miakoda
09-10-2005, 11:24 AM
After reading several posts on this forum & some from another forum, I have come to realize that most people would stick it out with their pets no matter the conditions. But I also want to bring up another aspect to this problem.
Thousands upon thousands of people lost their pets during Hurricane Katrina. And while we all say we would've stayed with ours no matter what, many others who also felt this way in the end, could not. I want to bring to light that just because some could not stay, it doesn't mean they loved their animals any less than you or I do. I lost some of my dogs when an oak tree came crashing down onto a portion of my house where several dogs were resting in their kennels. I did all I could to protect them. Mother Nature just goes by her own rules.
However, many of us know someone else who lost everything, not because she deserted her pets or let them down, but only because she had to think as a mother & as a wife. When you are presented with only 24 hours to get EVERYTHING you love & cherish out of your home & to a safe place, it's usually not feasible. More like impossible. Several people were forced to think as husbands, as wives & as fathers & mothers to save themselves & their children from certain death. Can you honestly say what you would do when you have almost no time & definitely no places to get your animals out so you & your family stay with them, only to be faced with Category 5 hurricane & a poss 30 ft. storm surge (which easily reached 25ft in actuality)? Looking at the distraught & frightened faces of your children, can you honestly say you would've turned the other way & stuck in out knowing that y'alls chances of survival are slim?
Several people had to make a split-second decision to get their children to safety no matter the cost. However that cost included the lives of animals. Does this make them bad people? No. Most certainly not.
But most of these people are being shunned by their fellow peers & once though friends b/c they had to make a choice b/n their lives & the lives of their pets. We don't have children yet, & no matter how hard the decision would be, I could never EVER put a child's life at risk of certain death all in the small hope of a miracle that all would be spared. That's just the way it is.
It's come to my attention that Diane Jessup is once again tooting her own horn & bringing her wrath down upon victims of this hurricane for leaving pets behind. She says we saw this coming weeks in advance. But she is wrong! (what a surprise). While she sits upon her self-given throne up there in Washington State, she's chosen to not acknowledge the FACT that LA & MS were in no danger of this storm until 2 days before it hit! The storm suddenly shifted & gained strenght in a whole new way that had been predicted. What she also doesn't understand is that people only had less than 18hrs to get things out of their homes before contraflow began. Contraflow is where interstates are used to provide only 1-way access out of the evacuating areas. Once you leave your home, that's it. You cannot go back. Contraflow began the Sat. night before the storm.
It pisses me off greatly to hear Jessup (& her croonies) state that people (Whiskey in particular) are at fault for basically "murdering" their own animals! Where the hell was she when it came to opening up homes to evacuating people & animals? Where was she in the fight to persuade hotels to allow a family & their pit bull to take up shelter there? Where was she in donating trucks & trailers to go help evacuate animals? NOWHERE! I'm sick & tired of people like her speaking out that the VICTIMS of the hurricane are at fault for losing everything they had! The truth is, there was no time! There was no way! And there was not 1 hotel that would allow pit bulls to stay there!
So anyone who feels as she does, go do humanity a favor & jump off a bridge! She & others like her are a disgrace not only to the breed but to mankind itself! (feel free to crosspost to bring this to her & others attention!)
We need to embrace the victims of Hurrican Katrina, not push them further into a hole of despair. Many are committing suicide b/c they see no compassion & kindness from others about their situation. That should not be happening!
I asking, begging, that everyone one of you try to find 1 person to help & do what you can to help them! This does not mean you have to donate money if you're not financially able to do so. This means offer a kind ear for someone to talk to. Write letters to anonymous people in shelters just stating that you care for them & can see the pain they're going though & that you will do what you can to make things a little bit easier. Send books to the children. Write a letter to a child telling them that there are people they don't know out there who love them.............
I'm overcome with tears as I'm writing this. The enormity of this disaster is overcoming. There are sooooo many people hurting, but if we begin by helping one person at a time, then we are taking one step forward. And each step forward is a step towards rebuilding lives and homes & reuniting families.
