10/27/08: Few Ike Reunions, Miracle Survivors Ranger & Ginger

Marilyn Knapp Litt
Swimming for his life, he endured the horror of being hit by bodies of the drowned

The son finished boarding up the house, put Ranger in his van and called his parents to say he was leaving because the water was coming. But he left too late.

A wave slammed the van into a guardrail. It started to fill with water. The son managed to grab Ranger and swim out of the van. He swam with his 65 pound dog under his arm. A second huge wave came as the electricity failed.

A third wave, 12 feet high, parted them in the dark as the young man had to let go to save his life. Debris, alligators, and dead bodies slammed into him as he endured the horror...and struggled to survive. And as he swam in that terrifying deadly black water, he looked for his dog. Escaping the surge, he reached safety, but alone. He found a fire truck whose crew took him to shelter.

We’ll never know how Ranger survived and made it to safety, but he did. He ended up at the Houston SPCA and his family saw his photo online. A family member called the SPCA, "You found our dog!" She provided them with Ranger's shelter ID number.

You would think the SPCA would be delighted at the prospect of a reunion. Reunions are rare, especially when no effort is made to contact owners, even when the animals are removed from homes.

"It is not your dog." That was the immediate response. How could they know without checking? Why didn't the family hear something like, "Wow, let's see. I hope it is your dog!"

Here is how the exchange was described to me: "With each question, I felt they were trying harder and harder NOT to reunite him with his family. The final straw was telling me that he was to be put up for adoption this week if he passed the personality test."

She told the SPCA they were coming to get Ranger that day. The response was they could not promise he would be there. She begged them; "Please, as a personal favor, please hold the dog until he can be picked up."

Why do some people, confronted with a stranger who has nothing, open their homes? And why do other people look down from a position of power and make them plead? Even if you have no empathy with people, how can professionals, who choose to work with animals, care so little about them?

Dogs grieve and mourn lost families. (If you don’t know this firsthand, I refer you to the literature of Jack London or Charles Dickens.) Why would the SPCA be so eager to adopt out an animal the family is coming to claim? And if Ranger goes home...somewhere down the line, there will be shelter space for a dog that would otherwise be put to sleep? Shouldn't that be what an organization called the "Society for the Prevention and Cruelty to Animals" is all about?

I think I know why. And it is not just the Houston SPCA. Ten days after rescue, all animals were available for adoption. (Some desirable little dogs didn't even last 10 days). The focus of the rescue effort was to rehome saved animals. It is easier and cheaper to adopt out animals than to hold them and reunite them. Ranger's ten days were up and that's why the SPCA could say Ranger was not their dog. They meant, he is no longer your dog.

Surviving a hurricane makes you strong and the family went to the SPCA to get their dog and would not be denied. Ranger was so excited to see his Mom and Dad, he whined and barked and wagged until they had no choice but to admit he had found his family. The son broke down when he heard Ranger had survived. The home he stayed to board up has vanished. The family has to start over. But now, thanks to Ranger's improbable return, they are not starting over from scratch. Hope is talked about a lot these days and in a conventional sense. Red or blue, you can have your own ideal of Hope. Neither party holds the copyright. But for this family, Hope is a sweet, gentle, long haired Retriever/Aussie Shep mix.

Marilyn Knapp Litt - A Stealth Volunteer in San Antonio
Stealth Helped Reunite Families with their Katrina Pets: 1,000+ V

Courtney Chandel, Nanette Martin

"First stop, Ironton,” Nanette said as I turned the bumpy corner into the debris-strewn neighborhood. We hoped we’d find something alive here... Then we saw her — a gorgeous Golden Retriever with expectant eyes, wagging away. A sparkling oasis of life amid destruction and decay. She sat by her little dogloo, near her boarded-up person's home, tied to a tree.

We ran to her. Her tongue dropped out and she smiled... "Good dog! Good girl!" She was so thin. We could feel her bones easily, yet bowls of fresh food and water sat beside her. We saw the house was deserted, so we headed to the street where a woman greeted us. "You met Ginger!" And so we learned how a neighbor was caring for Ginger after her disabled person evacuated. People weren't allowed to take pets with them, even the disabled. We tried to imagine what Ginger had seen and felt during the storm...the sounds, wind, darkness... It was hard not to feel fiercely protective toward her.

Each day we made the two-hour drive from New Orleans to Plaquemines Parish, we checked on Ginger. We thought about bringing Ginger to ARNO until her "mom" came home. The idea was cinched when we saw three German Shepherds, who’d also survived, bullying her. We obtained mom's phone number... There is no other call like the one after a disaster to tell someone their animal is alive. And, yes, she sure would like it if Ginger got out of there...

Ginger’s odyssey didn’t end with ARNO. She was routed through Best Friends and then to a foster home in Southern California...until her mom returned after living in a FEMA trailer. We advised her to never leave Ginger again.

Fast forward nearly three years to September 13, 2008. From my New York City apartment, I helplessly watched reports of Hurricane Ike barreling along the Gulf Coast. I'd just returned from Louisiana for Gustav evacuations, and now Ike was there. One report said Ironton was under five feet of water.

Ginger! I rummaged through three-year-old Katrina rescue notes...and (unbelievably) found a phone number for Ginger’s mom. She picked up on the first ring. She'd evacuated for Ike, but again, wasn't allowed to take Ginger. Incredible. But no time for that. Was Ginger tied? No.

I posted an SOS for Ginger on the web. Immediately, Belle Chasse resident Ramona Billot contacted Lori Wilson of Rescue Ranch. Lori had to wait two more excrutiating days until rescuers were admitted into Plaquemines. I imagined the worst...until Lori’s call came: Ginger was alive! A neighbor working on a levee identified her and agreed to care for her until her mom returned.

I called with the same good news as three years ago. Once again, the relief on the other end was palpable over the cell towers. A frail voice asked, “You have Ginger?” I can still hear her anxiety in my ears today.

Jeff Dorson, Humane Society of Louisiana

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