Katrina's Lessons Learned

My friend and colleague Liz Palika lives in the area that was threatened by the fires in San Diego earlier this fall, and was involved in rescuing and sheltering many pets and animals including dogs, horses, small critters, and a number of reptiles and amphibians.

I interviewed her for a story on how differently pets are handled during disasters in post-Katrina America. It was a wonderful interview, and I'm really happy at how the story turned out -- even though it awoke some painful memories:

Marie Knoblock loved her dogs, a Lab named Herman and a chow chow named Jimmi. She became a friend of mine through an online dog forum and when I went to work for a pet community Web site in 2000, she happily gave me photos of her dogs to use. Jimmi's smiling face greets the visitors to the DogHobbyist.com Chow Chow Forum to this day.

But Jimmi smiles only in photos now, because he, along with Marie and Herman, drowned when Hurricane Katrina drove flood waters into their home in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Marie was riding out the storm with her daughter, Kim, and Kim's two dogs, as well as an elderly houseguest and her poodle. When a disaster team showed up to evacuate the three women, they told them they had to leave their dogs behind.

All three made the decision to stay with their dogs, but when water came pouring down their street like a river, they were trapped in the house, the floodwater steadily rising. Kim left the dogs with Marie and swam underwater to the attic stairs, and was able to break out a ventilation panel and escape to the roof. Although she managed to get their houseguest and her poodle out alive, Marie, 63, as well as Jimmi, Herman, and Kim's two dogs, didn't make it past the second floor, and drowned.

Marie's story is not unique. During and after Katrina, I read dozens of stories on pet e-mail lists and forums about people who died, or nearly did, because they refused to leave their pets behind when ordered to evacuate without them. The AARP reported that many of the confirmed Katrina deaths were among senior citizens who would not abandon their pets, although exact numbers are not known.

Nightly newscasts were full of images of pets swimming forlornly after the boats that took their owners away from them. A post-Katrina poll found that 61 percent of pet owners would refuse to evacuate in the face of a disaster if it meant leaving their animals behind. For those people, "animal disaster preparedness" meant nothing more than being prepared to choose between abandoning their pets and death.

Today, it's much less likely that pet owners will have to make that terrible choice. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, disaster response agencies realized that, if human lives were to be saved, the bond between humans and their animals couldn't be ignored. Agencies such as the Red Cross worked with government departments like Homeland Security and private animal groups to develop disaster sheltering and rescue procedures that take companion animal ownership into consideration.

The recent San Diego fires put these new procedures to the test, and for the most part, proved hugely successful. Southern California evacuation facilities had accommodations for animals or arrangements with shelters to care for people's pets and livestock. In addition, businesses, including the Veterinary Clinics of America and a number of hotels, opened their doors to the pets of evacuees. So did many individuals and small business owners.

Pet author and dog trainer Liz Palika was one of those who opened not just the doors of her business but her home to animals in need. Horses and dogs were cared for at her dog training facility, located safely outside the fire area, while many small and unusual pets that local shelters were ill-equipped to handle were boarded by Palika, an experienced keeper of reptiles, amphibians and small pets.

Palika, who is the author of more than 45 books on animal care, agreed that things have changed since the days of Hurricane Katrina. "I know one of the visions I had after Katrina was the little boy with his little fluffy dog that was ripped from his arms," she told me. "And the dog that was chained on the bridge in the sun with no food, no water, and nobody there. That one just tore me up, too, as bad as the little boy losing his dog."

The full article is here -- it also includes an interview with Dr. Jeff Werber, Lassie's veterinarian, on the importance of identification for pets in case of disaster.

Comments

[emily]

This is a somewhat off topic post but has been on my mind. Just yesterday we had a fire alarm in my large apartment building. I picked up a leash and left the house with nothing but myself in and the dog. Shortly after a number of others emerged with leashed dogs and cats in carriers. However one woman had a single dog and was hysterical on the phone to her husband concerned about the multiple dogs and cats she left in a apartment because she could not physically catch, carry or restrain them all.

Am I being unreasonable to suggest people should not have more house pets than they could leave with and control in case of emergency--then agencies should takes steps to accomodate the person and those dependents who can be treated as a unit?

[Christie]

I don't know, Emily, when my mom started getting older, she had some problems handling her three big deerhounds, and we had to try to work things out differently than we had in the past. I hurt my back and can now no longer lift a hundred-plus pound dog. It's not like we're going to get rid of our pets as we age or get injured.

