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No pet left behind

Tiny lets her back feet be her pillow on a rainy, rainy day.

"By sending one of these cards today, you can help ensure that no pet is ever left behind again when disaster strikes," email the good folks at The Humane Society of the United States, urging animal lovers to support the PETS Act to include animals in disaster evacuation plans:

Thousands of pets were left behind in the wake of Hurricane Katrina: trapped in empty houses, stranded on rooftops above the flood waters, wandering alone through deserted streets.

The U.S. Senate is considering the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, which would require that pets and service animals are included in disaster evacuation plans.Please help us get this law passed today.

Send one of our moving eCards to your friends and family and urge them to take action. Each card tells the touching story of a pet rescued by The Humane Society of the United States after Hurricane Katrina.

Here's the eCard we'll be sending to family and friends, urging them to contact their Senators.

Once your friends receive an eCard from you, they can fill out a form that will be forwarded to their senators and then email cards to their own friends to spread the word.

Back-feet pillow unavailable? Babe settles nicely for a fluffy tail.

It's easy, and we want you to know that Hurricane bloggers Tiny and Baby are counting on you.

Update: Lots more animals aboard Modulator's 91st Friday Ark.

Hillary's "recipe for disaster"

Hillary meets with the little people evacuees in Houston in full Campaign 2008 Bush-bashing mode, fantasizing a flawless FEMA during her co-presidency and calling for "restoration" of federal command and control.  (Pat Sullivan AP photo)

"I think that is a recipe for disaster, said Hillary during a conference call with reporters Tuesday in one of her rare moments of candor:

They [the Bush administration] do believe that people should rely on state and local response and private charities . . .

Perish the thought that citizens in distress should rely on first responders, but at least her "recipe for disaster" is consistent with her own promise last year that "We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good," not to mention her husband's timeless "What if you spend YOUR money WRONG?" Then the old girl (see photo above) wandered off into fantasyland, projecting her own modus operandi onto "them" when asked about RNC Chair Ken Mehlman's accusations that she was seeking political gain at what should be a moment of national unity:

Well, you know, that's what they always do. We've been living with that kind of rhetoric for the last 4 1/2 years . . . Every time anyone raises any kind of legitimate criticism and asks questions, they're attacked.

The Clinton Family Fantasy re FEMA's Golden Age goes like this, according to the WaPo:

She and her husband consider the performance of FEMA under James Lee Witt, its former director and a fellow Arkansan, to be one of the true success stories of the Clinton administration. The Clintons believe [It depends upon what your definition of "believe" is] the agency has been degraded under Bush.

The Post appears to have bought her hubby's half of the spin whole hog:

Privately, Clinton has been incredulous [shocked, shocked?] over what he regards as the administration's failure to grasp quickly the perilous situation materializing in New Orleans, particularly for poor African Americans [begin violins and "Ron Brown's Body" fake but accurate tears].

Investor's Business Daily [via Instapundit] reveals the inconvenient reality:

Hillary Clinton says FEMA was more effective when her husband was president. The victims of Hurricane Floyd might venture a different opinion, and it wasn't FEMA [but the Louisiana state government, as reported by FOX News' Major Garrett] that kept supplies from the Superdome.

During a post-Katrina conference call with reporters, Sen. Clinton said, "Helping localities do what they needed to do to mitigate damage -- that philosophy governed FEMA during the Clinton administration. It obviously was rejected by this administration."

Keep on dreamin', Hillary, and hope the great unwashed you're counting on for enough votes in 2008 doesn't find out that FEMA's performance during those halcyon days of yore, rather than "one of the true success stories of the Clinton administration" was just business as usual on the part of a bloated federal bureaucracy.

Post-traumatic pets disorder

Again standing in for animals displaced by Katrina -- until we get some images from the folks at Animal Rescue League of Boston, now on the scene in Lafayette, Louisiana -- Baby assumes a waiting-to-be-rescued stance as he applies the think system to dislodge our sister (right) from his favorite chair at Goomp's during Labor Day festivities over the weekend.

