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Volunteers required, save pets lives with Orleans Animal charities
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -Ghandi.
Volunteers are urgently needed in the New Orleans Louisiana area (NOLA) area NOW. You can help even if you don't have specialist skills.
Volunteers are urgently needed in the New Orleans Louisiana area (NOLA) area NOW. You can help even if you don't have specialist skills.
Teen joins New Orleans Animal Rescue Mission - If Ben aged 14 can help so can you.
There are thousands of animals that need rescuing, so more volunteers are required.
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2005/09/30/news/local/heights0930.txt
Heights teen joins animal-rescue mission
By: DOUGLAS J. GUTH Senior Staff Reporter
Volunteers from across the country are descending upon Tylertown, Mississippi, to join the Humane Society of Louisiana's effort to rescue pets stranded by Hurricane Katrina.
One of these volunteers is Cleveland Heights resident Ben Miller, 14. On Sept. 22, Ben left for Mississippi in an RV driven by Dr. Linda Mitchell of the Rainbow Vet Clinic in Cleveland Heights. This "mobile clinic" is equipped with medical supplies and other donations, explains his mother Jean.
Ben, an animal lover who has volunteered in the past with Mitchell's mobile vet unit, will be staying for a week in the small town, which is about 60 miles from New Orleans, on a tract of rural land dubbed "Camp Katrina." Ben, who is home-schooled, will assist in giving rescued animals food, refuge and emergency veterinary care.
Jean admits she is a bit nervous for Ben but is proud of her son's decision to join the mission. "This is an amazing opportunity for him," she says.
For information on how to donate to the animal rescue mission, call the Rainbow Vet Clinic at 216-291-3931.
VOLUNTEER CONTACTS
http://disaster.petfinder.com/emergency/
PET RESCUE CHARITIES THAT YOU CAN VOLUNTEER WITH
http://www.alleycat.org/katrina.html Alley Cat
http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/RESCUES/Rescue.htm Pasado Safe Haven rescues
http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=specialreports&mode=cat&catid=04061773-BDB9-396E-9001EF6EC01318A4&stid=5 Best Friends
http://www.bestfriends.org
http://www.uan.org/ears/ Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS)
http://www.noahswish.org Noah's Wish
http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pa_disaster_relief_Katrina_log American Humane
* Because there are many animals to feed, and not enough shelter space, so some animals have been fed where they are found. More Volunteer Rescuers would mean more animals will not starve to death.
NEWS October 1st 2005: WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO SAVE THESE ANIMALS IN NEW ORLEANS from Pasado Safe Haven rescuers in New Orleans:
http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/NEWS/NEWS.htm
* The "happy endings" are coming, one by one. Above, a mother and her daughter are reunited with the cat they thought for sure had died.
* Fewer animals are found alive now by our rescuers. They will stay in New Orleans for as long as it takes to find every last animal. And to help those tragically-starved animals residents will find on their own, and may not be able to afford to treat.
* Pasado Safe Haven: All of the animals we have found have needed emergency fluids, they are so dehydrated. And yet still, many remain inside houses waiting for us to come. THIS is what compels us to NOT give up.
VOLUNTEER in Louisiana to save animals.
There are thousands of animals that need rescuing, so more volunteers are required.
http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2005/09/30/news/local/heights0930.txt
Heights teen joins animal-rescue mission
By: DOUGLAS J. GUTH Senior Staff Reporter
Volunteers from across the country are descending upon Tylertown, Mississippi, to join the Humane Society of Louisiana's effort to rescue pets stranded by Hurricane Katrina.
One of these volunteers is Cleveland Heights resident Ben Miller, 14. On Sept. 22, Ben left for Mississippi in an RV driven by Dr. Linda Mitchell of the Rainbow Vet Clinic in Cleveland Heights. This "mobile clinic" is equipped with medical supplies and other donations, explains his mother Jean.
Ben, an animal lover who has volunteered in the past with Mitchell's mobile vet unit, will be staying for a week in the small town, which is about 60 miles from New Orleans, on a tract of rural land dubbed "Camp Katrina." Ben, who is home-schooled, will assist in giving rescued animals food, refuge and emergency veterinary care.
