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Some Katrina dogs still waiting for homes

Six months after Hurricane Katrina some sixty animals found their way to the Humane Society of the Nature Coast shelter in Brooksville. Six months after the storm hit, five dogs and one cat still have no owners.

By ANDREW SKERRITT
Published March 3, 2006

Fat Tuesday at the pound, and there was no Mardi Gras celebration.

No music or merriment for these dogs from New Orleans and elsewhere around the Gulf Coast.

For more than 180 days, they've seen people come to the Humane Society of the Nature Coast shelter and leave with other dogs. But they're still there, still waiting.

Sludge is a brindle boxer mix, nicknamed because when volunteers found him near New Orleans, he was so terrified he moved like sludge. He responded to the name and it stuck.

Scout is a black and white hound mix they found in a makeshift shelter in a town west of Lafayette, soon after Hurricane Rita.

Lil Shack is a hound mix who has known rejection. After she was rescued, Lil Shack was adopted, but the new owner brought her back. She'd reacted badly to a hunting trip, not surprising given what she's gone through.

"She'd make a great pet," said Humane Society director Joanne Schoch. "She's just not a hunting dog."

Rachael is a red-nosed 2-year-old pit bull terrier mix, named for one of the shelter volunteers.

Lady, a collie mix, seems named for her gentle, graceful nature.

Rachael, Lady, Scout, Lil Shack, and Sludge and a feral cat named George are among the Katrina survivors.

Disasters open hearts and wallets. Animals hurt by disaster open hearts even wider.

After the hurricane blistered the Gulf Coast, about 15,000 animals - horses, dogs, cats, livestock, domesticated birds and snakes - were rescued by more than 300 animal rescue groups from more than 40 states.

Volunteers from Hernando County made at least three animal rescue trips to the devastated area. They found animals in makeshift shelters scattered outside New Orleans and elsewhere. Sixty animals - mostly dogs and some cats - ended up at the no-kill Brooksville shelter.

Once the animals were fed, cleaned up and treated for their ailments, placing each animal was supposed to be easy.

More than 150 families had signed up to serve as foster families to four-legged Katrina evacuees.

But when volunteers started calling those who signed up to see if they were interested in adopting, they heard a different tune, Schoch said.

Don't you have any Chihuahuas or Shihi Tzus?

Many prospective adopters were looking for lap dogs. Some folks didn't just want Katrina dogs, they wanted Katrina show dogs.

So six months later, of the 60 animals rescued and brought to Hernando, on Tuesday afternoon there were five dogs and a cat.

Four other dogs - all boxers - are living temporarily with foster families. They should have been adopted already, Schoch said, but each person who came forward had cats. These boxers are cat aggressive.

These are animals that are going to need love and more than a little patience. Just ask anyone who has been around people displaced by a natural disaster.

These dogs also need families who understand they will need time to readjust to home life, being somebody's pet again. Even dogs struggle with abandonment issues.

Katrina dogs are desperate for love. Just ask David O'Shea.

Less than an hour after I first met Lady, she charmed O'Shea into taking her home.

A month ago, O'Shea lost Bullet, his dog of more than 16 years. Age and sickness killed Bullet. He's now buried in O'Shea's back yard in Spring Hill.

After grieving, O'Shea drove to the Wiscon Road shelter. It was closed for the day, but he went in anyway. Then he saw Lady. She reminded him of a dog he had a long time ago. He picked her immediately.

Lady still needs more heartworm treatment, but she'll soon be running around strong and healthy.

O'Shea turns 83 this month. He hopes to share many years with Lady.

His Katrina Lady.

Andrew Skerritt can be reached at 813 909-4602 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 4602. His e-mail address is askerritt@sptimes.com

To adopt Katrina animals, call the Humane Society of the Nature Coast at (352) 796-2711.

[Last modified March 3, 2006, 02:15:34]