For the animal victims of Katrina, the devastation began not with a bang or a whoosh, but with a whimper and a cry. It began, for me, with Jeanne Meserve's heartbreaking telephone report from the darkened city on the night the levees broke, when she said:
Mark Biello, one of our cameramen, went out in one of the boats to help shoot. He ended up being out for hours and told horrific tales. He saw bodies. He saw where -- he saw other, just unfathomable things. Dogs wrapped in electrical -- electrical lines who were still alive that were being electrocuted. RenaRF's beautiful diary had more from this unforgettable report.
That was, for the 50,000 abandoned animals trapped in New Orleans, only the beginning. It was, for them, a time of rough suffering:
more below
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France
God bless these wonderful people with awakened souls:
Joseph Barnes and Patches (Mr. Barnes was denied entrance to the Superdome because he refused to abandon Patches):
Eugene Kaufman and Samantha, age 20 and blind (Mr. Kaufman refused to leave his house until the Humane Society arrived and promised to care for Samantha):
Phyllis Anderson and Trouble, age 17 (Ms. Anderson would not leave Trouble):
Jonathan Harvey and Cuddles (Mr. Harvey carried Cuddles through the flooded streets of Gulfport, MS):
A Prayer For Animals
Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for animals that are overworked, underfed and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals,
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.
- Albert Schweitzer
God bless our friends the animals, especially animals who are suffering:
God bless the rescuers with gentle hands and kindly words:
From Douglas Brinkley's brilliant The Great Deluge, this vignette about Michael Prevost, a private school administrator in Louisiana, who performed rescues in a canoe:
He was an urban Thoreau who thought saving dogs was nearly as important as saving people. His greatest failure, to his mind, was his inability to lure to safety a scared dog that was stuck in some tree branches. `It wouldn't trust me,' Prevost lamented. `It kept snarling at me and I was in no position to get bit. I had no first aid and was in the water. So, sadly, I had to leave it behind.' Prevost had another bad experience. A friend had sent a text message about saving his two dogs left behind in a house. Prevost paddled to the appropriate address, only to find that they had drowned.
God bless those who came from down the street, around the United States and throughout the world to help stranded animals:
And God bless the beloved animals who suffered or lost their lives during Katrina. and the dear people who loved and lost them
a special prayer tonight for peace and grace and comfort:
There are many animals still in need. Please donate:
The Humane Society of the United States
Best Friends Animal Society