Pawprints of Katrina facts for kids
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| Author | Cathy Scott |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Nonfiction, Natural disasters |
| Publisher | Howell Book House |
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Publication date
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June 2008 |
| Media type | Hardcover, Kindle |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 978-0-470-22851-7 |
Pawprints of Katrina: Pets Saved and Lessons Learned is a non-fiction book written by author and journalist Cathy Scott that documents the author's experience with an animal welfare group and the rescue and reunions of lost animals with their owners in the Gulf region. The book, with a foreword by actor Ali MacGraw, was released in August 2008 on the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
More than 200 stories with photos by Clay Myers detail rescues, examinations, treatment, reunions, and follow-up care by volunteers.
Summary
The book begins on September 11, 2005, at a freeway off-ramp used as a boat launch, with New York City Parks Enforcement (Search & Rescue Team) Department's Captain Scott Shields, known for the efforts of his search-and-rescue dog, Bear, at the World Trade Center on 9/11.
An excerpt from that chapter describes the moment: "Before we set out on a boat to look for stranded pets, the captain asked us to take a moment to remember those lost on 9/11. There, standing amidst the rubble of Hurricane Katrina with the black water just a few feet from us, we bowed our heads, and not a sound was heard. No cars. No lawnmowers. No birds. No planes. No trains. No voices. Not even the couple of dogs rescued and then tied with leashes to the off-ramp railing, awaiting transport, uttered a sound. It was as if, at that brief but somber point in time, they, too, acknowledged the loss of life. It was a poignant moment, observing those lost in the largest terrorist attack on American soil while we were in the thick of rescuing animals in the wake of the biggest natural disaster in U.S. history. The Crescent City was devoid of life, except for those of us out rescuing that day and, of course, the animals left behind."
A story included in the book about Red, a partially paralyzed pit-bull terrier, was covered by CNN's Anderson Cooper. A gray cat whose owner drove 10 hours to reunite with his cat and covered in the book was featured by Dateline NBC.