Jean admits she is a bit nervous for Ben but is proud of her son's decision to join the mission. "This is an amazing opportunity for him," she says.
For information on how to donate to the animal rescue mission, call the Rainbow Vet Clinic at 216-291-3931.
VOLUNTEER CONTACTS
http://disaster.petfinder.com/emergency/
PET RESCUE CHARITIES THAT YOU CAN VOLUNTEER WITH
http://www.alleycat.org/katrina.html Alley Cat
http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/RESCUES/Rescue.htm Pasado Safe Haven rescues
http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=specialreports&mode=cat&catid=04061773-BDB9-396E-9001EF6EC01318A4&stid=5 Best Friends
http://www.bestfriends.org
http://www.uan.org/ears/ Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS)
http://www.noahswish.org Noah's Wish
http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pa_disaster_relief_Katrina_log American Humane
* Because there are many animals to feed, and not enough shelter space, so some animals have been fed where they are found. More Volunteer Rescuers would mean more animals will not starve to death.
NEWS October 1st 2005: WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO SAVE THESE ANIMALS IN NEW ORLEANS from Pasado Safe Haven rescuers in New Orleans:
http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/NEWS/NEWS.htm
* The "happy endings" are coming, one by one. Above, a mother and her daughter are reunited with the cat they thought for sure had died.
* Fewer animals are found alive now by our rescuers. They will stay in New Orleans for as long as it takes to find every last animal. And to help those tragically-starved animals residents will find on their own, and may not be able to afford to treat.
* Pasado Safe Haven: All of the animals we have found have needed emergency fluids, they are so dehydrated. And yet still, many remain inside houses waiting for us to come. THIS is what compels us to NOT give up.
VOLUNTEER in Louisiana to save animals.
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Many animal pet charities ask for a minimum of 5 day commitment. However, even if you are there for 2 days, you will help and can save many lives. However, check the animal rescue sites to see what you need to do before you go. You can contact informal, local grassroots feeding and rescue efforts as well for advice on how to help if you want to help through informal organizations. But any animals you find and rescue must be registered with http://www.petfinder.com . This is the family pet of an evacuee, so it is important that their family knows where they are, and that they are alive and safe.
Common Ground Relief volunteers are helping rebuild New Orleans through the grassroots efforts of locals. You can contact them if you need help on where to stay when you're rescuing pets. Community leader, matriarchal Mama Dee and her friends who work through locals and volunteers helping each other, should also be able to help you.
Mama Dee's house in the mid-city neighborhood, seventh ward of New Orleans. Mama Dee's house is in on Dorgenois by Broad and St. Bernard.
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/5692.php
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/5696.php
Naomi from Common Ground Relief can also tell you what is happening in New Orleans and how you can save pets lives.
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/5305.php
Katrina Relief Digest: S15
by Naomi Thursday, Sep. 15, 2005 at 6:09 PM
arche [at] riseup.net
Digest for S15: 1. ALGIERS FIRST TO REOPEN TO RESIDENTS 2. AIR ALGIERS 3. COMMON GROUND IN THE 9TH WARD 4. BUILDING MORE COMMON GROUND 5. PROPS AND PANS
REAL REPORTS OF KATRINA RELIEF
Updated: September 15th
Location: The Algiers community adjacent to downtown New Orleans, Louisiana
ALGIERS FIRST TO REOPEN TO RESIDENTS
Mayor Ray Nagin announced Thursday that Algiers will be the first of the communities in New Orleans to reopen to residents. While FEMA and the Red Cross will surely trumpet their efforts, the real success of Algiers belongs to those courageous community members who stayed through the storm and activist Malik Rahim who helped to catalyze the bustling Common Ground Relief effort.
Common Ground was the first on the ground relief effort of any kind in Algiers and one of the first along the Gulf Coast. The multiple success stories of Common Ground mutual aid has resulted in donations from Army personnel who wanted to see relief actually get to the community. The FEMA/Red Cross effort, bounded by razor wire, has played a poor second fiddle to the local efforts.
