St. Bernard's Parish Pet Massacre - September 2005

I saw a lot of things I will hopefully never again see in my life down in New Orelans, and the neighboring parishes. The most disgusting one was that the Sheriff Stephens of St. Bernard's parish, the parish neighboring just to the southeast of New Oreleans ordered his deupty's to shoot pets! I heard it again and again. Different stories with the some outcome in a few different schools. This was not and is not a rumor. I saw dead dogs that had been shot on the streets, and the massacre in the schools is well documented. This was in very early September, not packs of dogs turning feral in the months following! Not that that would be acceptable either. How would you feel if your local authorities shot your dog? - Rachel

For more on the St. Bernard Parish Massacre check out:

http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/KATRINA/DOGSHOOTING/REWARD.htm

Can't believe someone could be that cruel? Watch this video it is not too graphic but you will understand that they think they were being humane... where do they get their ethics?

http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/photography/2005/katrina_video/straydogs.html

But bring a box of tissues and don't let your four footed friend see this!

John Bozes, Senate Hearing Testimonial

Angel Girl’s Story...

From: Willow Lu, willowlu@gmail.com

Good afternoon Senators and citizens.

My name is John Bozes. I am a former resident of the now devastated St.
Bernard Parish, Louisiana and I am here to ask you to pass the Pet
Evacuation Bill so that when there is another disaster, our pets can travel
safely with us to designated shelters and not be left behind to perish
because of lack of proper emergency planning.

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed Southeast Louisiana turning
St. Bernard Parish into a waterlogged marshland. A very large percentage of
our residents did not evacuate to shelters outside the parish because we did
not want to leave our pets behind and we were told we could not evacuate
with them.

To give you a brief background of my medical situation at the time, I had
just been released from the hospital and couldn't drive because of my
medical condition. The other occupant of my home, my elderly father, is no
longer licensed to drive. I had been disabled for three months and was
without the income to even fill my vehicle with gasoline, let alone charter
a vehicle to transport my family and pets. Obviously, public transportation
was not a pet-friendly option. Later I came to find that although some
generous gas companies were offering free fuel, this was not widely known
nor broadcast through the media. This was simply not a known alternative
that I was aware of. It seems that this was yet another flaw of the
emergency broadcast system.

My 2 and 1/2 year old black lab, Angel Girl, was a hero who saved the lives
of myself and my family. If she had not woken me from my sleep, my family
would've drowned. The water was over the roof when she led us out the door.

After the levee breach, my father, sister and my nephew's girlfriend were
rescued from the roof of our home in Violet, LA by boat thanks to brave St.
Bernard residents who took us to the school evacuation shelter at St.
Bernard High School. My brother-in-law and nephew stayed behind with four
dogs and eight birds.

That Tuesday night, my brother-in-law, Gene, and his son, Robert
Christopher, along with our family's four dogs: Angel Girl, Bullet, Daisy,
and Honey were transported by boat to PGT Beauregard Middle School. Gene saw
other dogs and cats at that school and thought that was where all the pets
were being safely kept until the water went down. The next day, Wednesday,
St. Bernard Sheriffs Office Deputies ordered everyone to leave the school.
We were forbidden from taking our pets with us. When we asked about our
pets, a St. Bernard Sheriffs Office Deputy assured us "your pets will be
rescued." To ensure their safety, I wrote a note on the wall of the school
pleading for Angel's safekeeping. I wrote "she is a good girl." Others wrote
similar messages, indicating our home addresses and contact information in
the hope that the Deputy's word would be kept and our pets would be
transported to animal rescue authorities.

One week after Hurricane Rita, my sister, Carol, her family, and I were in a
hotel after evacuating again due to Hurricane Rita. I received a phone call
from a dear friend that was searching for Angel advising me to watch the CNN
broadcast news that evening at 10:00 pm. We turned on the TV and witnessed
Anderson Cooper break the story entitled "Dog Killings at Three St. Bernard
Parish Schools." The first room the camera crew entered and filmed was room
203 at PGT Beauregard Middle School. What we observed was beyond
devastating. They camera followed as rescue teams opened the door, showing
the first dog, my sister's husky mix, Bullet. Bullet had not been rescued as
promised. Bullet was dead. In the next room, the camera showed my Angel Girl
and Honey, also shot to death.

The following Saturday, my sister Carol, her husband, Gene Hamm, and myself
drove back to St. Bernard parish for the first time following Katrina. Our
first stop was PGT Beauregard Middle School. When we arrived at the school
we went to the room where Gene was forced our lovable dogs. The sight was
beyond words, beyond understanding, beyond my worst nightmares. When I saw
my beloved Angel lying in a pool of her blood I knelt down beside her and
started crying. I asked out loud "Why did this happen and who did it?!" I
was kneeling in her blood and I was telling her I was sorry that I was
forced to leave her. Carol and Gene were with Bullet and were talking to
him. As we were getting ready to leave the school, I kissed Angel on her
forehead and told her that I was sorry I couldn't rescue her. I still have
nightmares about what happened and I picture this all too often in my head.
I still lay awake at night crying because Angel Girl was all I had.

This bill must be passed so that our pets can be rescued alongside their
human family members and not be sentenced to death unnecessarily by
unprepared law enforcement agents or people who do not like pets nor
understand the family bonds that keep us close to them. Also, the bill will
ensure that well-meaning rescuers will not misplace our pets in other states
where name tags and other important information have gone missing during the
chaos of emergency rescue situations.

Before I close, I would like to call attention to the three empty leashes
that I am carrying today. They represent my family's three dogs that were
killed in St. Bernard Parish. It is for the love of these dogs, for the love
of my family, that I am here today.

Thank for your time. I only hope that this Senate panel, in your wisdom,
will make sure that nobody has to go through what the pet owners of
Louisiana have gone through following a future natural disaster.