"Our programmers are currently hard at work developing a comprehensive database to aid the pets affected by Hurricane Katrina," reports petfinder.com. We caught their representative on FOX News this evening, directing viewers to their website, a clearinghouse of links to a variety of animal welfare groups -- shelters, hotlines and relief organizations -- that are on the case.  A progress report:

In addition to an increase in the amount of rescue efforts we are starting to hear more success stories of animals being reunited with their owners. We can’t stress enough the importance of calling the hot-lines to provide descriptions of lost pets and, if owners looking for lost pets are still in the area, stopping by the shelter to look for their pet.

The best way to assist in the disaster relief efforts is to make a donation to the organizations involved so that they can purchase much needed supplies and equipment for the rescue and relief efforts and provide assistance to animal welfare groups impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

We second that thought.  Speaking of donations, the "Blog for Relief Weekend" wrapped up at midnight last night, raising over $1.2 million in five days for bloggers' chosen charities. Thanks again to our wonderful and generous readers and fellow bloggers for helping push this blog's final total to $760 for the Animal Rescue League of Boston's efforts in collaboration with the American Humane Association. According to an AHA field report, the ARL of Boston folks are focusing on sheltering and water rescue efforts from their base in Lafayette, Lousiana.

This just in.  The real thing (You can take the rest of the evening off, Baby Cakes) on CNN's "360 with Anderson Cooper," a traumatized pussycat rescued from the flood by the good folks of Noah's Wish.

Have you noticed the comments on some blogs scoffing at helping displaced animals when so many humans are still stranded and suffering? In our view, there are two things wrong with that kind of thinking. First, we have a social contract with the animals we take into our homes. We give them food and shelter and affection in return for -- as our friend Carol's mother used to say -- "having something live in the house" (and perhaps a little mousing on the side). We are honor bound not to abandon these earnest, amusing, sentient beings midstream, so to speak.

Secondly -- related, but with the emphasis on our own mental-health needs -- there is the Thoreau factor, the renewing and civilizing powers of nature evoked in our fellow New Englander's famous line, "The most alive is the wildest. Not yet subdued to man, its presence refreshes him." We may like to think of our "house pets" as domesticated, but underneath -- especially with cats -- they are far more in touch with their feral selves than most of us are. Our friend Carol, the one whose mother spoke of "something live in the house," herself used to say -- in an attention-grabbing reversal of the old saw -- "Children are animal substitutes."  For a lot of people, there's more than a grain of truth in that. You've probably heard reports of some folks Down Yonder refusing to be rescued because they cannot bear to leave their animals. As flood victims begin to experience the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, what better therapy than being reunited with one's loved ones, whether human or animal?

Technorati tags: Flood aid, Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina flood aid: Baby wants you

Backlit by the setting sun, Baby trots towards us in anticipation of post-cookout treats late afternoon down Goomp's.

$771.300 in contributions so far for "Blog for Relief Weekend," and this blog has raised $760 from 14 contributors for the Animal Rescue League of Boston's efforts on behalf of animals displaced by Hurricane Katrina.  Anyone out there want to help? There's still time. Click here to make your contribution, and then click here to log in your donation to the TTLB database so your contribution will be counted in the final tally.

Technorati tags:  Flood aid, Hurricane Katrina.

Update: Conservative Cat hosts this week's Carnival of the Cats, "a non-political respite from the vehement echo chamber that the blogosphere spins intself into during the week." This cat may be on to something.

Local cat gains notoriety for charitable work on behalf of fellow felines

Tiny (foreground) as compassionate conservative? Her brother (Baby, background) doesn't think so, but Kevin Loy of the much-referenced The Irish Trojan Blog has other ideas.  (Photo first published here.)

Tiny's famous!  Her charitable work has been cited by "the most frequently cited hurricane-related blog," The Irish Trojan Blog, "written remotely by Brendan Loy from South Bend, Indiana." Brendan's catblogging is exemplary:

You've heard of hurricane babies? Well, Matt Drachenberg's cat just had hurricane kittens!

(Much more importantly, Drachenberg has located his mother-in-law, safe and sound -- and snoring. YAY!!!!! And it was made possible by the blogosphere.)

But back to the cats. Tiny is raising money for hurricane relief. The Oubliette's cats weathered the storm, and were oh, so concerned about it. Lastly and importantly, here are some tips on cat evacuations, to keep in mind for future storms.

There's much more at Friday Ark.

