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FORCED ABANDOMNMENT OF PETS
CAUSED DEATHS OF PEOPLE AND PETS
The ban against pets in Katrina rescues
and shelters hampered the evacuation
and killed people and animals
BY KAREN DAWN
Karen Dawn runs the animal advocacy media
watch Web site DawnWatch.com and is a
contributor to “In Defense of Animals:
The Second Wave.”
September 14, 2005
Two weeks after Hurricane Katrina, many of us have seen distressing
coverage of animals discarded on rooftops or at stations where people
boarded buses for Red Cross shelters. We have read stories of small dogs
grabbed by police officers from the arms of old people and sobbing young
children.
Some stories are almost unbelievable in a civilized nation. One man
survived for five days in a tree with his 16-year-old
dachshund-Chihuahua. His rescuers would not let him carry the dog onto a
boat. He killed his beloved companion rather than leave her to starve in
the tree.
In the midst of such tales we also read the quote from Michael Brown as
he left his post as director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
It began with, “I am going to go home and walk my dog.” His policies
stole that last sweet comfort from those who had nothing else left.
The refusal to acknowledge the bond people have with their animals
hampered the evacuation, since some people refused to leave. It also
increased, exponentially, people’s loss.
Further, the official animal ban illuminated the class issue: Whereas
Marriott hotels welcomed pets as part of the family, Red Cross shelters
forced people to abandon that part of the family or to ride out the
storm. Many people died as a result. Others remained for weeks in the
disease-infested area.
Media stories have focused on the plight of the animals and of people
frantic over the fate of their pets. Only a few have been insensitive to
the issue. Perhaps most confused was a column in Slate Magazine that
contended that although it was sad the dogs were starving, “their owners
should have evacuated them – and themselves – before the storm hit, when
pets could be accommodated more easily.” As if the destitute folks
without gas or even cars, who didn’t head for the nearest pet-friendly
hotel before the storm, had only themselves to blame.
That column actually suggested that the deaths of people who would not
part with their pets were tragic, but not as tragic as the “chaos” pets
would have caused at shelters. Interestingly, hospitals and nursing homes
actually invite dogs in to raise patients’ spirits. The presence of dogs,
although inconvenient, also could have been a morale booster, whereas
their absence has caused the greatest suffering for many people who are
frantic about their fate.
If dog bites are a concern, then surely cheap disposable muzzles should
be part of FEMA and Red Cross deployment equipment. And, yes, some people
are allergic to animals, particularly cats, which is why people traveling
with cats might have to be transported separately. It would also be fair
to recommend that cats be placed in adjoining shelters – anywhere, as
long as their families knew they were safe.
Let’s compare our nation’s treatment of animals to that of other
countries: In France, official policy allows dogs in restaurants. One
cannot imagine it would call for their abandonment during disasters. Do
the French care more about their animals than we do? The photos of
Katrina’s aftermath answer that: people on rooftops or wading or swimming
through filthy water, having left every one of their worldly possessions,
but desperately clutching their beloved pets. But U.S. official policy is
out of touch with that reality.
In Cuba last September, more than 1.5 million people were evacuated to
higher ground before a storm. About 20,000 houses were destroyed, and
nobody died. The people were told to take their animals, and
veterinarians were provided. Far from causing chaos, the evacuation of
animals prevented it. The Cuban government did not have to deal with
people refusing to leave their animals or force them to leave them.
Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its
animals are treated.” How embarrassing it must be for our government to
see that in emergencies the United States lags behind Cuba, whose
treatment of animals saved the animals’ lives and those of the people who
care for them. In the wake of Katrina, the shameful no-pet policies of
American relief agencies killed some people, mostly poor. It devastated
many more, who will rebuild their homes but will never get over the awful
choice a great nation should not have forced them to make.
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(C)2005 THE CTCA |