We anticipate an even greater need for relief support when residents begin moving back to the area. To support Common Ground, send donations to Common Ground, PO Box 3216, Gretna, LA 70054. Please pace your donations. Please no clothes or food. More information and online monetary donations will be available soon at the new action website at http://www.commongroundrelief.org.
AIR ALGIERS
Media team members have created a phenomenal communications effort here in Algiers. Today, the Common Ground Relief website came online at http://www.commongroundrelief.org. This website will be an information clearinghouse for relief activities, needed supplies and breaking news.
COMMON GROUND IN THE 9TH WARD
Volunteers with Common Ground and Get Your Act On (http://www.getyouracton.com) are now cleaning and prepping a location within the highly publicized 9th Ward for a community wellness clinic. Mobile medic teams are already on the ground in the 9th serving the residents who braved the storm.
Downtown New Orleans still remains under tight military and law enforcement control. NOPD officers have expressed their displeasure with efforts to bring relief to this part of New Orleans.
"You can't start a clinic here [the 9th Ward]. That would give people hope. My job is to make their lives as hopeless as possible so they will leave." More good will from the "official" relief effort courtesy of New Orleans Police Department.
BUILDING MORE COMMON GROUND
We are now sending out teams to other areas of the Gulf coast to perform emergency medical aid (EMA) and perform community needs assessments. From this data-gathering, we can more effectively focus community-based mutual aid efforts in these areas.
Food Not Bombs and other mutual aid workers report that some communities in areas like Slidell, Louisiana have seen virtually no aid since the hurricane hit 16 days ago! Common Ground is also working with St. Marys Church in Algiers to ascertain the community needs in the surrounding parishes that have been devastated to a greater degree than New Orleans. Veterans for Peace caravans are also reporting on communities in need.
PROPS AND PANS
PROPS!.....The People of Algiers
In a span of just fourteen days the people of Algiers have lived through Katrina, a military take over, white supremacists, and a bumbling relief effort by the behemoth beauracracies of FEMA and the Red Cross. From the vibrant energy of activist Malik Rahim to the helping hands of local residents, they have opened their homes and their lives to those outside the community and have contributed to making Algiers the first community to reopen.
PROPS!.....Veterans for Peace Chapter 116, Their Volunteers, and Michael Moore
A great partner in the Common Ground effort has been Camp Casey in Covington and Veterans For Peace(VFP) Chapter 116. This effort has been openly funded and supported by Michael Moore and his staff. VFP has brought us food, supplies, and information about other areas along the coast. For more information about Camp Casey in Covington visit http://www.michaelmoore.com.
**PAN$.....FEMA's God Squad Photo-Op
Leave it to a FEMA backed relief agency to provide the daily hiccup in what is otherwise a determined and efficient relief effort here in Algiers FEMA, the Red Cross and the military have mostly played second fiddle to Common Ground in Algiers. But after learning the Common Ground Wellness Center (a converted mosque) was in need of extra doctors and medical staff, a member of FEMA's faith-based god-squad showed up for a few hours of relief from two nurses, and a physicians assistant. "The calvary is here," the white man yelled as he climbed out of their van!
One of their photographers rushed to photograph their entrance into the clinic. About fifteen minutes later, one of their video camera crews proceeded to set up in the clinic area despite the signs that said "NO CAMERAS INSIDE" presumably to show the 'calvary' in action. Chaos quickly ensued and thankfully no patients were in the clinic at the time.
A quickly organized meeting of the clinic staff and the video photographer was asked to leave. And then the photographer left. And then the medical staff walked out! Hmmm, do you think they will come back tomorrow?
PAN$.....NOPD and NYPD
The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has a solid reputation... of corruption and lawlessness. Now that the Army has backed out of their community policing efforts, the state and local officials have taken their place. Among the police involved: our friends from NYPD - New York Police Department. Now, it seems like everyone and their brother had a NYPD shirt following 9/11 but their driving through Algiers in an unmarked black van openly brandishing shotguns fell short in the community relations department. Did anyone bother to tell them the only terrorists here were with the Federal government?
