"Mine" on PBS

[cArAzzIE]

Caught this on PBS last night. Couldn't pull myself away for some reason and then couldn't stop thinking about the selfish jerks that wouldn't give these people their pets back.

Mine: Taken by Katrina

http://minethemovie.com/wp/?cat=1

[Radio-Active]

Under these circumstances, you have got to question, how long has the pet been with you. How long did the people leave the pet behind and which owner does the pet know more. I have a shelter cat that was abandoned by it's owner. I do not know the circumstances as to why it was left behind, but I would have a hard time if the original owners came back 1 year later wanting to pick up their pet.

And by the way, I did not see the whole thing. just enough to know that it involved the Huricane Katrina pets.

[Nails]

I might ask for a reward/compensation if I spent alot on vet bills but otherwise I'd return the pet, especially if it appears to happy to see it's original owner.

[Treibenschnell]

I made my choice...

[cArAzzIE]

The documentary follows the victims of the Katrina hurricane that lost a pet, and the adoptive owners of those pets. Typically, there’s a 5 day waiting period before an animal can be adopted out. However, that was changed to 3 years for pets of the hurricane victims. This was not respected nor adhered to by humane and rescue groups. The HUGE misconception is that victims of Katrina had a choice, and they abandoned their pets. The resulting mindset is that they don’t deserve to have their pets back. The truth is that many rescue workers disallowed pets on a rescue bus or in a shelter. They took the victims animals away, from children and adults alike, while offering assurance that their pets would be cared for and they would be reunited with the beloved pet in the future.

If someone continued searching for their pet a year (or more) after the hurricane, that clearly indicates they did not abandon their pet. There’s a sense of pride that goes with adopting an abandoned or forgotten pet, but that just wasn’t the case here. And if the original owner comes around after an exhaustive and expensive search effort - they should have their pet back. It IS the right thing to do. In all the cases represented in the documentary - the reactions of the animals spoke volumes that the pets were very happy to be reunited with their original owner. If you adopt a pet that came from a disaster area, there must be something in the back of your mind that tells you this may be a "foster" situation, especially if the pet was adopted out prematurely. There are plenty of animals around that do not have anyone looking for them and would otherwise be euthanized, why keep a pet that already has a loving, caring owner?

[Sharpie]

I agree in this situation, the pets should be returned. ( I didn't watch it, just read Carazzie's cliff notes) I just got done reading a book/documentary about Katrina, the stuff they went through was insane.

[sammm]

the stuff they went through was insane.

The stuff they are still going through is insane.

[Sharpie]

The stuff they are still going through is insane.

So very true. I have family in Baton Rouge. The book I read just covered the first 100 days after the hurricane.