I am the author of "MAGGIE the Dog Who Changed My Life" and "FINAL YEARS Stories of Parent Care, Loss and Lives Changed." My hope is to increase awareness of animal intelligence, emotions, & the special relationship between humans & animals. Covers pet loss, puppy mill awareness, pet health, animal rescue, the spiritual bond between animals & humans, & their sixth sense way of reading us. Born out of my special bond with my black lab, Maggie.
MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life
Click photo to visit dawnkairns.com
Showing posts with label Hurricane Katrina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hurricane Katrina. Show all posts
"No Pets Left Behind" was the motto of the Colorado National Guard during the recent September flood rescues in and around Boulder, Colorado. I listened to the drone of helicopters for days overhead as they flew to and from, rescuing people and pets from flood ravaged towns like Lyons and Jamestown. Thank God we learned from Hurricane Katrina! My husband and I went down and volunteered after Katrina with the Humane Society of the United States at a makeshift animal shelter. Sadly, we watched people who had been painfully separated from their pets coming in to search for them. They primarily left disappointed and heart broken. Many pets were re-homed after Katrina rather than reunited with their families.
September 13 Boulder Daily Camera photo
So KUDOS to the Colorado National Guard for realizing that including pets can be the deciding factor for people to choose to leave their homes and be rescued. For recognizing that our pets are our family members. Some helicopters performing rescues carried more pets than people according to a news reports on September 20, 2013 and the Associated Press. Over 800 pets were rescued by helicopter, some even carried by zip line across raging waters. Hundreds more were rescued by ground crews.
As I watched the evacuees come off the helicopters with dogs and cats in their arms, on leashes and in kennels, I choked up at the sight, so happy we learned, so proud of Colorado. This time the Red Cross had water bowls and kennels waiting!
Click title below if you want to order my book(s):
Before Hurricane Katrina, the policy in the United States was that human life eclipsed the life of an animal. Thankfully, attitudes are changing. Today, many people consider pets to be family members.
According to a post by Megan Drake on Care2.com, the best thing to come out of Hurricane Katrina for animals was the federal Pets Evacuation and Transportation (PETS) Act, which was signed into law on October 6, 2006. PETS "requires local and state jurisdictions to take into account domestic pets and service animals when formulating and implementing disaster plans. It also gives FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) the power to deny FEMA funds to municipalities and states that do not form or implement such plans."
During Katrina many people had to be forcibly removed from their homes because they wouldn't leave their animals. Tragically, their pets were left behind to fend for themselves against the forces of nature. A huge number of Americans descended on the New Orleans and Mississippi areas to help rescue the pets that made it through. I was one of those people. Watching people who lost their pets in the hurricane come to the makeshift shelter I was volunteering at to look for their pets and not find them was a heart break. Often, these folks never saw their pets again, because even if their pet survived, by the time families came looking, chances were high that the animal had already been shipped to a shelter somewhere in the United States -- to be adopted out to someone else.
"Mine, a documentary by filmmakers Geralyn Pezanoski and Erin Essenmacher explores the journey of five Katrina dogs and their humans who searched for them in the midst of trying to pick up the pieces of lives mangled by catastrophe. The film won awards including the 2009 South by Southwest Film Festival and Independent Lens Audience Award for 2009-2010."
Pezanoski was touched by the length to which these pet parents would go to reunite with their "children" and offered to show Mine to community groups like shelters, rescue groups, and libraries. If you want to help spread Mine's message you can schedule a showing in your locale. Email: info@minethemovie.com.
"Mine's impact will educate and change attitudes about the place pets hold in our society and ultimately change laws, giving rights to animals," according to Megan Drake. "It is powerful, poignant and a must-see for anyone concerned about their own furry family members. It is also a great movie to watch as a family and will teach children about the place animals hold in our hearts and our obligation to them."
(Adapted from the Care 2 Blog)
A great resource book written by Jenny Pavlovic, author of 8 State Hurricane Kate to help ensure you don't lose your animals in a disaster is titled,Not Without My Dog.
Many of you who have read MAGGIEknow that I traveled to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina to work with the animals left behind, homeless due to the hurricane. Many animals were never reunited with their families. It was heartbreaking to witness. Many family pets were transported across the country to be adopted by new families -- a good thing on the one hand, but leaving many bonded humans and animals wondering and searching, never to see each other again.
