Not a Fit Night for Man Nor Beast
Hurricane Katrina was a devastating catastrophe, with loss of life and home affecting many in New Orleans and elsewhere in the region. The continuing toll is enormous, and whether New Orleans will ever recover to any substantial degree is still uncertain -- the effects of the storm linger to this day.
A "human interest" tale of one of the Katrina aftereffects was told in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Tug-of-war erupts over Katrina pets, but the damage inflicted in this case is wholly man-made. As the story notes:
Sheila Combs lost nearly everything in Hurricane Katrina: her home, her possessions, her job and - what really broke her heart - her 2-year-old mutt, Rocket.Combs assumed that the chow-Finnish Spitz mix had died after she, her mother and her 9-year-old son were evacuated from New Orleans to the Houston Astrodome.
So it seemed to be a miracle last month when a volunteer group seeking to reunite Katrina pets with their masters discovered Rocket alive and flourishing in Doylestown.
Except that the pooch isn't Rocket anymore - he's Rusty. And his new owners have no intention of giving him back.
The resulting tug-of-war is among dozens of cases nationwide in which allegations of class bias have been raised by Katrina survivors attempting to reclaim beloved pets from the Good Samaritans who took them in.
"It's almost entirely a movement of animals from poor blacks to middle-class whites," said Steven Wise, a Florida animal-rights lawyer involved in several custody battles.
* * * *
Wise . . . said it's hard to understand why the animals aren't being turned over.
"These people lost everything," Wise said of the hurricane victims. "The only thing they have is their family, and these dogs are their family."
In the stories after the storm, I remember reading about people being forced to leave their pets and the pain it caused many. Some people didn't want to leave their homes because they couldn't take their pets with them. Most shelters would not permit pets, so the evacuees were forced to abandon their pets.
To learn that some of the "Good Samaritans" who took in rescued pets are now depriving these people, who have lost all, one more thing of value to them -- their beloved pets -- is disheartening. They should be ashamed and embarrassed by their cruel, selfish behavior. But of course that is not the case. Rather than turning inward, they blame the victim, and try to excuse and justify their conduct by judging the victim as someone who is not deserving. No doubt good Christians all.
Put this under example #3451 of "man's inhumanity to man." See e.g.,RIP, GOP (An Exhortation).
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