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Snowball! Snowball! The Little Dog Who
Broke A Nation's Heart!
During the Katrina evacuation from the Superdome in New
Orleans, thousands of people were pushed up against barricades
trying to get a seat on a bus that would take them out of a
hell hole. Amongst the pushing bodies a little boy held on to
a small dog. The were both frightened, hungry and thirsty.
Hope abounded when the busses finally started trickling in.
Then adroitly a police officer confiscated the little boy's
dog. Dogs are not allowed on the bus. As the dog was pried
from his hands the child squealed in anguish "Snowball,
Snowball.. " and was so overcome with grief he vomited.
Hurricane Katrina has devastated the Gulf Coast, and the human
death toll is climbing. For survivors, concern over pets left
behind only adds to their trauma. Some evacuees who had
vehicles were able to take their pets with them, but thousands
entered the Superdome being forced to leave the animals they
love behind to fend for themselves. Left heart wrenchingly to
face a terrifying hurricane, all alone.
 For
those animals who did not perish in the hell that was Katrina,
their worst was yet to come. The water started rising. Many
animals lost and confused started wandering the streets in a
world they didn't recognize, hungry and thirsty and longing
for their guardians.
A woman came rushing back to find her entire apartment reduced
to oversized matchsticks, but the loss she expressed was only
for her dog. "My dog was in the apartment!" she cried out and
tears rolled down her face.
A white Labrador stuck in a tree, stranded and terrified
looked confused as people just passed him by. But the rescue
effort for humans does not have a big enough social heart to
include our animals.
Dogs who were carefully rescued and held by families on top of
rooftops were abandoned as humans were evacuated. Elderly
residents who had stayed in water-logged residences for five
days just to safeguard their beloved animals— were forced to
leave their animals behind to starve, perhaps to drown. An
elderly man got into the boat, his dog patiently waiting for
him to invite him in, but instead, he watched his owner float
away. "Max" cried the man... "Max" he cried realizing his
folly too late as his rescuers hurriedly moved them out of
range.
A brave group of animal rescue organizations mobilized to find
and rescue dogs, pets, horses and other animals. A shelter was
discovered with animals still inside that had not had food or
water for three days.
Frantic e-mails over the internet made one sick to the
stomach. "Could someone go and feed my animals?" Not knowing
if their animals were even alive after a week with no food or
water, or if in fact their homes still existed, all they
wanted was for things to be so simple... just feed the
animals. A poignant picture of a cat in the open packed
suitcase made one cry. If only they could have left the
luggage and taken the cat.
Samson, a big white and brown boxer had been alone a week - he
survived. He was left at a veterinary office when the
hurricane hit and his family evacuated to Dallas without him.
His mellow face was imperative enough for rescuers to offer to
drive from other states to go and search shelters in the
disaster area.
"THEY FOUND HIM!" yelled the posted message. "He was taken to
Gonzalez with the other animals from the clinic. THANK YOU for
your help and understanding. I am eternally grateful..." their
infectious joy snatched up as a small consolation by all who
needed something good to hold on to amidst all the sorrow.
A pet shelter was set up at Blackham Coliseum in Lafayette,
right next to the Cajundome. Evacuees could bring their pets
there for housing. They reiterated that they had "PLENTY of
food, water, crates, cages, bedding and newspaper. BUT the
owners are responsible for feeding, watering, walking and
medicating their own pets." And then the cruelest cut of all.
Many of those pets who hugged close to their guardians and
survived the hurricane, floods, hunger, thirst and evacuation,
have been dealt one final blow by economic necessity. The have
been given up for adoption. Their Guardians greater need? To
rescue themselves right now.
A group of students at LSU set up an ad-hoc rescue center at
the LSU AgCenter/Parker Coliseum housing animals in crates,
the "tent home" for dogs. But rescuers can bring large numbers
of animals and crate them while they are waiting to be
reunited with their owners.
But money for animals is much harder to find. They need 1,000
more extra large air-kennels (open crates), animal supplies,
towels, bowls, veterinary supplies, tick and flea medicine and
experienced animal shelter volunteers.
"Please, donate at MuttShack
Animal Rescue. We need more homes
for animals! Every crate is one more life saved!" says Amanda
St. John, Founder of MuttShack Animal Rescue.
Hopefully somewhere amidst the rows of crates filled with
broken-hearted animals we will find Snowball.
God bless the little boy who jolted our national conscience
and made us look repugnantly at ourselves and how we treat our
animals...
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