photo album intended to help owners find lost pets. Red and Maniac were then sent to another shelter in Mandeville, La.
Johnson, in the meantime, had helped gather a group of volunteers from various local animal-rescue organizations to form Hurricane Animal Rescue and Transport Effort. The group went to the hurricane-stricken area in September and brought back 42 animals - including Red and Maniac. The day that the group got back to Winston-Salem, the couple who owned Red and Maniac came looking for them at the shelter in Louisiana. There they met Johnson, whose van had broken down, forcing her to stay there overnight.
Contact information was exchanged, and a month later, Red and Maniac were on their way home to grateful owners.
Nonprofits reunite New Orleans evacuees, pet shitzu
WIS, SC - October 25, 2005
[Excerpt]
Debbie Estes and her two daughters have not seen their dog Matt since they fled New Orleans to come to Columbia eight weeks ago.
Tuesday the separation ended. Project Pet and Operation Reunite arranged for the little shitzu's arrival.
Matt went through a lot to get to the Midlands. He survived with his family in an attic for three days after Katrina. When the Estes' evacuated, Matt stayed behind, and endured through Rita.
Feline hurricane victim going home to family
Sedalia Democrat, MO - Oct 25, 2005
[Excerpts]
A rescued cat living in Sedalia for nearly a month will be reunited with its family Friday in Mississippi.
Mogley, a short-hair black cat, was separated from his family after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast
Peninsula humane society to reunite Katrina victim with dog
San Jose Mercury News, United States - Oct 24, 2005
... Looking at information on documents filled out through the Louisiana SPCA, the shelter located the owner's of a Beagle mix named Hollywood. ...
Dog lost in Hurricane Katrina to be reunited with Bluffs family
Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil, IA - October 24, 2005
[Excerpts]
Buster, a 3-year-old poodle, was lost in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. On Wednesday he will be reunited with the Thornton family, who have moved to Council Bluffs.
Buster has been staying with Nancy Dively, a realtor in Tarpon Springs, Fla., who found him at an intake shelter in the parking lot of a Wynne-Dixie grocery story in New Orleans while she was on a rescue mission with the Louisiana Humane Society. Dively and Buster will fly to Eppley Airfield on Wednesday afternoon, using donated frequent flyer miles and a $50 donation for his ticket.
She took him home to Florida with her and put him on Pet-Finder, a Web site dedicated to helping people find their pets.
Another animal rescue worker, this one from California, was cross-referencing the pets with people the Red Cross was helping and found that the Thorntons' son had been taken from Arkansas to Iowa. Dively found an Iowa connection and located the family.
That was several weeks ago, but thanks to a story in the St. Petersburg Times, a flight was donated so Grimes could bring Buster to his new home without having to worry about him being injured while traveling in the cargo hold.
PENINSULA HUMANE SOCIETY TO REUNITE KATRINA VICTIM WITH DOG
CBS 5, CA - October 24, 2005
[Excerpts]
... the Peninsula Humane Society and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals reported that it is gearing up for its second dog and owner reunion.
Boyd, a 5-year-old Shih Tzu, is set to take flight on Tuesday to reunite with his owner, 62-year-old Marshione Walters, in Baton Rouge, PHS/SPCA reported.
Finding their way home
Arizona Daily Sun, AZ - October 23, 2005
[Excerpts]
Northern Arizona Second Chance Center for Animals
Each cat was assigned a number, and came with a packet of paperwork from the Louisiana SPCA that indicated where it was found. There was little or no owner information, just a couple of water-stained envelopes retrieved from the homes of two cats, and addresses where the others were found.
Staff member Diane Jarvis started the daunting task of finding their owners.
Fortunately, one of the cats, #LA3570, was found to be micro-chipped. Another cat came from the same address, but had no chip.
The cat turned out to be a male named Tuxie, who belonged to Sheri Thompson of New Orleans. "Then, I found out that Tinkerbell was a housemate, with the same owner," Jarvis said.
Jarvis also had good luck hooking up cat #LA2419, found in an apartment on Magazine Street in New Orleans, with her owner.
She tried to look up a phone number from the address with no luck. There was no owner information, no envelopes in the cat's packet. Daily searches on Petfinder by the rescue address were fruitless.