DON'T FORGET...
We are in desperate need of doctors, nurses, PAs, medics and support personnel in addition to basic volunteers. The more people who come to Algiers and get involved with Common Ground, the more communities can be supported by mutual aid. If you think the crisis is over, you would be mistaken. Medics are still saving lives and food and personal items are still in demand.
------------
Naomi Archer is a global justice organizer and spiritual activist from Asheville, NC working for the Common Ground relief effort in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans. She can be reached at 828.230.1404 or arche [at] riseup.net. Blog at http://www.realreports.blogspot.com/. Website at http://www.intuitivepath.org/
http://www.realreports.blogspot.com/
Please save the animals.
Common Ground Relief volunteers are helping rebuild New Orleans through the grassroots efforts of locals. You can contact them if you need help on where to stay when you're rescuing pets. Community leader, matriarchal Mama Dee and her friends who work through locals and volunteers helping each other, should also be able to help you.
Mama Dee's house in the mid-city neighborhood, seventh ward of New Orleans. Mama Dee's house is in on Dorgenois by Broad and St. Bernard.
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/5692.php
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/5696.php
Naomi from Common Ground Relief can also tell you what is happening in New Orleans and how you can save pets lives.
http://neworleans.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/5305.php
Katrina Relief Digest: S15
by Naomi Thursday, Sep. 15, 2005 at 6:09 PM
arche [at] riseup.net
Digest for S15: 1. ALGIERS FIRST TO REOPEN TO RESIDENTS 2. AIR ALGIERS 3. COMMON GROUND IN THE 9TH WARD 4. BUILDING MORE COMMON GROUND 5. PROPS AND PANS
REAL REPORTS OF KATRINA RELIEF
Updated: September 15th
Location: The Algiers community adjacent to downtown New Orleans, Louisiana
ALGIERS FIRST TO REOPEN TO RESIDENTS
Mayor Ray Nagin announced Thursday that Algiers will be the first of the communities in New Orleans to reopen to residents. While FEMA and the Red Cross will surely trumpet their efforts, the real success of Algiers belongs to those courageous community members who stayed through the storm and activist Malik Rahim who helped to catalyze the bustling Common Ground Relief effort.
Common Ground was the first on the ground relief effort of any kind in Algiers and one of the first along the Gulf Coast. The multiple success stories of Common Ground mutual aid has resulted in donations from Army personnel who wanted to see relief actually get to the community. The FEMA/Red Cross effort, bounded by razor wire, has played a poor second fiddle to the local efforts.
We anticipate an even greater need for relief support when residents begin moving back to the area. To support Common Ground, send donations to Common Ground, PO Box 3216, Gretna, LA 70054. Please pace your donations. Please no clothes or food. More information and online monetary donations will be available soon at the new action website at http://www.commongroundrelief.org.
AIR ALGIERS
Media team members have created a phenomenal communications effort here in Algiers. Today, the Common Ground Relief website came online at http://www.commongroundrelief.org. This website will be an information clearinghouse for relief activities, needed supplies and breaking news.
COMMON GROUND IN THE 9TH WARD
Volunteers with Common Ground and Get Your Act On (http://www.getyouracton.com) are now cleaning and prepping a location within the highly publicized 9th Ward for a community wellness clinic. Mobile medic teams are already on the ground in the 9th serving the residents who braved the storm.
Downtown New Orleans still remains under tight military and law enforcement control. NOPD officers have expressed their displeasure with efforts to bring relief to this part of New Orleans.
"You can't start a clinic here [the 9th Ward]. That would give people hope. My job is to make their lives as hopeless as possible so they will leave." More good will from the "official" relief effort courtesy of New Orleans Police Department.
BUILDING MORE COMMON GROUND
We are now sending out teams to other areas of the Gulf coast to perform emergency medical aid (EMA) and perform community needs assessments. From this data-gathering, we can more effectively focus community-based mutual aid efforts in these areas.