On the other hand, of course people need to keep disaster planning in mind when deciding how many pets to keep. For a short time I had more than I could fit in my vehicle, and it was really terrifying to me what I'd do if I had to evacuate and my mom wasn't there so we could use both minivans. Fortunately it never came up, and my "backup plan" was to put my cats in soft carriers and put them in the passenger well, then set a board over them and put a crate for my smallest dog on top of it, then cram the big dogs in the back without crates. It wouldn't have been comfortable but I was fairly sure, in a true emergency, I could pull it off.

And if this lady had cat carriers on pull wheels as well as leashes, she'd have probably been okay even under the circumstances. So in most cases, IMO it's about planning and taking the issue seriously.

[emily]

Also if she had a deal with neighbors like me who were 'under capacity' rather than getting on her cell to her bloke who was clearly some distance away.... You're right of course, so long as there is a plan.

[Debra]

I was looking for the news article on Marie and just found your post. Marie was a dear friend. To have someone suggest the person at fault for having more animals than can leave with is beyond harsh. The REALITY is that Marie didn't KNOW! Here is a letter to me from her daughter.
Debra...

I cant seem to log on to the board to make any kind of response. I thought I would state here what happened and perhaps you could cut and paste for me...let me know if this does not work. Please post to your friend at the Rottie board, Dagmar? also, if that is OK.

First of all, I want to thank you all for the prayers, the cards, the donations - even from a special person on the Rottie Board...but, most of all, I want to thank each and every one of you for being a friend to my Mother. After my father died, this Board, rather the people here helped ease her pain and loneliness, along with the chows and Herman the lab.

I would like to take this opportunity to tell what happened that day....therapy for me, and maybe to answer some unanswered questions and maybe help someone facing the same situation (God forbid) in the future.

Sunday before the storm arrived, a friend of mine moved in with me..she is 65, a fellow nurse at the nursing home we both were employed at. Her daughter left her with me, and the lady who will remain unnamed asked if she and her poodle could stay with my mother and I for the storm. Mine and my mother's reply was "ok".....she would have to sleep on the couch because of the 4 big dogs...and, we would never turn any friend away. On Sunday, I worked to evacuate the residents where I worked....the last news I had of Katrina was that she was to hit the Fla/AL coast. After work, I went to my Mother's house...she lived about 1 minute from the nursing home. She told me the storm was expected to hit closer to home and I should pack up "anything near and dear to me". We both went to my house..about 5 minutes away, packed away some antique glassware, grabbed insurance policies and of course, Teddy and Max. My friend followed us in her car with her poodle to my Mother's home. From there, we made ourselves comfortable...as my mother and I had weathered many storms at her house....we had become "pro's". We pre-made coffee to put in thermos', food....had batteries ready for flashlights and battery operated TV, etc. That evening, things were calm, the dogs were fed and settled in their respective rooms with the occassional, "I know you are there and I will tear your ass apart if I see you type "bark". We all chit-chatted and watched a movie and then went to bed for the night. As usual, I kissed my Mother on her head....I never knew that would be the last time I would get to do that.

The next morning, I woke up around 7am, my Mother and friend were already awake. By this time, the wind was howling, and I heard a huge thump..it was then that I knew a tree had fallen on the house. We looked around without going outside and could not see any damage. So we then fixed coffee and watched the continuing local news coverage of the storm. One of the last things I remember before the wave was a local reporter who I will name..Rhonda Weidner....stating..."I bet those people who didn't leave are sure wishing they had left now". I thought..what a terrible thing to say....many, like my mother were not healthy to leave, but not sick enough for a hospital..and shelters do not take animals. She was NOT leaving her dogs, and I was NOT leaving her. It was at that time I walked to the front window and noticed the water in the street....it was moving fast....one of the fastest currents I had ever seen. Being from New Orleans, I mistakenly thought it rained all night and this was run off water from the rain. I told my mother of it and we all thought the same thing and went back to drinking our coffee.

Exactly one minute later, I checked the water again...it was at my mother's front door and started to come into the house at an extremely fast pace. What we did not know was that the Bay/Waveland area was being hit with a Tsunami type wave 30-40 ft high. When the water started in, my friend immediately moved into the attic and then asked me for an ashtray....she sat there and watched while my mother and I frantically tried to move things.....old pictures..etc. I kept thinking...."this will stop..we will probably get about 3 ft of water, but, we would be OK. My mother started moving at a very slow pace. She handed me her medicine to put in the attic...at that time, Herman jumped off the mattress..by this time, water was waist deep...she kept saying "Herman is going to drown". I told her he would not and I lugged him back on the mattress...at that time, Jimmi jumped down and I chased him down to put him back on the mattress...my dogs were still locked in my room. At that time, my mother got onto the mattress in her room with her dogs, leashed them and told me she was breaking out. I then went to see about my dogs...as I got onto the mattress, Teddy and Max both cuddled up to me and were shaking...now the water was about 6 ft deep. Furniture..huge pieces of it were floating, the water was very dark and the sky was dark. I could not find their leashes or my shoes...nothing. I came across a picture frame and attempted to break out of a narrow window..I realize this seems stupid, but when you are panicking, nothing seems stupid at the time. Of course the water just poured in even faster.