Finally, on Oct. 7, another search turned up a message from Tarra in Milwaukee, Wisc. Tarra entered the information for an evacuee, Nancy, who is living with her husband at the fairgrounds there. They had left behind two cats -- Sassy and CJ -- and were hoping for good news.
Jarvis called Tarra and left a message that Sassy, a 2-year-old female, was at Second Chance but CJ's location was unknown and she left her phone number.
Owner Nancy Schneider called from a shelter in Wisconsin and was delighted to hear Sassy was OK. She asked for additional help to try to find CJ.
Jarvis discovered CJ had been moved to the Dallas SPCA and she has started working on the return of Sassy and CJ to their family.
The owner of a 2-year-old cat, Francis, was also located and she will return to New Orleans in November.
A fifth cat, Nephie, a 17-year-old tortoiseshell, was found to belong to a woman contacted through an Illinois phone number. She and her husband had lost everything and planned to start over in Texas -- with Nephie.
4-legged Katrina victim finds a way home
A Rancho Palos Verdes resident's research is helping to reunite a dog brought to California in an animal rescue operation with his family.
Daily Breeze, CA - Oct 22, 2005
[Excerpts]
But it was his feet -- four speckled paws that look like he ran through a mound of chocolate-chip ice cream -- that got Janet Taylor's attention.
"I just happened to take his picture," Taylor said. "I never saw a dog with spots on his feet like that."
The next day, while searching through a Web site that listed lost Katrina pets, she found one that sounded suspiciously like the dog she had seen the day before.
He was just a pup when he followed 12-year- old Willie Martin to his New Orleans home two years ago. They named him Bo, but nobody is really sure why.
Katrina victims reunited
WALB-TV, GA - Oct 21, 2005
[Excerpts]
That's the case of a victim of Hurricane Katrina who has relocated to Thomasville from Louisiana.
Lorraine Sherman has been reunited with one of her four dogs after a taxing journey. The New Orleans artist lost her home, several other pets, and worst of all, her son was killed in the hurricane.
Sherman's other son found her Pekingese, Babette, on a web site for missing dogs earlier this month in Ohio. She says the Cincinnati SPCA delivered the dog to her free yesterday.
Pets Rescued In Katrina's Aftermath Returning Home
WCPO, OH - Oct 19, 2005
[Excerpts]
Folks working with the local SPCA left Wednesday morning to reunite 10 dogs and a cat with their respective owners.
The animals were brought to the Tri-state a month ago on a special flight chartered by the SPCA.
Their owners found their animals via the organization's website.
Homeward bound: Shelter matches Katrina's canine victims with ...
New Jersey Herald, NJ - Oct 17, 2005
[Excerpts]
FRANKFORD — The odds were against them, but three New Orleans pets being cared for at the Sussex County Fairgrounds are being reunited with their owners.
Little Guy — he goes by "LG" — a 6-year old Chow mix, turned out to be one of the lucky ones. He'll be going home in a few weeks after his owner was put in touch with St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center, the organization running the rescue operation.
A German Shepherd named Big Shot is another success story at the shelter. His paperwork listed the street where he was found, and volunteers matched his description with one listed on a Web site for lost pets, http://www.petfinder.org/.
Big Shot's owner is now living in Baton Rouge, La., but plans to move into New Orleans within the next month or two, Dashfield said.
Tiki, a female Akita, may also have found her owner. A New Orleans man currently living in Tampa, Fla., contacted the shelter after searching for his dog locally.
"She was found running loose, so we can't be sure yet," Dashfield said. "We're sending photos to the owner to verify she is his."
Katrina Dog Reunited
San Diego Headline News, CA - Oct 16, 2005
SAN DIEGO, CA - (10-16-05) A dog displaced after Hurricane Katrina hit will be reunited with her owner in San Diego. When Robin Lewis evacuated her New Orleans home, she was forced to leave the family pet, "Sassy" behind. Sassy was rescued and along with many other animals, she was relocated to San Diego. The reunion is scheduled to take place at the County Animal Shelter Sunday afternoon.
