Animals the true victims of Katrina

(9/21/05)

Another day, another sob story from New Orleans. With blame being cast around all over the place and individuals from all sides bucking their responsibility we are desperately in need of a new crusade.
With tragedies come people the media likes to call 'heroes.' The media has focused the majority of the attention on the human interest stories and, quite frankly, who gives a damn at this point. The fact of the matter is that people can read newspapers and watch television and they could have easily done something about the approaching storm. The real victims of this storm were and still are the animals who belonged to these fools.
I have a place in my heart for the well being of people, even the people of New Orleans, but my heart goes out to the animals that can't act for themselves and could not properly ready themselves for the pending disaster. When the airtime switches from the downtrodden residents of the Big Easy strolling down the street with their new Nike's and 40 ounce bottles of Olde English to the emaciated dogs and cats that belonged to these citizens, then my pulse quickens and I am fi lled with rage that anyone would abandon a family pet in such a time of crisis.
If it were the case that I suffered major brain damage and neglected to leave with a category 5 baring down on my home then I am certain that I would maintain the mental faculties to save my dog. And perhaps it is just the Pilkerton family, but the family dog commands an equal place in any family decision. It would be a cold day in hell when the pet schnauzer would have to suffer in the elements and scrounge for survival.
Instead of the bleeding hearts all over the country pouring money in to relief funds for the foolish and incompetent, we should be coaxing them to contribute to the animal relief operations functioning in New Orleans and other affected areas.
I have no time for buying backpacks for the children of stupid parents who will not be going to school for months on end, even in the best of scenarios.
When I see the signs on campus for this particular fund raiser I must admit to questioning how many DVD's or cans of beer the parents of these children will be able to fit in their new North Face backpacks.
I have been an outspoken critic of this entire disaster operation from day one and while strolling through the local market the other day my heart went out to the Humane Society booth with the proceeds rescuing the forgotten victims of Katrina. I donated what little money I had and felt what I imagine the whining masses feel when they donate a bottle opener to the depraved souls of the Crescent city The animals are truly the victims of the human stupidity in this particular event. Again, I stress that the animals could not turn on the weather channel and see the stoic Jim Cantore anchored on the shores of Louisiana proclaiming a biblical deluge on the way. These animals, faithful to their owners until the end were tragically blind sided by this terrible event and subject to the whims of their owners, who more than likely had IQ?s challenging that of their canine and feline companions.
I urge all of you to give money not to the fools who were too ignorant to get out of their own damn way, instead, if you possess the fiscal luxury of donating money to this disaster then donate the money to the animal relief efforts and the local chapters of said outfi ts.
This event, despite some of my previous statements, is a tragedy because of the human loss and the economic hit the country as a whole has taken because of Katrina. The truly innocent and defenseless were not the poor or the temporary residents of the Superdome, it was the animals who faithfully followed these fools in to the wrath of this storm.