From Publishers Weekly
In this mix of heartrending personal stories and practical information, the Andersons (
Angel Animals) explore why, out of 16,000 animals rescued in Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, only 3,000 were reunited with their families (many were adopted or taken into foster homes), and find the reasons in the loss of records, the chaotic conditions evacuees faced and euthanizing of unclaimed pets by some shelters. Directed to leave their pets behind when Katrina was bearing down and denied entry to Red Cross shelters with their animals, many residents waited out the storm at home rather than abandon their pets. The authors focus on three major organizations (the ASPCA, the American Humane Association and the Humane Society of the U.S.) that, buttressed by volunteers from all over the country, played a key role in saving animal lives. Believing that domesticated pets are family members and that by helping them one is also helping people, the Andersons detail what has been learned from Katrina and provide instructions for readers in the event that they face an evacuation. The authors stress that owners must take primary responsibility for their pets and that rescue volunteers should be properly trained. The Andersons can be saccharine, but their advice is well taken. 16 pages of color photos.
(Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
The volunteers who waded into the devastation left in Hurricane Katrina's wake came in all sizes and shapes and redefined our notion of
hero. Many of these unlikely champions scooped endless shovels of poop, distributed truckloads of food and clean water, and provided comfort and kindness to animals whose world had blown apart. They worked against Brobdingnagian odds: hundreds of thousands of frightened, starving animals owners were forced to leave behind and little space in which to care for the abandoned pets. Allen and Linda Anderson extensively interviewed the men and women who came to rescue four-legged, finned, and feathered victims of Katrina. The result is a treatise full of practical suggestions for dealing with stranded animals, meeting their housing and medical needs, and, ultimately, reuniting them with their owners. Aftermath stories will change public policy, and every pet owner should read the Andersons' book and develop their own private plan for the safety of their nonhuman companions.
Pamela CrosslandCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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