For someone to go to the time and trouble to find a pet implies that the pet is more than "just an animal." I wouldn't think that it's new family can have developed that kind of bond in less than a year.

It probally more of a selfish wish to have one's own way than any affection for the dog. Although, I have seen dogs that I fell in love with at first snuggle, so I can sort of understand how they feel. I can't understand how they don't feel compassion for the original owners.

Who gets to decide? I'm curious to see how this one turns out.

I think family number 2 really loves this little dog and just hates giving him up,especially to what they see as inferior conditions..no flea control,poorer food,etc. etc. With public opinion against them and they are becoming pariahs,it's more than just selfishness. I think anyone can bond with a pet in just a few months,especially if you feel you've rescued them. I'll let you know what happens. I'll bet those of you with more Googly fingers than mine could probably find other instances of this happening.

I'm starting to see a few articles now on the aftermath and how it concerns the animals. I am sure it is a very hard thing to do, to return an animal after having had them a year. Of course the new family loves their foster dog, and a year is plenty long enough for a bond to have developed. But, just like with foster kids, when you take them it is with the understanding that should their owners/parents again be in the position to assume their care..........it's our moral obligation to return them. That just comes with the territory. I have been there and done that with human children and if you think giving a dog back is difficult, try doing it with a child.

There is nothing at all, not one thing, stopping the fostering family from assisting the original dog owners with improving their mutually loved dog's life. I am sure a gift certificate to a vet for heartworm/flea preventives, a case of quality dog food, the yearly dog license..... or anything along those lines would be more than appreciated.

hmmmm, there's no excuse for no flea control these days. Especially in the South where conditions allow a dog to be overwhemed with fleas and ticks. In fact, even the best kept ones, will have them if they go outside. What type of people are the original owners? Elderly, or with young children? You know that sort of thing.

I would hate having to give up a dog to anyone. My opinion is that NO ONE could take better care of one than I do.

I missed the "adopted" part the first go around. It does make a legal difference.

We have a similar situation here. The pets of the men that have been sent to the Middle East have flooded the shelters in the area. People were hesitant to adopt them for the same reason. If the men made it back, wouldn't they feel obligated to give the animal back??? So, some have been fostered out and others have had to be euthanized. There simply wasn't enough room to house hundreds of animals.

And now the men are preparing to leave again. I'm sure that some of them have new pets to leave behind.

With the Katrina Dogs, who knew which owners managed to make it and could reclaim their pet? It's a big decision. I hope they can find a way to let the doggy make the choice.

You know, I grew up in a military family. My father was a full-time regular, but when it comes out in the wash, it is the same situation. There were more than a few things our family did without because we were for the most part nomads. It comes with the territory of having military obligations. There was a very long period in my parents' life they couldn't feasibly own a home, because they knew it would have to be cared for long-distance by a management company and in those days being half a world away made that an undesirable option. So, they didn't. Our pets were also chosen knowing we could be up and out on short notice. Anyone with a military obligation should make preparations for a care-giver in advance and opt to be a pet owner only if they can find a temporary home for their charges or have the option to take them along. It's very unfair to a faithful pet not to do so. When my daughter moved to England, she had two large dogs. It cost a small fortune to house them in a quarantine kennel for six months as she visited them daily. But, the responsibilities are part of pet ownership. They aren't disposible items but the shelters and kennels would make it seem otherwise.

Yes,most of the Katrina rescues are up for adoption...not fostering. I'm assuming that most families would give the pet back if the owner were ever found. But you just can't assume anything,can you?

It would make sense that the Katrina pets would be offered up for adoption rather than fostering, because the way those folks were dispersed after teh storm, the likelihood of any single family tracking down their pet would be really small.

That being said, now that this family has actually done so, I'd think it would be the kind & moral thing to give the dog back. It seems to me to be pretty arrogant to deny a family their pet after going through that hurricane on the basis that "they can give the dog a better life." Just what does that mean? A family that lacks monetary resources can't have a pet?

Oh wow, that is a sticky wicket, isn't it? Of course they'd be up for adoption, instead of fostering at this point in time. I can understand their reluctance to part with an adopted pet. But, how can a family who does adopt not have it in the back of their mind the owner may take a year, or more, before they'd be back in housing where they could have a pet rejoin them? I can only be thankful I'm not the one making a decision like that. No matter what, somebody is going to be heartbroken.

It tore me up when I watched the families who were able to be evactuated and had their little pets with them, and watching the authorites pull the animals away from children. Oh God my heart broke twice.

It isn't just pets, but all animals who suffer the aftermath of natural disasters. Have you ever seen film footage of farmers in floods watching their cattle and horses floating away? Whole herds of them. Such sadness.

There's one good thing that came from Katrina. The public outcry about having to leave pets behind has changed that policy.

I know that there is no way in the world that I would have left one of mine behind.

And I just got an "advertisement" from my vet, offering $10 off on micro chip implantation....and reminding that in a natural disaster like a hurricane ownership of the dog would be easily proven and traceable. And if I had a big dog, I would...but a 6 1/2 pound toy poodle who is 7 years old? I don't think so...I'd rather spend the $45 on rhinestone collars and doggie nail polish!
Linda C

$10 off how much, Linda? Both of my dogs are chipped but I forget what it cost.

But here we are talking about chips at $10 off - these people may not have $10 to spare, l And flea control is easy these days - if you can afford the stuff.

We may be talking about people who are very poor. If you're making minimum way $10 is close to two hours work!

If they cannot afford basic medical care for their dogs, maybe they need to wait until they can afford to care for them properly

Aren't there some posts missing here?

no... maybe you're thinking of this same thread over on the HT forum. LOL

Sorry, I'm confused.