Speaking of Arks, let's help Tiny keep her fellow Animal Americans afloat by supporting this blog's charity of choice, Animal Rescue League of Boston. As of 8:45 EDT this morning, "Blog for Relief Weekend" has raised  $574,630, and this blog has raised $610 from 11 contributors for the Animal Rescue League of Boston. If you haven't contributed yet, please consider adding your support to help the animals displaced by Hurricane Katrina, and don't forget to log your contribution at TTLB to make sure it gets included in the totals.

Technorati tags: Flood aid, Hurricane Katrina.

"Let's focus on what actually happened"

GW arrives in Mobile midday to board a helicopter that will fly him over the devastated remains of the Crescent City. Even as the President pledges to restore order, chaos of Third-World proportions reigns. FOXNews reporter Steve Harrigan: "I feel like I'm in an abandoned city where two sides are fighting it out. It's not very reassuring." Meanwhile, throughout the morning and early afternoon, waves of convoys -- National Guard troops, military personnel, firefighters and others -- stream into the city Cavalry style. 

"I always wondered what would take the place of 9/11 in my nightmares, and now I know what it is," writes Varifrank [via The Anchoress -- see below -- via Roger L. Simon, who quips "I think CNN would turn Noah's flood into a partisan attack on George Bush"]. Varifrank continues:

I have my issues with the way this was handled, but for now I’m keeping it to my self. None of this half assed Monday-morning quarterbacking is going to do a damn thing to get those people out of there, but the corrosive effect it will have on our government serves no one.

Stop looking for someone to blame, and start looking for a way to help.

Monday-morning quarterbacking? "That’s the easiest thing in the world to do, and also the most useless, so let’s not do it," writes The Anchoress : "Let’s focus on what actually happened, for a little bit longer," which she proceeds to do in a link-rich tour de force that covers all the bases. Be sure to read the whole thing. Meanwhile, the question hangs in the air.  Should the nation spend billions to rebuild a city seven feet under sea level and sinking, even as the cumulative effects of human intervention precipitate a cascading breakdown of the Mississippi River Delta? Mother Nature and common sense would say no, but human nature -- proud and sentimental -- will always reach for the stars. "Taming nature is part of America's Founding Myth. Such devastation as we have seen in New Orleans runs counter to American achievement and triumph," writes Tunku Varadarajan in Opinion Journal. More specifically, as former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial said the other day: 

A great American city is fighting for its life. We must rebuild New Orleans, the city that gave us jazz and music and multiculturalism,

Rebuild, perhaps, but can we -- will politics allow us to -- learn from our mistakes?  Hurricanes will always taunt the Gulf Coast, and the Mississippi will rise every spring. If we would rebuild New Orleans, we must listen to the living history of natural systems. Or maybe we should listen to blogfriend Richard Lawrence Cohen, who paints a vision of  New Orleans, 2025. Simulated reality trumps reality, and his future tourist, a youngster traveling with his family, takes it all in stride:

This is the greatest city! Our hotel room is on the 40th floor, right on Bourbon Street, and I can look down over the whole French Quarter and see what’s going on without even going down there. We have in-room VR, so this morning I put on the helmet and there I was, back in old New Orleans the way it was before this flood or something that they had about twenty years ago. It was okay, but it was small and dirty and nothing much interesting was happening, just a lot of people eating seafood and getting drunk and watching other people take off their clothes.

We think Richard's definitely onto something. They've already got stuff like that at the Grand Canyon, where most tourists just say no to the real-life adventure and relative discomfort of a muleride to the bottom, opting instead for the wide-screen video version in air-conditioned, couch-potato comfort at the top.

Update:  In a brilliant understatement, The Commissar of The Politburo Diktat lets leading bloggers of the left and right speak for themselves.

Katrina flood aid: $106,572 and counting

Baby behind a kitchen-window screen, staring at his sister outside on the terrace, could almost pass for one of those abandoned kitties left behind by a flood-fleeing family, waiting to be rescued, except that we cannot imagine leaving our animals behind were we forced to flee our home for whatever reason.

Abandoned doggy awaiting rescue (details unknown) from American Humane Association website.

Our i-mail correspondent, an accomplished amateur animal behaviorist, pointed out the difference in body language between a flood-stranded cat like the one blogged here and a similarly dislocated dog like the one in the picture above:

In a way, I worry more for the dogs, than the cats. Did you see the face on that poor doggy? Contrast that to the face of the totally fed-up pood in one of your previous posts.