At that point, I looked up and saw the ceiling was just a few inches from me and that if I stayed I would drown. I told my puppies to "stay"! and they did. I swam to the attic stairs..which were located in a very narrow hall...it was my intent to break threw the ceiling and pull my dogs up....because the only access to the attic from where I was, was to swim underwater. I was so intent on my task, I did not see my mother...and I assumed she was breaking out. However, I think in the back of my mind how much she wanted to be with my father, I think she had thought about how circumstances would be post storm..ie: the heat..she couldn't survive without AC, no dogfood..etc. By this time, I reach the attic and tried to punch a hole in the ceiling to get my dogs....this was in vain....what I did not know at the time..because it was so dark, was that there was plywood in the way...and then when I started kicking into water, I then knew it was too late. I rushed to my mother's side of the attic to find the same thing....I could not break through..and that lady was just sitting there watching with her poodle.

I can never express here my thoughts, frustration, anguish, the screaming and the silence......the silence is what haunts me still. And the water kept rising. I looked around for something..anything to break out of the attic and that is when I noticed a screened, "A" framed vent. I crawled over to it and began kicking it out....it worked..and as I did so, a rat started running towards me. When I screamed, he jumped into the water..which by now was about 12 ft deep. It was at this time that this lady, with poodle in hand, tells me she cannot swim. I would be lying to say I gave a shit....because all I could think about was my drowning mother and my dogs..and the silence. I noticed a floating trash can..it was my mother's...and I slid into that dark, cold water..with the rat and swam over to get the can. After I brought it to this lady, I guided my way to the roof.....the water was "white capping", the wind was howing..and I thought it was strange that I was hearing some noise again.

Once on the roof, I had her hand me the poodle..he was on a harness....I secured him to a post of some kind on the roof. I then went back into the water to get this lady and guided her to the roof. We sat there for hours...saw people floating in the current on mattresses..and the entire event just seems so very surreal to me. As the water kept rising, I told this lady we would have to swim to a 2 story across the street...chances are we would have been swept off into some trees..the current was just too strong. But, it was either take that chance or drown. It was at that moment, the "eye" of the storm passed and the wind suddenly switched direction. The water started going down...not as fast as it came up, but still was moving away from us. I desperately wanted to find my mother and dogs...so as the water went down in stages, I would climb down a trellis. It was still too high to find anything. Finally when it was low enough, I did go back into the house. At first I could not find anyone because the ceiling caved in, along with all the fiberglass and cellusose she had sprayed in the attic. It was at that time that I found the plywood that I was unable to kick through. And then I found Jimmi and Herman, and then I found her. She was covered with debris and as I moved it away from her....I think everything inside of me broke down. I then found my puppies....in the spot I told them to stay. It was then that fire rescue came and removed my mother....some friends of mine not far from me at work helped me with the dogs.

I guess we call all look at this and find so much fault, every night I try to sleep, I can only think of a thousand ways I could have done this or that. All I know is that at this point, I miss her terribly, I miss calling her almost daily to talk about some movie coming on, or something one of the dogs did or just gossiping in general. I miss our lunches or suppers out, I miss her incredible Sunday dinners, I miss her very dry wit....I just miss her. She was a most compassionate nurse, a wonderful artist, raised countless animals including ocelots and margays and also fostered some lion cubs when we were younger. That is why she called Elsa that particular name...she was reminded of the movie "Born Free"...which was one of her favorites.

Herman the Lab was 13 and he was Jimmi's best pal. Jimmi was a Canton chow with the sweetest disposition I have ever witnessed in a male chow. Teddy was a rescue with personality plus and a bit of a bitch, but this girl always showed her devotion - she once brought me a cardinal she had hunted...and my Max, another rescue...never was there a better bodyguard - he was never more than 6 feet from me...he would even lay across the threshold of the bathroom whenever I was in there. When Max first came to me, he would never let me hug him....after a few months, he came looking for his morning hugs.

Thanks to Debra and some friends of her on the Rottie board, the puppies are being cremated as per my mother's wishes..to be spread with her and my father on a piece of waterfront property they used to own....all of the dogs, with the exception of Jimmi had once lived there too.

I want to thank everyone again for the love and support shown.....I honestly do not remember when I have witnessed such kindness and generosity. We may not always agree on how to raise dogs..but one thing we all do have in common is our great love and commitment to them, to their welfare and to those of us who love them.

God Bless.

Sincerely,

Kim Knoblock