I was asked to put the following story and informational tidbit on the blog from a friend (Hiddy-ho, northern bureau Bears!) because of all the animal questions we've been getting and because of the international attention those dolphins from the marina are getting.
1) There were also some smaller, younger dolphins who were transfered to swimming pools at a Best Western and a Holiday Inn up Hwy 49. There's actually a photo on this blog (of not the best quality) of one of the swimming pools with said dolphins and their trainer the night before the storm. Anyways, not all the smaller dolphins made it. Why has their plight not made the news?
2)A friend from work, let's call him lil' Mookie because I like that name, told me the following story early last week (all quotes are rough remembrances of what my friend told me): Lil' Mookie's house was destroyed, so he was staying with his parents. One day, they discover a pit-bull - of the large variety - in their backyard in an otherwise ruined-by-Katrina neighborhood. The dog was obviously not in a good mood so they start shouting and throwing things in its general direction to get it out of their yard so they could feel safe to go outside. Surely, this dog had survived the storm on its own and was rather freaked out, because the dog did not move a muscle, despite the noise and threats.
Eventually, Lil' Mookie's father goes to get his gun. Lil' Mookie says, "No dad, don't shoot it," and takes the gun from him.
Lil' Mookie decides to fire off a few rounds into the ground in front of the pit-bull to scare it away.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!," goes the gun and the dog looks up at Lil' Mookie as if to say, "What the f**k do you want?"
So Lil' Mookie's dad decides to call the cops. Cops come in about an hour and, by that point, the pit-bull had wedged itself under the family's deck and was shaking and growling.
The cops start to coax the dog out from under the deck and when it pokes its head out a little, "Bang!," they shoot it between the eyes. The dog took a step like it did not know what had happened and drops dead.
"What the hell did you do that for?" yells Lil' Mookie. "We didn't want you to kill it!"
"C'mon, kid," said the cop. "You know how many calls we get for this? Do you know how many of these animals there are out there? Even if we had enough space for it, which we don't, all the dogs we throw in together are so freaked out, they're tearing each other apart. That thing could have had rabies too, for all we know. Not that we had the time or resources to test for it. Besides, we also don't really have the time to deal with that sort of thing in general now, there is still that whole natural disaster, medical emergencies and looting thing to deal with."
And off they took the dog's corpse.
Things have, of course, gotten better since then. I've seen animal activists and control specialists from all over the country in their vans driving around recently.
What I want to say is, at least 1/3 of all South Mississippians lost their homes. Thousands lost their jobs. Hundreds lost their lives.
There is plenty of garbage on the roads for strays to eat and therefore I find myself not caring all that deeply about how the animals were affected. Maybe in a few months I'll be worried how Flipper and Lassie fared, but now, I'm more worried about what my neighbor on a Section 8 housing allowance and welfare is going to do with her 8-year-old daughter and herself now that we've been asked to leave our apartment complex and there's no available apartments.
1) There were also some smaller, younger dolphins who were transfered to swimming pools at a Best Western and a Holiday Inn up Hwy 49. There's actually a photo on this blog (of not the best quality) of one of the swimming pools with said dolphins and their trainer the night before the storm. Anyways, not all the smaller dolphins made it. Why has their plight not made the news?
2)A friend from work, let's call him lil' Mookie because I like that name, told me the following story early last week (all quotes are rough remembrances of what my friend told me): Lil' Mookie's house was destroyed, so he was staying with his parents. One day, they discover a pit-bull - of the large variety - in their backyard in an otherwise ruined-by-Katrina neighborhood. The dog was obviously not in a good mood so they start shouting and throwing things in its general direction to get it out of their yard so they could feel safe to go outside. Surely, this dog had survived the storm on its own and was rather freaked out, because the dog did not move a muscle, despite the noise and threats.
Eventually, Lil' Mookie's father goes to get his gun. Lil' Mookie says, "No dad, don't shoot it," and takes the gun from him.
Lil' Mookie decides to fire off a few rounds into the ground in front of the pit-bull to scare it away.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!," goes the gun and the dog looks up at Lil' Mookie as if to say, "What the f**k do you want?"
So Lil' Mookie's dad decides to call the cops. Cops come in about an hour and, by that point, the pit-bull had wedged itself under the family's deck and was shaking and growling.
The cops start to coax the dog out from under the deck and when it pokes its head out a little, "Bang!," they shoot it between the eyes. The dog took a step like it did not know what had happened and drops dead.
"What the hell did you do that for?" yells Lil' Mookie. "We didn't want you to kill it!"
"C'mon, kid," said the cop. "You know how many calls we get for this? Do you know how many of these animals there are out there? Even if we had enough space for it, which we don't, all the dogs we throw in together are so freaked out, they're tearing each other apart. That thing could have had rabies too, for all we know. Not that we had the time or resources to test for it. Besides, we also don't really have the time to deal with that sort of thing in general now, there is still that whole natural disaster, medical emergencies and looting thing to deal with."
And off they took the dog's corpse.
Things have, of course, gotten better since then. I've seen animal activists and control specialists from all over the country in their vans driving around recently.
What I want to say is, at least 1/3 of all South Mississippians lost their homes. Thousands lost their jobs. Hundreds lost their lives.
There is plenty of garbage on the roads for strays to eat and therefore I find myself not caring all that deeply about how the animals were affected. Maybe in a few months I'll be worried how Flipper and Lassie fared, but now, I'm more worried about what my neighbor on a Section 8 housing allowance and welfare is going to do with her 8-year-old daughter and herself now that we've been asked to leave our apartment complex and there's no available apartments.
posted by Josh Norman at 2:42 PM
8 Comments:
Oh my, I fear you have laid yourself wide open to the criticism of animal activist groups with this last update. I am almost positive this matters not to you in the least, but in your support, allow me to add this...
When I married, my DH came with a Dog, a Truck and a House. (in that order of importance) The dog was a huge pit bull named Vice Grip. I'm not sure VG ever knew he was a dog and not a people. He was by far the most tame, loving, gentle creature I have ever known.
That said, I feel justified in expressing my support for your point of view. Our first concern is our people.
Thanks for continuing to tell it like it is.
It's not pretty. It's not easy to see or read - but it certainly needs to be out there.
-tcole
Josh -
I continue to be touched by your pithy complelling reviews.. keep on writing and taking pics.
a friend of mine sent me photos of Katrina just before it made landfall -
they are top grade photos.. but I don't know who took them.
email me if you'd like to see them, we'd have to say author unknown.. they are awesome.
Its to bad to call the cops at a time like that because of a dog. They should have delt with it themselfes and there are more important things rigth now.
Thanks for your blog, so we can see whats going on.
What a sad story. It's a shame we can't be concerned with all living beings at the same time. There shouldn't have to be a choice.
Id just let the animals go. The dolphins were probably happy to be free.
R2000
Very Good blog, but I think that this good that is dead all the Americans, merecian it! by Mothers Fuckers with the rest of the world!
I'd like to comment on the dolphins. "Our" dolphins, the ones that spend the summer at Hersheypark, Pennsylvania, spend their winters down there. They have spent their entire lives in captivity. They are not used to being out in the wild, and have not been socialized with wild dolphins. Experts (I can't quote a name here) have said it is in the dolphins' best interest to be found.
I really think that it is easier in a way to focus on the poor animals that are wandering, hungry or dead. So much easier to think about than the people and the children. The animals cause a butterfly in the stomach, thinking about the people is like a knife instead. I will keep checking in as Rita approaches. Please be safe.
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