Thanks for listening to my thoughts & rants. Y'all are unbelieveable people & I'm so grateful to this board & you all for all the compassion & overwhelming support. It's nothing short of amazing.
Thousands upon thousands of people lost their pets during Hurricane Katrina. And while we all say we would've stayed with ours no matter what, many others who also felt this way in the end, could not. I want to bring to light that just because some could not stay, it doesn't mean they loved their animals any less than you or I do. I lost some of my dogs when an oak tree came crashing down onto a portion of my house where several dogs were resting in their kennels. I did all I could to protect them. Mother Nature just goes by her own rules.
However, many of us know someone else who lost everything, not because she deserted her pets or let them down, but only because she had to think as a mother & as a wife. When you are presented with only 24 hours to get EVERYTHING you love & cherish out of your home & to a safe place, it's usually not feasible. More like impossible. Several people were forced to think as husbands, as wives & as fathers & mothers to save themselves & their children from certain death. Can you honestly say what you would do when you have almost no time & definitely no places to get your animals out so you & your family stay with them, only to be faced with Category 5 hurricane & a poss 30 ft. storm surge (which easily reached 25ft in actuality)? Looking at the distraught & frightened faces of your children, can you honestly say you would've turned the other way & stuck in out knowing that y'alls chances of survival are slim?
Several people had to make a split-second decision to get their children to safety no matter the cost. However that cost included the lives of animals. Does this make them bad people? No. Most certainly not.
But most of these people are being shunned by their fellow peers & once though friends b/c they had to make a choice b/n their lives & the lives of their pets. We don't have children yet, & no matter how hard the decision would be, I could never EVER put a child's life at risk of certain death all in the small hope of a miracle that all would be spared. That's just the way it is.
It's come to my attention that Diane Jessup is once again tooting her own horn & bringing her wrath down upon victims of this hurricane for leaving pets behind. She says we saw this coming weeks in advance. But she is wrong! (what a surprise). While she sits upon her self-given throne up there in Washington State, she's chosen to not acknowledge the FACT that LA & MS were in no danger of this storm until 2 days before it hit! The storm suddenly shifted & gained strenght in a whole new way that had been predicted. What she also doesn't understand is that people only had less than 18hrs to get things out of their homes before contraflow began. Contraflow is where interstates are used to provide only 1-way access out of the evacuating areas. Once you leave your home, that's it. You cannot go back. Contraflow began the Sat. night before the storm.
It pisses me off greatly to hear Jessup (& her croonies) state that people (Whiskey in particular) are at fault for basically "murdering" their own animals! Where the hell was she when it came to opening up homes to evacuating people & animals? Where was she in the fight to persuade hotels to allow a family & their pit bull to take up shelter there? Where was she in donating trucks & trailers to go help evacuate animals? NOWHERE! I'm sick & tired of people like her speaking out that the VICTIMS of the hurricane are at fault for losing everything they had! The truth is, there was no time! There was no way! And there was not 1 hotel that would allow pit bulls to stay there!
So anyone who feels as she does, go do humanity a favor & jump off a bridge! She & others like her are a disgrace not only to the breed but to mankind itself! (feel free to crosspost to bring this to her & others attention!)
We need to embrace the victims of Hurrican Katrina, not push them further into a hole of despair. Many are committing suicide b/c they see no compassion & kindness from others about their situation. That should not be happening!
I asking, begging, that everyone one of you try to find 1 person to help & do what you can to help them! This does not mean you have to donate money if you're not financially able to do so. This means offer a kind ear for someone to talk to. Write letters to anonymous people in shelters just stating that you care for them & can see the pain they're going though & that you will do what you can to make things a little bit easier. Send books to the children. Write a letter to a child telling them that there are people they don't know out there who love them.............
I'm overcome with tears as I'm writing this. The enormity of this disaster is overcoming. There are sooooo many people hurting, but if we begin by helping one person at a time, then we are taking one step forward. And each step forward is a step towards rebuilding lives and homes & reuniting families.
Thanks for listening to my thoughts & rants. Y'all are unbelieveable people & I'm so grateful to this board & you all for all the compassion & overwhelming support. It's nothing short of amazing.