Finding Snowball

For Leigh, who's getting on my case about not posting for a while... (I actually wanted to post about this yesterday but as usual, I couldn't find the time.)

I first heard the story about this little boy Monday afternoon, on the way back from our weekend trip to Mexico. I immediately thought of my own dogs and it prompted Xan and I to have a discussion about what we would do in this situation. Its difficult to say, of course, because had we been in a situation where we were told to evacuate, we would have taken our dogs with us and done so. For whatever reason, these people either could not or did not, and that being the case we both agreed we would never get on a bus if they told us we couldn't take our dogs.

Having said that, this is a child who had no choice in the matter. All he knows is that his life has been turned upside down--and then someone rips out of his hands the one thing he has left that brings him any comfort. He cries so hard he vomits.

Outside the bus, the little dog is tossed to the side of the road. No accommodations were in place to find temporary shelter for this animal until his owners could come for him. He tries to get back on the bus with his boy but is again moved to the side of the road, left to fend for himself.

As a person who feels that my pets are indeed a member of my family, I find this story to be utterly heartbreaking. For this little boy to have cared for this dog for so long--to have held on to him all the while this family was being rescued--only to have him taken away.

It literally brings tears to my eyes. My heart goes out to this boy and his little white dog. If miracles happen, here's hoping that somehow Snowball will find his way back into that little boy's arms.

Websites trying help find Snowball (and other animals):

katrinafoundpets.com
Save Just One
Snowball's Chance

On a side note, I am choosing to donate to the Arizona Humane Society Rescue and Relief Fund, who has sent a team to rescue the animals stranded by the storm. The reason my money is going to them is that I'm quite sure there are hundreds of stories just like this one that aren't being publicized. I want to help them find all they can.

Who knows, maybe they'll even find little Snowball.

Posted by geekchik at September 7, 2005 02:17 PM