Food Not Bombs and other mutual aid workers report that some communities in areas like Slidell, Louisiana have seen virtually no aid since the hurricane hit 16 days ago! Common Ground is also working with St. Marys Church in Algiers to ascertain the community needs in the surrounding parishes that have been devastated to a greater degree than New Orleans. Veterans for Peace caravans are also reporting on communities in need.
PROPS AND PANS
PROPS!.....The People of Algiers
In a span of just fourteen days the people of Algiers have lived through Katrina, a military take over, white supremacists, and a bumbling relief effort by the behemoth beauracracies of FEMA and the Red Cross. From the vibrant energy of activist Malik Rahim to the helping hands of local residents, they have opened their homes and their lives to those outside the community and have contributed to making Algiers the first community to reopen.
PROPS!.....Veterans for Peace Chapter 116, Their Volunteers, and Michael Moore
A great partner in the Common Ground effort has been Camp Casey in Covington and Veterans For Peace(VFP) Chapter 116. This effort has been openly funded and supported by Michael Moore and his staff. VFP has brought us food, supplies, and information about other areas along the coast. For more information about Camp Casey in Covington visit http://www.michaelmoore.com.
**PAN$.....FEMA's God Squad Photo-Op
Leave it to a FEMA backed relief agency to provide the daily hiccup in what is otherwise a determined and efficient relief effort here in Algiers FEMA, the Red Cross and the military have mostly played second fiddle to Common Ground in Algiers. But after learning the Common Ground Wellness Center (a converted mosque) was in need of extra doctors and medical staff, a member of FEMA's faith-based god-squad showed up for a few hours of relief from two nurses, and a physicians assistant. "The calvary is here," the white man yelled as he climbed out of their van!
One of their photographers rushed to photograph their entrance into the clinic. About fifteen minutes later, one of their video camera crews proceeded to set up in the clinic area despite the signs that said "NO CAMERAS INSIDE" presumably to show the 'calvary' in action. Chaos quickly ensued and thankfully no patients were in the clinic at the time.
A quickly organized meeting of the clinic staff and the video photographer was asked to leave. And then the photographer left. And then the medical staff walked out! Hmmm, do you think they will come back tomorrow?
PAN$.....NOPD and NYPD
The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has a solid reputation... of corruption and lawlessness. Now that the Army has backed out of their community policing efforts, the state and local officials have taken their place. Among the police involved: our friends from NYPD - New York Police Department. Now, it seems like everyone and their brother had a NYPD shirt following 9/11 but their driving through Algiers in an unmarked black van openly brandishing shotguns fell short in the community relations department. Did anyone bother to tell them the only terrorists here were with the Federal government?
DON'T FORGET...
We are in desperate need of doctors, nurses, PAs, medics and support personnel in addition to basic volunteers. The more people who come to Algiers and get involved with Common Ground, the more communities can be supported by mutual aid. If you think the crisis is over, you would be mistaken. Medics are still saving lives and food and personal items are still in demand.
------------
Naomi Archer is a global justice organizer and spiritual activist from Asheville, NC working for the Common Ground relief effort in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans. She can be reached at 828.230.1404 or arche [at] riseup.net. Blog at http://www.realreports.blogspot.com/. Website at http://www.intuitivepath.org/
http://www.realreports.blogspot.com/
Please save the animals.
Pets are as much part of the family as humans, and for a lot of people they are their children. After his house flooded, Bobby did everything to keep his dog with him, but the authorities would not let them stay together. More pets can be saved if you help as a Volunteer with rescues in Louisiana.
After arduous search, man reunited with dog from Hurricane Katrina
By Betsy Taylor
Associated Press
10/03/2005
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- With his tail wagging nonstop and a few leaps up in excitement, Rover looked thrilled to see his owner about a month after the two were separated in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
The Labrador-Dalmation mix and his owner, Bobby Alberti, were reunited at the Humane Society of Missouri headquarters in St. Louis, about 675 miles from where they last saw each other.
"Sit, come on, sit," Alberti told Rover as cameras captured the two on Monday. "You're a movie star now."
