Not Without My Dog

I am happy to say that there are some wonderful doggie mommies and daddies out there that refuse to abandon their furry family members. There are also many people and pet product companies that have made wonderful donations to help animals affected by Katrina:

Not without my dog In the desperate race to pull human survivors out of the flood, rescuers haven't been able to accommodate pets. Some people have refused to leave without them.

"When this thing happened, everybody was shooting at everybody. The only thing I trusted was my dogs. I'm not going to leave them," said Robert, a New Orleans man who would not give his last name.

"The government has to understand that people are not going to leave their pets," Rubin said.

"When someone won't leave their pet we try and be there at the same time so we can take it for them, so that they can be assured that they can be reunited at some point," Rubin said.

On Tuesday afternoon a man needing medical assistance held up a "fleet of ambulances" on the Interstate 10 exit to Causeway Boulevard because he refused to leave his dog, Mountain, of Best Friends, said. A nurse in the caravan called Best Friends to see if the group could help.

"By the time we got there, they had to wrench the dog from him," Mountain said. "They had a few others [dogs] as well. They tied up three of them and took off. We had the description and managed to get hold of all three."

While, many national organizations were held up at staging areas just outside the city, Best Friends had boats in the neighborhoods rescuing pets. On Saturday, with the permission of the Jefferson Parish sheriff, Best Friends workers "broke in" to a pet store and saved about 140 pets -- from hamsters to snakes to tarantulas to birds -- Mountain said.

Donations and help
Organizations involved in the rescue have gotten support in the form of donations of money, pet food and medical supplies.

COLLAR FOR A CAUSE
Want to help? Buy a Humane Society dog "CauseCollar." The blue and brown collar is fashioned after popular "message" bracelets for people. The slogan on the collar reads "Be Kind" and costs $3.

Source: Humane Society of the United States "We've got stuff that was shipped in from well-wishers from all over the country," Mountain said. "Yesterday we got a pile of blankets that ran 15 feet high."

Nestle Purina PetCare shipped more than 33 tons of dog and cat food to the affected areas, spokesman Keith Schopp said.

"We are actually right now putting another donation together that will be coordinated through Louisiana State University," he said.

With supply needs met, agencies like the ASPCA and the Humane Society are turning their attention to the long-term needs of housing the displaced animals. Many shelters in the New Orleans area were destroyed by the hurricane or the flood that followed. They will need rebuilding.

"The best thing that people can do right now is donate dollars and let us buy what we need as we need it, Sullivan said.