It's true.  The dog is distraught, the cat, disgusted.  Both can use a helping hand, though, and that's where organizations like our flood-relief charity of choice, the Animal Rescue League of Boston, come in.  There's still plenty of time to make a donation and then register your participation in the blogosphere's "Blog for Relief Day" data base by logging in here.

So far -- as of about 8:10 p.m. EDT -- the effort has raised $106,572 in contributions for a variety of favorite-son charities. We're proud to have done our part by raising a respectable $275 from 5 sources, not all of them relatives. Could anything be more American -- not to mention blogorific in the "Invisible Hand" sense -- than for an aggregate of individual acts by a widely disparate group of people in friendly competition with each other, each vying for pride of place by attracting the most support to help the larger community, creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts? It is truly a good thing.

Technorati tags: Flood aid, Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina flood aid: Because they are so cute

Flood relief?  What's that? Tiny doesn't watch TV and doesn't read blogs, but she didn't seem to mind standing in for all those flood-plagued furry friends being looked after by the fine folk of Animal Rescue League of Boston in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. We'll post some pictures from the front -- Jackson, Mississippi is where they're at -- as soon as they come in.

"We're already seeing the response from your 'blog world'!  Keep up the great work," writes our pointman for Animal Rescue League of Boston flood relief efforts, Director of Communications Tom Adams, who files this report:

The Animal Rescue League sent its lead manager, Nicholas Gilman, to Jackson ahead of the rescue team.  His initial experience there was a long line waiting for gasoline, reminiscent of the gas shortages back in the early 1970s.  Gilman related that ARL would serve two immediate and important roles in Jackson.  The League will help run a temporary animal shelter established at the Jackson Fair Grounds -- the shelter is already caring for some 70 dogs and cats --  and serve on an assessment team to review conditions in Hattiesburg and Biloxi.

'Can't wait till Tom sends along some photos.  Meanwhile, thanks to our wonderful blogfriends who are supporting ARL Boston (You can, too. Click here for details):

Teresa of Technicalities -- who's got a few suggestions of her own re charities worthy of support at her own blog -- "The kitties and puppies will be getting something from me in a little bit. I just have to go find the credit card."

Janette of Common Sense Runs Wild -- one of three webmistresses of The Cotillion, which is supporting American Red Cross flood-relief efforts-- "If [Sissy's] impressed with [Animal Rescue League of Boston], then so am I."

Jennie Taliaffero of The Greatest Jeneration, who already gave to the PetCo Katrina fund, sponsor of ARL of Boston's collaborator, the American Humane Association: "I may give some more to your Boston charity, too. Our 4-legged companions must be saved along with the people!"

We couldn't agree more. Thank you, ladies, for your humor and for thinking kind thoughts about a pussycat and various other deserving members of the Animal American community. If you do contribute, be sure to log in your contribution (figures only, no dollar sign) at TTLB's "Add Your Contribution" page so it can be entered in to the Ecosystem database and credited to this blog's fundraising acumen.

Technorati tags: Flood aid, Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina Flood Aid: "It's what we do"

"Hurricane Katrina has forced millions of people to evacuate -- many without their pets," says Marie Belew Wheatley, president and CEO of the American Humane Association. "And our Animal Emergency Services is on the ground, ready to help reunite families, one pet at a time." Animal Emergency Services is working closely with other groups, including our own charity of choice -- the Animal Rescue League of Boston and the Veterinary Medical Assistance Team (VMAT), to coordinate the most effective response and ensure the safety of the largest number of animals possible. Check out American Humane Association release for details. More news on Hurricane Katrina animal rescue efforts.

"It's who we are. It's what we do. It's part of our history," writes Lores Rizkalla of Just a  Woman [via Hugh Hewitt] in a rousing call to our fellow citizens to pitch in:

When other nations are hit with calamity, whether it be terrorism or a natural disaster, it is the United States that comes to the rescue. The  United States gave more than all other nations combined to the Tsunami relief efforts in Southeast Asia last December.

After the September 11 attacks, the Red Cross alone received over one billion dollars worth of contributions. The vast majority of funds came from individual Americans committed to helping our own. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that "America is great because America is good." This generosity is a reflection of that goodness.

