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-August 29, 2005-

Nine years have now passed
And I can still feel their pain
So many of their lives, and mine
Will never again, ever be the same

I had planned to travel to the Gulf Coast once
But many of us realized, we couldn’t stay away
I ended up traveling back down there four times
And all of my memories, are still very vivid today

It has now been estimated, that nearly half a million
Companion animals were left behind, in this hurricane
We eventually managed to rescue about 15,000 of them
The rest were lost, in the howling wind and merciless rain

Those surviving, forced to somehow fend for themselves
And, it was the haunted look, in far too many of their eyes
That will live on in my mind, for the rest of my natural days
That still make so many who went down there, still want to cry

But I also have some extremely fond, everlasting, remembrances
Of extremely dedicated rescue volunteers, from all over our planet
Who helped each other cope, with the horrific images we all beheld
Renewing our vows, to never take our animal companions for granted

And nine years later, I still have three Katrina Survivors in my home
Who remind me every day, just how precious companion animals are
But very often, I have to wake the three of them, from their nightmares
For all four of us, no matter how much time passes, this storm is never far

Our gentle Lab, Junior, was almost dead from starvation, when we found him
Good old Tater, our black Lab, was the sole survivor at a trailer park on the sea
Our feline, Flower, selected me to be her new guardian, when I first spotted her
And all three of these left behind animals, still give their love and gratitude to me

It was because of this devastating hurricane, that I began rescuing animals
I never thought that nine years later, I would still be out there, rescuing them
Because of our abysmal economy, pets are still being left behind, everywhere
And today, I sadly wonder if our horrific national pet abandonment, will ever end

-Please Never Leave Your Own Pets Behind-

And Junior’s Story – ‘A Survivor’s Tale’
Can Be Found In The A.D. Story Section Today

©August 29, 2014