Rover whined with apparent delight as his owner then patted his head.
"We didn't know. We didn't know if he was alive or dead," Alberti said. Alberti lost his home, his job and his car in the August hurricane, but the 59-year-old found his dog, and that brought him some real happiness.
"You've got part of your family back, really," he said.
On Aug. 29, Alberti and the dog he called his best friend lived through Hurricane Katrina, riding it out in the home Alberti had shared with his mother until she died two years ago.
When levees broke and water began to rise, Alberti donned a life jacket while Rover, well, dog-paddled to safety. They stopped to assist two people, and the three humans climbed up on a neighborhood roof.
Alberti fashioned a raft for Rover, putting the dog on a wooden fence that had broken off and was floating in the water.
Coast Guard rescuers arrived about a half-hour later and agreed to take the dog with them as they saved the people, helping to lift Rover onto the roof and then into the helicopter.
Alberti and Rover went to the University of New Orleans campus, where Alberti said he slept outside for two nights to look after his pet. But when it was time for Alberti to be evacuated again by other emergency responders, he was told the dog would not be allowed.
Alberti left the dog with another man who had his own pet and a supply of dog food with him, but couldn't believe Rover had to be left behind.
"I kind of broke down a little bit," Alberti said. "I was already down because of the house and all, and all I had left was the dog.
"I tried to walk away from him when his head was turned. I didn't want him to see I was walking away."
Alberti eventually made his way to Houston, where his sister Frances lives. She became determined to learn what became of the black dog with distinctive white markings.
She searched Internet sites, often spending as many as three hours a night e-mailing people and looking at animal photos. She and her brother twice drove for hours to a temporary animal shelter at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, La.
After spotting Rover's photo on PetHarbor.com, the Albertis ultimately learned that Rover had been evacuated, too. He was taken to the Humane Society in St. Louis by members of its disaster response team for safekeeping when the shelter in Louisiana was crowding with animals and Hurricane Rita threatened the area.
The 12-member team from Missouri rescued about 1,000 animals in the Gulf Coast after Katrina. They brought 45 animals back with them; the animals are temporarily staying in animal foster homes while work is done over 30 days to reunite them with owners.
The Humane Society of Missouri arranged for airfare, a hotel room and a rental car for Bobby and Fran Alberti to come pick up Rover. The brother and sister arrived Sunday, and that's when Bobby first got to see Rover.
On Monday, the Humane Society threw a celebration to mark the reunion, complete with a congratulatory cake bearing Rover's likeness in the frosting. The Albertis will return to Houston on Tuesday.
Frances Alberti said the hard work to find the dog was all worthwhile, and thanked God her prayers had been answered.
"I knew how much he loved that dog," she said of her brother. "I knew if we could just find that dog, it would change his attitude."
--------
On the 'Net:
Humane Society of Missouri: http://www.hsmo.org
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/0/05D105814F8B13B88625709000028798?OpenDocument
Look for missing pets, foster or adopt
http://www.petfinder.com
http://www.hsmo.org/m_animalabuse/lostfound.php
American Humane Association Announces Formation of National Emergency Animal Rescue Coalition.
read http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-03-2005/0004158497&EDATE=
Contact your Congress representative to vote for the Bill "No pet left behind":
* The Bill does not go far enough because it might only ask that officials take companion animals into account in emergencies. This is not compulsory, and could mean that pets still might not get help or stay with their families.
* Ask for the Bill to say that officials must make every effort for companion animals to be helped with their families in emergencies, and to stay with their families.
* Ask for stronger laws to stop animal cruelty, and for minimum animal welfare protections in every state.
Bobby loves Rover and would not leave him. Not everyone will find their pet, but all of the animals left helpless and who might die without humans should be saved. No other families or their family pets should have to suffer.
After arduous search, man reunited with dog from Hurricane Katrina
By Betsy Taylor
Associated Press
10/03/2005
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- With his tail wagging nonstop and a few leaps up in excitement, Rover looked thrilled to see his owner about a month after the two were separated in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
The Labrador-Dalmation mix and his owner, Bobby Alberti, were reunited at the Humane Society of Missouri headquarters in St. Louis, about 675 miles from where they last saw each other.