Rescued Pets Going Back Home to Louisiana
WTKR Your NewsChannel 3, VA - Oct 16, 2005
[Article excerpted as no longer at link]
Sunday was an emotional day for Alisa Mullins. She had to say good-bye to two friends. But these friends don't walk on two legs. They walk on four. Alisa was hugging Pee Wee and Susie for the last time. They are pint-sized pooches who were rescued by Norfolk-based PETA from Louisiana. After Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast region, PETA rescued more than 30 dogs and brought them back to Hampton Roads.The dogs were given to foster parents while PETA worked to try and locate the original owners. On Sunday, four dogs were put in a van to be reunited with their owners. Pee Wee and Susie were two of those dogs."It's hard and bittersweet," said Alisa. "I know they'll be happy to be home with their mom. You do get attached. I've had them for several weeks now."Some of the dogs came here with skin infections. They got the infections by being stuck in that nasty flood water. The dogs are now nursed back to good health. And PETA hopes one of thee dogs returning to Louisiana can help nurse his owner back into good health."Charlie's family had a tragedy right before the hurricane hit," said Victoria Smith of PETA. "His dad had a stroke."Charlie, a cocker spaniel, had to weather Katrina by himself while his owner was in the hospital. Man's best friend is now going home to help his owner get back on track."Dogs are good medicine,' said Victoria. "Hope he'll get his dad get better."One more dog will be reunited with her owner in a few weeks.
Katrina evacuees go to great lengths to reunite with pets
Lufkin Daily News, TX - Oct 15, 2005
[Excerpts]
... at Lufkin's evacuation shelter, 74-year-old Bertha Huff
Less than two months ago Bertha and her 8-pound poodle, Tia, evacuated from their home in east New Orleans to her daughter's uptown New Orleans home 30 minutes away.
The bus carried them straight to the Pentecostal Campgrounds which served as Lufkin's first shelter and was where the Huffs spent their first week as evacuees.
Finally McClendon spoke with Best Friends' member Denise in Utah who networked with Best Friends affiliates in Mississippi and ultimately tracked both Tia and Nina to St. Francis Animal Sanctuary, a shelter down the street from Best Friends shelter in Tylertown, Miss.
Dog Reunited With Family After Hurricane Katrina
CBS2 Chicago, IL - Oct 15, 2005
CBS) BUFFALO GROVE
[Excerpts]
Ginger the dog is back with her pack, a happy reunion made possible in part by Cynthia Schleich.She and her family fostered Ginger after the Almost Home Foundation rescued the pooch post-Hurricane Katrina.
But the chopper crew that lifted Terrell Keene out of the New Orleans flood zone said his dog had to stay, so he left her food and water and hoped someone would find her.The volunteers who did brought her to Illinois. “I thought I had to find her owner,” Cynthia said. “So we tried the number on the tag and couldn't get through.” Then they took a closer look at Ginger's rabies tag and discovered they'd been calling the wrong number.The Schleichs eventually got it right and got in touch with Ginger’s kin.
Dog reunited with New Orleans family
KOB-TV, NM - Oct 14, 2005
[Excerpts]
Over the weekend, the family found a picture of Nick on a Website for rescued pets, so they drove back to Louisiana to retrieve their pet.
The Prospers say that national guardsmen who heard Nick’s barking spray painted the word “dog” on the Prosper’s front door, which led animal rescuers to Nick.
Cat, Dog Reunited With Families After Hurricane
KOIN.com, OR - Oct 13, 2005
[Excerpts]
PORTLAND -- Two hurricane evacuees who made their way to Portland are now going home.
Lamar the cat is one of many pets lost in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit. Rescuers rounded up the lost animals and sent them to shelters across the country.
Now, Lamar will fly home to his family.
Nikki the dog (pictured) had a hard time surviving the flood and then being handed off from place to place.
Dog, owner reunited after Katrina
Newsday, NY - Oct 13, 2005
[Excerpts]
The New Orleans woman [Nancy Hicks] had been searching for her pet since returning to her home and finding a note that said a dog had been rescued
Precious became one of 4,000 pets housed in an overcrowded shelter in Gonzales, La., where volunteers from the Buffalo-area SPCA helped out in the storm's aftermath. One of the volunteers brought the frightened Precious back to Buffalo with her last week, fearing for her health. The dog had been photographed and entered into the Petfinder.com Web site before making the trip
When Hicks' daughter stopped by the New Orleans SPCA recently, a volunteer searched the Web site and tracked her to Buffalo.
Back to Katrina Pets Resources
posted by ~Barb, AnimalResources @ 1:10 PM