Jenny Pavlovic also traveled to Louisiana after the disaster, coming home with Kate, the homeless cattle dog who won Jenny's heart. It was Kate and the thousands like her left behind in Katrina who were Jenny's inspiration for both 8 State Hurricane Kate, and now The Not Without My Dog Resource & Record Book. In writing her latest book, Jenny is doing all she can to be sure this kind of devastating separation between animals and their humans never happens again by creating a book that has all the information you need about your pet in one place.
Take it away, Jenny. The rest of this post comes from Jenny Pavlovic about her new book & the specials available:
"When I couldn't find the book I wanted for my dogs, I decided to make it myself. This book includes everything you need for your dog, with a records section, a resources section, and tips for understanding your dog better." -- Jenny Pavlovic, author of The Not Without My Dog Resource & Record Book and 8 State Hurricane Kate
"This book is a must-have for all dog lovers and would make a great gift. There is nothing else like it!
—Dr. Marty Becker, " America 's Veterinarian”
The Not Without My Dog Resource & Record Book is available at the special online price of $25 through April 30th (suggested retail price $28.95).
Save $12.95 when you purchase The Not Without My Dog Resource & Record Book with the award-winning 8 State Hurricane Kate: The Journey and Legacy of a Katrina Cattle Dog (usually $18.95)—buy both books for just $34.95 through April 30th.
Books are expected to ship in June. You may also donate a book to the Humane Society of Louisiana or Noah's Wish (free shipping for donated books).
Recommended by MuttShack Disaster Response Animal Rescue
For daily use, travel, and emergencies, this compact book has everything in one place. The Records section has space for vet records, plus everything someone would need to know about your dog. It also includes "Hound Bites", words of wisdom from the dogs themselves. The Resources section includes information on how to use a microchip effectively, how to prevent your dog from getting lost, how to make a disaster plan for your family and pets (with info from Noahs' Wish,), traveling with your dog, basic first aid tips, and more. Features include a hard cover, concealed wire-o binding to lay flat for writing, archive-quality pages for inserting photos, tabbed pages marking individual sections, and a sealed pocket for storing important records. And… it’s MADE IN THE U.S.A. !!
When Hurricane Katrina hit, the world was horrified by the loss of human life, the destruction, and the masses of people left stranded. And then the incomprehensible reality of all the animals left behind to die sank in. Jenny Pavlovic could not continue her everyday life without going to New Orleans to help care for the dogs left behind to drown or starve. Nor could she leave Kate, an older cattle dog that won her heart, to the fate of the system at Lamar Dixon, the large makeshift animal shelter in New Orleans. Against many odds, Jenny took Kate home to foster and care for her.
8 State Hurricane Kate touches us in so many ways. Yes, it is Jenny’s tribute to Kate, the deep spiritual connection they shared, and how she changed Jenny’s life forever. It is also a demonstration of the strength of human and canine spirit alike, and what one courageous, determined, passionate woman can do to help the dog she loved so deeply; and to then carry on Kate’s legacy by rescuing other dogs from “death row.”
I ached with Jenny’s heartbreak in the loss of her own pets and as she encountered one health and behavior obstacle after another with Kate. I am in awe of her commitment to Kate and to dog rescue. It will warm your heart to realize the behind the scenes work of “guardian angels” across the country (that Jenny is part of) whose mission is to safely transport dogs about to be euthanized into foster homes and safe shelters nationwide.
Jenny and Kate’s story will motivate readers to volunteer our own efforts to help our local homeless pets. 8 State Hurricane Kate shows that we, too, can make a difference for one animal at a time, as Jenny did for Kate, even if we can’t save them all. I love Jenny’s resource section in the back of her book; it lists rescue agencies and provides information for pet guardians to prepare for their pet’s care in the event of an emergency or disaster situation.
I am moved by Jenny Pavlovic’s incredibly huge heart, which does not stop giving when she loses Kate. She continues Kate’s legacy by her ongoing animal rescue work, which she generously funds with 50% of her book profits through the 8 State Kate Fund.
You will feel a wide range of emotions as you read this inspirational love story, from sadness and loss to faith and hope. This book makes the world aware of the tragic consequences for the animals left behind in our country’s greatest natural disaster. In writing this book, part of Jenny’s mission is to show the world what really happened, and the heart wrenching impact on the animals left behind, most of whom lost their people forever. Having gone to Mississippi myself to work with the animals following Hurricane Katrina, I thank Jenny for writing this book so the world will now know, and I pray make certain that the animals are never left behind again.
