Friday, September 09, 2005

Leave without my dogs? Never!

Today's New York Times has a photo of a woman crying because she's being evacuated from New Orleans and separated from her dog (the dog is with her in the photo). I just can't imagine that. How horrible!

I'm not at all prone to violence. As someone who once carried a gun as part of his job, I'm happy to say I was also someone who fervently hoped he'd never have to use it (and I never did outside of a practice range). I haven't gotten in a fistfight since grade school. Violence just isn't my thing.

Even so, one thing that might bring out physical violence in me (aside from a threat to Marc or any of the rest of my human family) is saying I have to leave my home and abandon my dogs. What a thought!

I know there are problems evacuating people. I know the scale of human tragedy is staggering in the wake of the hurricane. Even so, how can the authorities be so cruel to people? How is this possible in a civilized society?

I don't limit this to dog owners. Cats and other pets count, too. How can it be acceptable to tell people who are already victims of a terrible tragedy that they must abandon living things?--living things they love! Horrible. Truly horrible.

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I don't know how many people will be reunited with their beloved animals, but one way to help the animals directly is to give to the Humane Society of the United States. I've given more to the organizations helping humans, but I set aside and sent in funds for the animals, too. If you're interested, you can help by going here and clicking on the "Donate" link. Don't waste time. They need our help now!

5 comments:

CoffeeDog said...

Ack the pet thing, I could never leave my dog. I make plans around my dog in my daily life, coming home early ot maek sure he's taken care, or get up early to take him out. Taking him with us would have been a natural choice, no thinking involved except to find his favorite ball and pack some scooby snacks.

Wilde said...

God, what a horrible situation. I got so sad picturing the scenario you wrote about that I did go and make a donation, so I guess sometimes good can come out of something as awful as this...

PatCH said...

Yeesh, horrible. I could never leave my dog, either. Then again he could get into his car and probably drive away. Yes, Greg can take care of himself.

Sam said...

"As someone who once carried a gun as part of his job..."

Learn something new about you all the time! A lawyer, an HR exec, AND a gun-slinger?

Jess said...

PatCH: you do like to live dangerously, don't you? Poor Greg!

Sam: Gunslinger? Nah. It ties in to the lawyer part. I was a Deputy County Attorney at the time. We were receiving death threats, so the police department quickly issued me a license to carry a concealed weapon, and I got myself a gun. I’d been target shooting before, so it wasn’t foreign to me. So for a while, I was going to work with a handgun hidden in a holster under my jacket.