Happy Owners And Pets Reunite
Many of the victims of Hurricane Katrina have four legs. Countless dogs, cats and other animals were left behind when their owners were evacuated.
But one heartbroken woman, who was forced to abandon her pets, was reunited with them.
Britain's Sky News reporter Andrew Wilson agreed to help Diane Hicks. After finding an abandoned boat, they started their search.
The entire Northeastern corner of New Orleans is under deep water and there are concerns about submerged debris, railings, street signs, cars and even bodies. Power cables are littered above the surface.
After several hours, they found the dogs alive. After five days on their own, her pets were frightened and reluctant to board the boat.
"I'm happy. I'm happy. Thank you," Hicks said. "Even if I have to put them in a shelter, at least I know that they didn't have to die like this."
Powder, Cosmos and Spirit were the only life they encountered. But Hicks has her dogs back. Happy endings are still possible, even in this stricken city.
And Hicks is not the only happy pet owner. Alice Sarmiento, director of Development and Community Outreach at the Houston SPCA tells The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen that as of Thursday morning they have had 87 reunions.
"Every single day we perform small miracles, but some of these are pretty big miracles," Sarmiento says. "I was at the Astrodome — overnight, helping check all these in — and it has been wonderful to see the same folks come back and reclaim their animals, and to see these pets' faces just light up. They are under a lot of stress; they are not used to being in situations like this. It's heartwarming."
Turn to page 2 for information on how you can help or how to find a lost pet.
The Houston SPCA is housing about 900 animals, Sarmiento says. Three hundred came from the Louisiana SPCA when they evacuated their shelter before the hurricane. Five hundred to 600 came in through Houston's Astrodome and convention center. The remaining animals were dropped off by owners who are not able to take care of their pets right now, and heard that they could.
Some pets came in sneaky ways to Houston since evacuees were not allowed to bring their pets along.
"There was Lola the Lovebird, actually transported here in her mother's bra," Sarmiento said. "Lola is a sweet little girl who is obviously well taken care of, and we were happy to be able to provide her a safe haven."
Sarmiento says the SPCA has made a long-term commitment to these animals. They are asking people who check their pets in to report back in the next 10 days. The SPCA expects it will take displaced people a while to get settled and be able to take care of their pets again.
"We just need a phone call, so we know they are planning on coming back for their pets," Sarmiento said. "We cannot hold them indefinitely though."
Some pets were not so lucky. There are TV images of a white poodle whose owner, a little boy, was forced to leave Snowball abandoned on the side of the road. But there is no confirmed word as to what happened to Snowball, Sarmiento said.
"We have heard so many rumors," Sarmiento said. "And until we see Snowball, and know for sure Snowball has been reunited, we are going to continue taking them as rumors. Right now, we are focusing on those here with us."
The following are Web sites and numbers to get more information on how you can help or how to find a lost pet:
- Houston SPCA
- petfinder.com
- Humane Society of the United States 800-486-2631
- American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 866-275-3923
- American Humane Association
- Noah's Wish 530-622-9313
- Hotline only for New Orleans residents who had to leave their pets behind: 225-578-6111
- Hotline for evacuees in Houston area that need a place to house their pets: 713-802-0555