New York Newsday, Page
A41, Wednesday, September 14 2005
Shameful policy caused many pets' deaths
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."
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 anxious about 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 animals, 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 and did not
have to 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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