An animal shelter worker in Marin County says to National Geographic, "Given all the media attention, it won't take long to find new homes for Katrina pets. It often makes us think, Boy, wouldn't it be nice if we could say that about all the animals in the shelter."
So Katrina pets are a reflection of the overall Katrina rebuilding effort and its impact on other chartiable activities. Some 12,000 pets in 300 shelters in 40 states might bring home the huge scale of the human displacement and the effect it continues to have on lives, livelihoods and human service charities.
The Washington Post takes note of efforts to include planning for pet evacuation as part of disaster preparation, especially since people staying behind to be with pets were a significant complicating factor during Katrina. It could be that our love of pets could get the US to take disaster preparation more seriously.
And in the hurricane zone itself, there is a population boom in puppies as abandoned animals continue to roam free and do their thing. Another unanticipated consequence that is straining the charity infrastructure.
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