Bill that would require animal evacuation and New Orleans animal situation

While the Thursday, September 22 New York Times has a story on abandoned dogs running in packs in New Orleans, an Associated Press story, available on the CNN, CBS, San Francisco Gate, and some other websites, discusses a bill that would require state and local disaster preparedness plans to "include provisions for household pets and service animals." It is being sponsored by Reps. Tom Lantos, D-California, Christopher Shays, R-Connecticut, and Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts.

The AP article quotes Lantos: "I cannot help but wonder how many more people could have been saved had they been able to take their pets."

You'll find the article on line at http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/22/katrina.pets.ap/
and at
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/09/22/national/w093817D59.DTL
You can respond with a letter to the San Francisco Chronicle: letters [at] sfchronicle.com

I will forward more information on the bill when I have it.

The September 22 New York Times article (p 26) is headed, "Workers Trying to Rescue Pets Abandoned in New Orleans." It describes packs of dogs in New Orleans:
"They roam this city gaunt and uncomprehending, at turns frightened and menacing, loping directionless between ruined buildings, drinking the muck, staring at cars, waiting to die. They are omnipresent. A week ago, their self-appointed rescuers spoke of the odds of rejoining them as pets to masters, but that talk has ended. Now these dogs make for an infestation, untold thousands unwell, unrestrained, unrecognizable and left to their devices. "

We read:
"More than 400 rescuers are based at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, La., 60 miles away, said Julie Morris, director of national outreach for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. With credentials from New Orleans, they enter the city to chase animals, and they have captured about 7,000. How many remain no one knows. Based on human demographics, the American Veterinary Medical Association has estimated that 50,000 to 70,000 dogs were kept as pets in New Orleans."

You can read the whole article on line and view heartbreaking photos at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/22/national/nationalspecial/22dogs.html
It presents a great opportunity for letters on the importance of animal evacuation, perhaps in support of the new bill. The New York Times takes letters at letters [at] nytimes.com

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.


(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)