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Owner finds forgotten dog

Buster's owner accidentally left him behind as she fled Katrina. But a Web site led her to Buster's rescuer in Tarpon Springs.

By MEGAN SCOTT
Published September 29, 2005

TARPON SPRINGS - She thought she would be gone only a couple of days.

So when Mildred Thornton realized that she had forgotten her dog, Buster, after she had already driven away from her east New Orleans home, she didn't panic.

"My house is on blocks, so the water doesn't come up," said Thornton, 39, a social worker. "I left with two days of clothes, thinking I would be back in a couple of days. I had food and water out for him."

Thornton never made it back home. Instead, she ended up in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

She thought she would never see her 3-year-old poodle again.

But Buster survived Hurricane Katrina, one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit the United States . He was rescued by a Tarpon Springs woman, and in a few days, thanks to a pet adoption Web site, he and Thornton will be reunited.

"It is a miracle," said Thornton, a married mother of two. "I didn't know whether he was dead or alive. I had heard on the news they were rescuing animals. I was praying that if someone just got him out ... "

Someone did.

Nancy Dively, who lives in Tarpon Springs, found Buster at an intake shelter in New Orleans. She was on a rescue mission with the Louisiana Humane Society and went in a convoy from Tylertown, Miss., to New Orleans to rescue animals.

He had a tag around his neck: Buster Thornton, with an address.

"Buster was well-kept," Dively said. "You could tell he was someone's pet. He just looked so lonely and afraid. He was so small."

Dively, 53, a Realtor, returned to Tarpon Springs on Sept. 17 with Buster and two other small dogs.

She put his name, address and picture on www.petfinder.com a pet adoption Web site.

A week and several phone calls later, she was talking to Thornton.

"It was like learning another member of my family was okay," said Thornton. "I literally started crying. Words I can't even describe. I was just overwhelmed."

Connie Brooks, director of operations for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Pinellas County, said reunions such as these are becoming more common, mainly because of pet adoption Web sites.

The site, along with word of mouth, has helped more than 100 pet owners in Hattiesburg, Miss., find their animals, said Brooks.

On Wednesday, she brought 54 animals from the shelte r to Pinellas County. They had all been registered on the Web site and microchipped.

"Our first and main mission is to reunite the pets with their owners," she said.

Many pet owners who were affected by Katrina don't have the means to provide for their animals, said Betty Hughes, who is with the Animal Refuge Center in Fort Myers.

She directed a mission to the Gulf Coast and brought back 31 dogs and 18 cats.

"Sadly, thousands of animals are being relinquished because people have nothing to go back to," she said. "They have few financial means, and they are surrendering their pets."

Hughes said Katrina had a devastating effect on animals.

She said the pets' foster families report that the animals are afraid of loud noises and swimming pools and suffer from separation anxiety.

"They are not sleeping at night," she said. "They want to be in bed with the foster parents. It's really heartbreaking what these little guys are acting like."

Buster has bounced back, said Dively.

She said she wants to travel with him to Omaha, Neb., where he will be reunited with Thornton.

Thornton doesn't have the money to fly to Tampa. And she is not sure when she will go back to New Orleans.

"I am trying to explore avenues, like if someone would donate a ticket," said Dively. "At least they know he's safe."

Thornton said she lost everything in Katrina. She has been on the local news in Iowa asking for clothing. She was also in the local newspaper, where she begged anyone who found Buster to contact her.

Thornton, who purchased Buster nearly three years ago after seeing an ad in a newspaper, said the dog went almost everywhere with her, barking at her feet whenever she got up to leave.

But the day she left New Orleans, he was quiet - lying in his bed, a ball of calm before the storm.

She still can't believe she forgot him in the rush to leave.

"Every time I think about getting Buster, my heart just beats faster," said Thornton. "I just want to see him and have him in my arms."

--Megan Scott can be reached at 445-4167 or mscott@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 29, 2005, 01:19:16]