The Dying Pets of NOLA *** New Action Alert!!! *** 9/22 (Graphic)

[nicknameless]

A STORY OF BETRAYAL

In the aftermath of Katrina, tens of thousands of pets were separated from their owners -- their human families -- and left to die. Those that could have and should have intervened on these pets’ behalf, have done little or nothing.

Governor Blanco has National Guard troops at her disposal. Thousands of phone calls, faxes and emails to her office, imploring her to dispatch these Guards to rescue the animals have gone ignored. Many of these troops are busy guarding property, while the animals of NOLA are dying.

Thousands more calls, faxes and emails have gone out to the White House, pleading for the Military to be assigned this life-saving duty. Again, people’s pleas have been ignored.

Some members of Congress are supporting a letter, drafted by Senators Santorum and Ensign, that points out the serious public health hazard that could be created by dead and decomposing animal carcasses, and urges that a massive pet evacuation operation be implemented. How has this affected the animal rescue effort? It hasn’t. No action has been taken.

How many pets, in St. Bernard Parish alone, have died? There were reports and even a videotape of police shooting defenseless, nonaggressive dogs. The tape also showed a weakened dog struggling to get out of the way of a police vehicle. The driver of the vehicle made no attempt to avoid the animal, running it over instead.

The St. Bernard dog is an international symbol of rescue, yet the animals of St. Bernard as well as other Parishes are largely going unrescued, and are being allowed to slowly starve to death.

Some claim that there simply aren’t guidelines for the rescue of animals in the event of a natural disaster. That claim is patently false. Local, State and Federal government policies regarding animal evacuation do exist. However, NONE of them were implemented.




POLICIES AND GUIDELINES THAT WEREN'T FOLLOWED


1. FEMA’s Animal Health Resources
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/nims/508-1_animal_health_resources.pdf
This 20-page document, lays out formal guidelines for rescuing animals and states:

“Type 1 Incident Management Team would be activated in a federally-declared disaster and/or for incidents of national significance."

Really? Where are they?



2. The City of New Orleans Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
http://tinyurl.com/9p9bw
Page 10, (Section F) of this plan instructs New Orleans' Animal Care and Control to coordinate animal rescue operations
with the New Orleans SPCA.
This was not done.



3. Louisiana’s Emergency Evacuation Guide
(Part VII)
http://www.lsp.org/evacguide.html

“If you are a pet owner, your family's disaster plan must include your pets. In the event of a disaster, if you must evacuate, the best thing you can do to protect your pets is to evacuate them too.”

Nowhere does it state that residents being evacuated will be forced to abandon their pets at gunpoint.
Yet that is what happened in many cases after Katrina.



4. Horseman’s Guide
http://lahg.net/EMERGENCY%20PAGES/evacuationsites.html
Even this resource lists evacuation shelters for horses and small animals. It also lists Emergency Managers of the LA Parishes.

“When a hurricane is threatening, contact the head of your local office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness or Civil Defense (Emergency Managers/Directors) to find out more information about options for livestock in your parish.”

Where were these “Managers”? Why were tens of thousands of animals left to die?



The following article appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on September 16th.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/16/BAGSGEOO6D1.DTL

Pet-rescue policy needed, Humane Society head says
Current rules forced owners to leave animals behind

<snip>

Both FEMA and the Coast Guard said Thursday their mandate was to preserve human life under trying circumstances. Coast Guard Cmdr. Brendan McPherson said rescuing animals was unfamiliar turf.

"In most cases the animal we come across under normal conditions ... the owner would be there," he said. "We're not trained in rescuing animals."

Both agencies said commanders of the crews on scene had the discretion to rescue animals or pass them by.

"This should not be a matter of individual acts of compassion," Pacelle said. "It should be a matter of policy."

<snip>

Beyond the misleading title of the article, representatives of both FEMA and the Coast Guard now admit that they had the *CHOICE* to rescue animals or leave them to die. After weeks of claiming that their hands were tied, that the Governor or the White House needed to give the word in order for them to take action, we now learn that they had a choice all along.

The DOD has provided some help at the behest of LA state agencies such as Dept of Agriculture and the State Vet. And caring individuals in the military have also aided the animal recovery effort. Sadly, they are but a handful, while a massive-scale evacuation is what’s needed.

Most of the pet recoveries so far have been conducted by small groups of dedicated individuals. Unfortunately these groups have run into miles of red tape, mostly put in place by the state. They have also run into “authorities,” who have frequently turned them away and prevented their access into areas where thousands of pets were slowly dying.

In the early days after Katrina hit, reporters at the scene wrote that the only sound in NOLA, was the crying and wailing of dogs and cats. Now NOLA is becoming still. This is not because the animals have been saved.

There were an estimated 50,000 abandoned pets in the area. To this date, just over 5,000 have been rescued. That leaves approximately 45,000 left behind, starving, dying unimaginably agonizing deaths. Waiting. And waiting. For rescue. And increasingly ... waiting in vain.

Finally, nearly four weeks after Katrina made landfall in New Orleans, rescuers are gaining access to the 9th ward. And they are discovering unspeakable horrors. Animals that drowned. Others that starved to death or succumbed in the scorching heat. Some, miraculously still cling to life.

These pets needn’t have suffered –- let alone died -- had those so-called “authorities,” responsible for overseeing and assuring their rescue, just done their damned jobs. Or at least, not prevented others from doing it for them.

This massive animal kill in NOLA is no less than a full-blown holocaust. And it was entirely preventable. Human beings have committed a betrayal of untold proportions against these pets.

Dogs have long been described as “man’s best friend.” Never has a friendship been revealed to be more glaringly and tragically one-sided.



ACTION TO TAKE

1. Blast the Media and demand that they report the truth instead of sanitizing the issue and airing only the feel-good fluff
and happy reunion stories. Let them know that animal evacuation policies exist, but were ignored.
The truth needs to get out, and these callous, do-nothing miscreants in charge need to be shamed into action.

Great DU media blasters can be found at the links below. If you know of others, please use them.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x22579
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x8816#8820



2. Continue calling and writing (email and fax) your Senators and your Congressional Representative, and urge them to join Senators Santorum and Ensign in this desperately needed effort. Ask that they support the letter asking the Federal Government to assist with animal rescues.



THE HEROES

Those tireless rescuers who are completely deserving of support. Below is a list of my favorites. These people run on adrenaline and a driving compassion, with almost no sleep or warm meals. Pasado just reported that two of their rescuers had to be hospitalized for dehydration, as conditions there are almost intolerable.

http://www.PasadoSafeHaven.org
http://www.BestFriends.com
http://www.iberiahumane.com
http://www.arfla.org
http://www.projectstarfish.org



The larger organizations have been raking in millions of dollars, but the small rescue groups are the ones that have been busting their butts to save every animal possible. These small groups also aren’t responsible for the snarls of red-tape that are costing animals’ lives.

Also note: LSU “lost” 8,000 lab animals to Katrina. ... Many were allowed to drown or die of starvation. The rest were euthanized.





Thank you