And now, writes New Zealand Bear of TTLB, "The day is here, and I would ask bloggers everyone to join in today and encourage your readers to give, give, and give some more to the Katrina relief charity of your choice":

And yes, I am trying to encourage some friendly competition here. Tomorrow [Thursday] morning I will be publishing "leader boards" which show which charities are receiving the most donations, and which bloggers have been most successful in encouraging their readers to donate. So get your readership fired up!

Reporting for duty, sir.  Once you make a donation to the charity of your choice, you can log in your contribution at TTLB's "Add Your Contribution" page so it can be entered in to the Ecosystem database. As our regular readers know, we are recommending Animal Rescue League of Boston.

In addition to the "leader boards," TTLB has added another competitive feature to the "Blog for Relief Day" page:

See who is supporting this charity.

Besides ourselves, we note early this morning already two bloggers new on our cyberhorizon are promoting this blog's chosen charity, Animal Rescue League of Boston, blogged here Tuesday.

JT of Old Controller, who describes himself as a "retired AF officer, wannabe writer. We have five dogs and two cats, and feed every squirrel and bird within ten miles."

Mark of South Puget Sound Libertarian, among other things a vet of the Army Medical Corps during the Vietnam war, who writes "Having been frightened and depressed by the seemingly irresistible march of big government, I first decided simply to avoid it all. But now I have re-engaged and started this web log. I'm having fun . . . so far.

Thank you, gentlemen, and thanks again to blogpal Teresa of Technicalities for her boundless moral support to all creatures great and small, including angels. Soldiers' Angels, that is, whose Operation Katrina Soldiers Relief Fund is another most worthy project. We'll be posting more names of ARL Boston supporters here as they come in, as well as pictures and reports from the front from the ARL Boston team as they become available.

Good news:  The ever unflappable InstaPundit has been overwhelmed with the response to his request for links to everyone's charities and posts:

SECOND INSTALLMENT: Okay, I'm totally overwhelmed with "Katrina Flood Aid" emails -- there are hundreds and hundreds. I'm going to keep posting as the day goes on, but no fancy alphabetical order or clever comments. And I'm not repeatedly linking to the same charities; I'll just mention 'em. There are just too many!

Technorati tags: Flood aid, Hurricane Katrina.

Update:  Thanks to Kitty of Kitty Litter for linking our original ARL Boston post: "I can't even think of what would happen to our beloved pets in a flood of this magnitude." Check out what happened to a herd of Suidae in this photo flashback from Hurricane Floyd flooding in 1999, linked by Kitty at Byrd Droppings.

Water, water everywhere

"Stranded cat on top of a fence awaits rescue" from What About Cats.

We've found the focus of our hurricane relief efforts -- one of our longtime "pet" causes -- the Animal Rescue League of Boston. As part of a national network in collaboration with the American Humane Association, ARL Boston dispatched a team of four specialists in two vehicles from their Dedham facility this morning and headed for Nashville, where they will set up a base of operations and then move out from there to wherever they can do the most good in the coming days to deliver disaster relief to displaced animals. They will be joined tomorrow by Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Gilman, who reports:

The team is equipped to handle large and small animal rescue, floodwater and  swiftwater rescue and to assist in transportation of large animals.

We've spoken with ARL Boston's Director of Communications, Tom Adams, who sent along some background material and has promised to keep us posted on the team's progress. They're taking along a digital camera loaned by local WHDH-TV, Channel 7 so we're hoping to get some images to post here in the coming days. Meantime, Tom invites our support:

We welcome donations to help with rescue efforts like our work aiding the animals affected by Hurricane Katrina.  Donations may be made through our web site at www.arlboston.org; by phone to (617) 426-9170, Ext. 138 or by mail to

The Animal Rescue League
P.O. Box 265
Boston, MA  02117

"You realize you've just gone to a new level," notes Tuck. What do you mean?  "You're doing telephone research for your blog." Whatever it takes. Hugh Hewitt, Glenn Reynolds and the immediate blogosphere will be blog begging en masse this Thursday. Be sure to check out their blogs for other causes worthy of our support.

Update:  The Ecosystem's N.Z. Bear has created a page to track bloggers who are participating in the blogosphere's "Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day" Thursday, 9/1:

A day of blogging focused on raising awareness of and funds for relief efforts to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina. See here for more information, and here for the TTLB Katrina topic page.

Participating blogs are invited to enter your blog and your recommended charity into the TTLB database.