Pawprints of Katrina: Pets Saved and Lessons Learned

After Hurricane Katrina hit, animal rescuers found this handwritten note taped to an apartment door in a building from which residents had been forced to evacuate without their pets:

Our names are Fifi and Cici. We are both cats, one boy, one girl.

Please take us to a shelter. Our doctors are located at the Cat Practice.

If you find us, we are in the restroom. We have enough food to last us 5 days.

Please contact our parents, Daryl and Tasha, who love and adore us very much, at [and the phone numbers were given].

Please, we need your help!

Volunteer rescuers found the note and the cats a week later. Even though it was 11:00 at night, they called the number. Through her sobs, a grateful Tasha said, "It's my birthday. It couldn't be a more perfect gift."

As this book details, most people did everything they could to give their beloved pets a chance to survive in the chaos after Katrina. Thanks to the efforts of organizations and volunteers from all over the country, it's estimated that approximately 15,000 animals were rescued.

The staff and volunteers at the animal refuge facilities set up by Best Friends Animal Societyhelped to rescue between 5,000 and 7,000 terrified, abandoned animals and reunited some 1,500 pets with their people, most of whom had lost everything. This book details the rescues, the nonstop care given at the shelters, the reunions, the adoptions, the triumphs, and the tragedies. It celebrates the powerful bonds between pets and their people and those that develop between strangers who despite all kinds of obstacles, share an unwavering commitment to a common cause.

In addition to Fifi and Cici, you'll read about:

Himie, a Rottweiler found with a plastic bottle attached to his collar holding a note and his eye medicine; Himie was reunited with his owner

Tenderfoot, a Black Labrador puppy whose foot pads were burned off by the toxic sludge; he was treated for weeks and adopted

Bubba, a longhaired gray cat whose displaced owner drove for ten hours in a rented car to retrieve his cat—all he had left after Katrina

Red, a partially paralyzed Staffordshire Terrier who was hospitalized for about three months, fitted with a "wheelchair," and eventually adopted

And many more ...

The lessons learned resulted in a Law Protecting our beloved pets.

Just weeks before the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in August 2006, the plight of thousands of New Orleans residents and their pets led to a new federal law—the Pets Evacuation and Transporta-tion Standards (Pets) Act—that requires local and state governments to include household pets in their evacuation plans. It also provides federal funding for pet-friendly refugee shelters. Because of the dire experiences of Hurricane Katrina, animal owners will not have to choose between saving their own lives or remaining in a disaster-ravaged area with their pets, only to have to abandon the pets later.

—From Pawprints of Katrina

A veteran journalist, Scott's work has appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Post, and she is the author of five previous books. At the request of the Utah-based Best Friends Animal Society, Scott traveled to New Orleans to document the plight of pets displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Animal lovers and activists will appreciate Scott's moving account of the post-Katrina efforts of the Best Friends Animal Society staff and volunteers, as they worked exhaustively to reconnect some 600 pets with their original owners and to organize foster homes and permanent adoptions for some 6,000 others. Illustrated with b&w and color photographs. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"This is an unforgettable account of the courage and boundless energy of people who realize that we human beings have an absolute obligation to help the other creatures of this planet.... I love this book!"

—Ali MacGraw, Actress and Animal Activist

"Hopefully, lots of lessons were learned as a result of Katrina, and reminding us of these lessons is good. Warning: Tissue is required for this reading, though the book abounds in happy endings."

—Steve Dale, Tribune Media Services; (From Steve Dale's syndicated column My Pet World)

"Americans were outraged to see people being forced to abandon their family pets. As Congress rushed to pass new laws, and volunteers raced to New Orleans to help, Hurricane Katrina changed the face of animal welfare forever. This is a story of pure, unconditional love in the face of unimagined suffering."

—Michael Mountain, President and Cofounder; Best Friends Animal Society

Pawprints of Katrina Will Leave Pawprints on Your Heart

You probably vividly remember the animal rescues you saw on television in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Veteran reporter and lifelong animal lover Cathy Scott covered the stories straight from the muck, the rubble, and a makeshift shelter. She witnessed dramatic rescues and joyful reunions firsthand. This book shares Cathy's stories and insight, poignantphotographs from Clay Myers, and follow-up information about the animals today. Heartbreaking and heartwarming, it conveys the depth of the tragedy; more importantly, it celebrates the indomitable spirit of the volunteers who refused to give up, the determined pets who survived, and the owners (original and adoptive) who love these animals today.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many animals had to fend for themselves because their owners lost them or were unable to care for them. In Pawprints of Katrina: Pets Saved and Lessons Learned, Cathy Scott documents her experience working with the Best Friends Animal Society triage center to rescue lost animals and reunite them with their owners. Over two hundred stories with accompanying photos describe dramatic and challenging rescue cases with details about the rescues, the examinations, treatment, and follow-up care by the selfless volunteers who worked to save beloved best friends.

Cathy Scott traveled to New Orleans at the request of Best Friends Animal Society to document the plight of pets displaced by Hurricane Katrina. She quickly became a rescuer as well as a reporter. Scott's work has appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Las Vegas Sun, George magazine, and Reuters News Service.

Foreword.

Preface.

1 The Water.

2 Poodle on the Rooftop.

3 The American Can Company.

4 Base Camp.

5 On the Ground.

6 Message in a Bottle.

7 Knock, Knock, Knocking on Heaven's Door.

8 It Takes Two to Make a Miracle.

9 The Faces of the Volunteers.

10 Red Gets His Wheels.

11 Fifteen Minutes to Fame.

12 The Twister Sisters.

13 Other Homeless Critters.

14 Animal Mug Shots.

15 Reunions.

16 A Dog Named Angel.

17 Putting Haley First.

18 Over the Rainbow Bridge.

19 Picking Up the Pieces.

20 Lessons Learned.

Appendix: Pet Disaster Preparedness.

Acknowledgments.

Index.