I wouldn't try to so much make it a matter of rich and poor, but more focused on whether the original owners had a good hold on a pet-friendly dwelling, if not, with the next move, the animal could again be homeless.

Believe me, the only disaster I've had to face is divorce, with the plague of bankruptcy following after, and I had to make some tough decisions to be able to keep my dog. There are not a lot of landlords willing to accept pets.

lindac...

I don't understand your logic here...rhinestone collars and nail polish aren't going to get your pet back to you if it's lost. At 7 years old, barring unforseen medical problems, your dog probably has another 7-8 years of life...minimum. Small dogs have a long lifespan. Large or small...that's your dog. Hopefully a companion that you would want back. I am not scolding...I just don't see your reasoning here.

Rene
An Animal Control Officer and pet owner
A Shelter worker that is forced to euthanize unclaimed pets at a sad and alarming rate.

I think it is a crime that a lost animal is given a death sentence.

It is a terrible shame that so many have to be put down, but it is a sad fact that shelters have only so much room. When the cages and runs become so overcrowded that it becomes a sanitary issue for the rest of the animals, something has to give. Not all dogs are adoptable. Some are just plain mean, dumb, stubborn, untrainable and with serious health problems.

Not all of them are lost either. Some are just thrown away. And then, there are the sad cases. My son had to have a beautiful Australian shephard euthanized. She was so protective of the children that she had bitten five of their playmates. All of us regreted it, but the worry about her seriously damaging someone else's child was something that was there everyday. We even worried that if a couple of the grandchildren were to start playing rough, what would she do?

As for the NEED for euthanasia...it is just that. People are the problem. If people would responsibly spay or neuter their pets and properly identify them then there would be many fewer "lost". If people would change their attitudes about having a pet then they would be taken care of forever and not surrendered when the going got a little difficult and they couldn't find a rental that would allow a pet. MOST of our animals are surrenders...not found animals. People, by and large, still consider a pet a disposable item to be tossed to the curb when the money is slim and the pet is inconvenient. Many people also consider that having a pet in some sort of inallienable RIGHT rather than a privilege and luxury. Pets are luxury items. They should only be had by people with disposable income sufficient to pay for the pet's various needs.

As for me, I see too many people still subscribing to the notion that it's ok to have a litter for the benefit of their children. They hold the notion that kids should witness the miracle of life. If people want their kids to witness the miracle of life they should have them watch the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet. ALL PETS SHOULD BE SPAYED AND NEUTERED. Animals should not be sold at pet stores or out of the backs of cars in the box store parking lot. Pets should be had for life not just for the first 6 months while they are cute and cuddly to be thrown to the curb when they aren't immediately trained. Pets are not ready made and they take work!

Further, in my opinion, there is no greater tragedy than an animal held in a "no kill rescue" situation for the duration of its days. Dogs and cats are not created to live in a cage for their live long days and that, to me, is a fate worse than death. I would rather see my own dog dead if I were to die and his only other option was to live out his life in a kennel at a "no kill" rescue waiting for a home with thousands of other animals that have come into hard times. I would kill him myself first! Just my .02!

As for Shelters, every community needs a shelter that is open admission. That means that anything that comes into the door is taken in. Animals are housed without discrimination based on adoptability, health status, age and breed. Our facility is an open admission facility and I thank God for that. "No Kill" facilities are all too often a place that can select what comes in and what is turned away...where do those animals turned away go? To an open admission shelter, that's where. They will be taken in off the streets where their irresponsible owners have left them. They will be cared for and a new home will be sought. Maybe it will be found, maybe not. Animals will be euthanized because of the simple fact of math...I only have so many spaces available to me where the public has an endless supply of stupid, heartless people that will have a litter and then expect that our open admission shelter find homes for them. It is so easy to spay/neuter. There is no excuse.

Most of our animals are not "strays" as weebus suggests...they are either surrendered or abandoned to the streets and ultimately the Shelter. Take it from me...it's my profession. I see it every day!

Our local shelter is filled with quality pets yet I stood in my community this very weekend and watched as our own citizens gathered around a horse trailer in a parking lot to adopt animals from outside our community instead. Why? Because the horse trailer was filled with puppies and kittens rather than adult dogs and cats like our shelter. People never cease to amaze me with their stupidity and lack of forethought. They lined up like lemmings to adopt sickly puppies and kittens out of the back of a horse trailer from out of town rather than visit a clean, odor free facility where the animals are already vaccinated and largely already spayed/neutered. They did this because the animals were babies. It made me angry and more than a little sick! What happens when those animals grow up? Was their only attribute that they were babies? I think so and that really scares me for their futures in the households that were "shopping" there. I give many of them 6 months before they end up in our Shelter.

I think that the victims of Katrina are victims, yes. I think that the animal victims deserve the best possible homes. I think that if you did not find your pet for an entire year after the disaster then you should consider how much that pet meant to you in the first place. I think that you should be grateful that your pet found a loving home with a caring family. If they are willing to fight for the pet in question (many of these battles are being currently fought in various courts similar to child custody battles) you should be glad that they care that much! There is certainly no shortage of available dogs and cats in shelters that need loving homes. There's no need to fight over Fido like he's special because they are ALL special and they die by the millions.

Most of our animals are not "strays" as weebus suggests...they are either surrendered or abandoned to the streets and ultimately the Shelter. Take it from me...it's my profession. I see it every day!

I never suggested that most of your animals were strays. I said that it is a crime that animal getting lost brings a death sentence.

I apologize for having misread your statement. I agree, but I think the real tragedy is that so many animals are surrendered or abandoned when the owners tire of dog or cat ownership. If that one factor would be adjusted by the behavior of the public in general, there would be room for the dogs and cats that are actually stray and lost. It's very sad.

I agree completely. I am rather judgemental about those who think their pets are disposable.