Update on "A Dog's Tale" and introducing the "Lost but still loved" series

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Volume 5, Issue 11, November 2006

Update on Cajun and introducing the "Lost but still loved" series

Kristin M. Thomas
Senior Writer
Capital City Free Press

In the April 2006 edition of the Capital City Free Press I introduced you to Hurricane Katrina canine survivor Cajun in a column titled, “Hurricane Katrina Survival: A Dog’s Tale.” Prior to the April edition I had unsuccessfully searched for Cajun’s original owners. After the first of the year, there was a rush to adopt these animals and because of this pressure to adopt him, I chose to write this column in a last ditch effort to locate his family. I never located his original owners, though I still keep an eye out for them.

He has completely healed physically and gained all of his weight back. He is an entirely different dog from the frightened and ill sack of bones and fur that came into my life just over a year ago. I spoil him rotten, as if he were my own son instead of some strangers’ dog ,and I hope that one day his original owners will see for themselves just how wonderfully Cajun is doing.

What did come out of this story were responses with bits of information that collectively told a horrifying, widespread tale. Much of it reflected a system under severe strain and in some cases fractured, but some reported unbelievably vile examples of human behavior in the face of such adversity. As I continue to delve into the subject of animal welfare in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the gravity of the events that transpired are only now starting to sink in.

In early 2006 I received a video from a source. It was the first evidence I received regarding the hateful and nefarious acts that were perpetrated in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. The video, shot by a photographer on assignment for the Dallas Morning News, shows cruel and inhumane torture and target practice leveled at pets of evacuated citizens by St. Bernard Parish officers. It was this tape that prompted my investigation into the events of a completely destroyed St. Bernard Parish in the aftermath of Katrina. This research eventually led me to the images of animal genocide at the staging areas within that county.

At the same time, I started working with displaced evacuees who were (and continue) trying to locate their pets. It was in the course of working with them that I learned of the cases of uncaring and coarse response to some pets rescued and the original owners trying to locate them. Although there are many stories of dedicated volunteers working night and day to rescue and reunite those in need, there are many stories of humane societies, nationwide, that have hindered their efforts. Several owners have had to turn to fighting these battles in a court of law because some humane societies have refused provide the information necessary to reunite them with their lost pets.

Working with the volunteers and original owners, I learned of the mass killing of rescued animals in order to make room for other, “more adoptable,” animals. Although these organizations will tell you these animals were destroyed because they were vicious and wild or in misery, it appears as though this is simply not true in many of the the cases. After looking deeper, I was unable to locate another animal that spent time with Cajun in the “biter’s section” of the Baton Rouge Humane Society. Thus far, out of all of the original owners I’ve contact (who were able to trace their dogs to the same biters section of this shelter) none of their pets made it out alive. They had been rescued only to feel the cold hard hand of death in the form of an unsympathetic human.

The only reason Cajun made it out of the biters section in Baton Rouge is because of his relationship with one of the volunteer vets working his section. She was the one who ensured his passage to the Montgomery County Humane Society in Maryland and she personally put him on the plane that flew him to me. Had it not been for this one angelic NIH worker who had gone down to provide this much needed assistance, there is very little doubt in my mind what Cajuns’ fate would have been. Although I doubt she knows it, my dog and I owe her his life and I am glad that there were people like her down there to mitigate the actions of those uncaring and unfeeling human beings who caused so much pain.

In last month's edition I wrote about Buster, another canine survivor currently lost in the system. Buster's is a story similar to those that I have heard recounted many times over. I decided to feature Buster’s story like every other column I had written but was already planning further into the future and with new direction. Within hours of our launch, Buster’s story had hit a nerve and supportive responses to the story started filtering into the Capital City Free Press mail server. My moment to pitch a new section dedicated to this very important and much overlooked topic had finally arrived.

This is the view from 30,000 feet of the events that led me to this day and although it may have been Cajun’s story that compelled the Capital City Free Press to first report on this issue, this story is about more than one dog. My wish is that this section has a two-prong effect. First, to report on this matter in a comprehensive manner, the CCFP launches this section dedicated to exposing the truth and pressuring the system into ensuring the constitutional rights of its citizens are protected. Secondly, this section provides publicity and aid to those who are still trying to navigate the system and help reunite the affected people with their lost pets, to give them back a part of their lives that is not replaceable, and seek justice for those who have been wronged by the individuals who took advantage of the power bestowed upon them during this chaotic situation.

Read the Capital City Free Press' official media release announcing the "Lost but still loved..." series here.

Cajun.
Photo/K.Thomas, CCFP