"Sit, come on, sit," Alberti told Rover as cameras captured the two on Monday. "You're a movie star now."
Rover whined with apparent delight as his owner then patted his head.
"We didn't know. We didn't know if he was alive or dead," Alberti said. Alberti lost his home, his job and his car in the August hurricane, but the 59-year-old found his dog, and that brought him some real happiness.
"You've got part of your family back, really," he said.
On Aug. 29, Alberti and the dog he called his best friend lived through Hurricane Katrina, riding it out in the home Alberti had shared with his mother until she died two years ago.
When levees broke and water began to rise, Alberti donned a life jacket while Rover, well, dog-paddled to safety. They stopped to assist two people, and the three humans climbed up on a neighborhood roof.
Alberti fashioned a raft for Rover, putting the dog on a wooden fence that had broken off and was floating in the water.
Coast Guard rescuers arrived about a half-hour later and agreed to take the dog with them as they saved the people, helping to lift Rover onto the roof and then into the helicopter.
Alberti and Rover went to the University of New Orleans campus, where Alberti said he slept outside for two nights to look after his pet. But when it was time for Alberti to be evacuated again by other emergency responders, he was told the dog would not be allowed.
Alberti left the dog with another man who had his own pet and a supply of dog food with him, but couldn't believe Rover had to be left behind.
"I kind of broke down a little bit," Alberti said. "I was already down because of the house and all, and all I had left was the dog.
"I tried to walk away from him when his head was turned. I didn't want him to see I was walking away."
Alberti eventually made his way to Houston, where his sister Frances lives. She became determined to learn what became of the black dog with distinctive white markings.
She searched Internet sites, often spending as many as three hours a night e-mailing people and looking at animal photos. She and her brother twice drove for hours to a temporary animal shelter at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales, La.
After spotting Rover's photo on PetHarbor.com, the Albertis ultimately learned that Rover had been evacuated, too. He was taken to the Humane Society in St. Louis by members of its disaster response team for safekeeping when the shelter in Louisiana was crowding with animals and Hurricane Rita threatened the area.
The 12-member team from Missouri rescued about 1,000 animals in the Gulf Coast after Katrina. They brought 45 animals back with them; the animals are temporarily staying in animal foster homes while work is done over 30 days to reunite them with owners.
The Humane Society of Missouri arranged for airfare, a hotel room and a rental car for Bobby and Fran Alberti to come pick up Rover. The brother and sister arrived Sunday, and that's when Bobby first got to see Rover.
On Monday, the Humane Society threw a celebration to mark the reunion, complete with a congratulatory cake bearing Rover's likeness in the frosting. The Albertis will return to Houston on Tuesday.
Frances Alberti said the hard work to find the dog was all worthwhile, and thanked God her prayers had been answered.
"I knew how much he loved that dog," she said of her brother. "I knew if we could just find that dog, it would change his attitude."
--------
On the 'Net:
Humane Society of Missouri: http://www.hsmo.org
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/0/05D105814F8B13B88625709000028798?OpenDocument
Look for missing pets, foster or adopt
http://www.petfinder.com
http://www.hsmo.org/m_animalabuse/lostfound.php
American Humane Association Announces Formation of National Emergency Animal Rescue Coalition.
read http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-03-2005/0004158497&EDATE=
Contact your Congress representative to vote for the Bill "No pet left behind":
* The Bill does not go far enough because it might only ask that officials take companion animals into account in emergencies. This is not compulsory, and could mean that pets still might not get help or stay with their families.
* Ask for the Bill to say that officials must make every effort for companion animals to be helped with their families in emergencies, and to stay with their families.
* Ask for stronger laws to stop animal cruelty, and for minimum animal welfare protections in every state.
Bobby loves Rover and would not leave him. Not everyone will find their pet, but all of the animals left helpless and who might die without humans should be saved. No other families or their family pets should have to suffer.
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