Lucky dogs rescued after Katrina- now Haiti
by Dogasaur on February 5, 2010
By Sharon L. Peters Special for, USA TODAY
The dogs, Deiter, a dachshund, and Bella, a dachshund/Lab mix, had been abandoned by separate owners in New Orleans after Katrina. They had been in Haiti for three years with the couple who adopted them in Louisiana: artist Paul Fowler and AIDS relief administrator Christine Duchatellier Fowler.
After the earthquake, the couple, her sister, their 7-month-old daughter and the two dogs made a three-day trek through the rubble to the U.S. Embassy. The humans were flown out on a C-17; the dogs weren’t allowed on and were left with a friend.
“It was so painful” to leave the dogs behind, Paul Fowler says. “When we adopted, we promised them and we promised Best Friends (the organization that arranged the adoption) that these dogs would never be left behind again.”
The Humane Society of the United States was contacted and vowed to do what it could. Members of the animal rescue team from Humane Society International, Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association finally were permitted into Haiti over the weekend.
Hauling a trailer loaded with supplies, veterinarians roamed rural areas about two hours from Port-au-Prince, an area humanitarian workers had said would probably require early help, says Humane Society International’s Kelly O’Meara.
So far, most of the farm animals they’ve encountered seem to be in good shape, she says. But there are concerns about long-term sustainability, as well as the potential for the spread of disease. The relief efforts will “be long-term — many months, if not a year,” she says, because Haiti doesn’t have a solid humane infrastructure.
A second team, a coalition of some of the USA’s largest humane groups, headed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, got their rescue vehicle into Port-au-Prince on Monday to begin basic veterinarian work and also to set up feeding stations for the city’s huge stray-dog population.
As for Bella and Deiter, they may fly Friday to Miami from the Dominican Republic, where they landed Monday. Their family, who Fowler says “lost everything” in the quake and is staying with relatives in Florida, will collect them “with great excitement.”
A Dogasaur “Dogs in the News” repost.
What a story! It just tugged at my heart strings. There is a good book by Cathy Scott called “Pawprints of Katrina”. It gave such a clear picture of how animal rescue efforts go down after a catastrophe and the personal stories are very eye-opening. Congrats to the Fowler family on getting your dogs back. What a miracle!
Comment by mary_marg53 — February 6, 2010 @ 9:45 am
Wow, what an amazing story. Through these hard times, there are also amazing heart felt stories that comes through.
Comment by Happy — February 6, 2010 @ 9:55 pm