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Within
48-hours after 9/11, I spoke with a search-and-rescue dog
handler via cell phone as he described details of what was he
was finding in the mountain of debris once called the World
Trade Center. I cried as I spoke with him. Most of what he said
was too graphically horrific to print.
I once arrived on the scene with a police
investigator just hours after an organized dog fight had taken
place in a Chicago back alley garage. We found paraphernalia
from the gang bangers who called themselves 'dog trainers.' It
didn't take much imagination to envision the torture that went
on. Most of what I saw was too graphically horrific to print.
I covered the horrific practice of dumping unwanted
pets into bins under cover of darkness, as you might drop a book
you return to the library. Dogs were dumped into one bin, and
cats and small dogs into another. The conditions in the bins
were too graphically horrific to print.
If they were lucky, the pets were picked up by the
so-called shelter in Murphreesboro, Tenn., the next day. My
column brought national attention to the problem, which
ultimately led to the closing of these pet dumps.
I've written this weekly syndicated column (and a weekly
question-and-answer column for Tribune Media Services) for over
a decade. I've covered it all, or thought I had, until last
week.
After Hurricane Katrina, some residents of St.
Bernard Parish in New Orleans evacuated to local schools, as
they were told to do. Others were rescued from rooftops after
the floods and delivered to the schools. As I've suggested, and
animal welfare organizations have strongly urged, many
residents brought their pets with them.
With no electricity or water at the schools, some
residents were moved to barges, where medical care was also
available. Local officials and police insisted they absolutely
could not bring their pets.
Not given an option, they left behind whatever food
they had - human and pet food - for their beloved animals. And
for reasons still to be explained, they wrote cryptic messages
on blackboards and walls, such as, "Please don't
shoot my pet." It was eerie proof they had reason to believe
something awful was about to happen.
In all, more than 30 and perhaps up to 40 dogs, as
well as several cats and at least one parrot and a ferret were
found killed at the schools, many animals lying in pools of
their own blood. It's clear the animals were shot; ammunition
was found on the scene. Some dogs appeared to have first been
tortured with Venetian blind ropes found wound around their
necks. The explicit details were too graphically horrific to
print.
One unnamed source from a New Orleans animal shelter
told me that no matter who was responsible for the slaughter,
"The mentality here and in many places in America isn't what it
is in large urban areas. For many people here, shooting a deer,
shooting a rabbit, shooting a dog, it's all the same. They truly
don't understand how people can share their lives, let alone
their beds, with their animals. After all, they are just
animals."
Well, they may be "just" animals, whatever that
means. But it's clear the people who left their pets at the
schools in New Orleans didn't leave them by choice. For one
thing, as it turned out, pets were allowed on the barges.
Dana Palmer, a volunteer pet rescuer from Grayslake,
Ill., says those who left their animals behind are feeling "an
overwhelming sense of guilt in addition to grieving for their
senselessly murdered pets."
America witnessed how thousands of people refused to
evacuate New Orleans because there was nowhere to go with their
animals. Instead, they remained behind, risking their own lives.
As Hurricane Rita approached Houston and
nearby cities, it became abundantly clear that when at least
some provisions were made for families to evacuate with their
pets, the number of people leaving dramatically increased.
Long touted for being pet friendly, when Florida was
threatened by Hurricane Wilma, officials may have been more
organized and accommodating than those in Louisiana, but there's
still a long way to go. When asked about evacuation provisions
for people with pets as Wilma approached, one mayor said animals
weren't allowed inside the shelters. But she cheerfully pointed
out that the pets would be fine, as vet offices and kennels
would pick up the slack.
This mayor didn't have a clue. First and foremost,
people don't want to be separated from their animals. End of
story.
Anyway, encouraging vet offices and kennels to take
animals also encourages veterinarians, kennel workers and their
staffs to jeopardize their own safety by staying behind. How
does this help? What's more, most vet offices aren't no more
impervious to hurricane damage than an average home.
What's interesting is how divided America has
become. There are clearly people who understand the human/animal
bond, and those who don't. I've received countless emails
and letters on these topics referring to "animal people like
us." Well, I don't buy it. There shouldn't be a distinction
between animal people and those who aren't. Issues concerning
animal welfare are really about human welfare.
What happened to those pets in St. Bernard Parish
schools was animal abuse, which is a felony. Dog fighting is
also a felony. Scientists have proven that animal abuse is
linked to acts of violence toward people. Doing nothing
about acts of violence against animals begets further violence
toward people.
Similarly, it's wise to allow people to hold on to
their pets during a disaster; for many, it's the only thing they
have to hold on to. No matter, it's the humane thing to do.
A lot has changed since I began writing this column,
but here's something I said in one of my first columns. Ten
years later, it's time to repeat it: If we can be more humane
toward animals, and learn to listen to them, at least there's a
chance that along the way, we can become humane toward one
another, and learn to listen to one another. With listening
comes respect, and with respect follows a celebration of our
differences. Just because we're more powerful and can abuse
doesn't give us the right to.
I'm weary of covering stories filled with details to
graphically horrific to print. Maybe one day, reporters won't
need to worry about that. Maybe we can become more humane.
There's a greater enemy out there, and if events from
this past year, such as the hurricanes, tsunami and earthquake,
haven't humbled us, perhaps nothing will. |
