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Posted by Joy Butler Jul 2, 2008 |
It's been almost three years and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina continues. A news article at statesman.com informs that a black female Cocker Spaniel was finally returned to her New Orleans owner yesterday.
In 2005 Jazz/Hope was rescued in Katrina's aftermath and adopted by a Texas woman several months later. When the original owner showed up, a long and bitter legal battle ensued involving claims of wrong dog, neglect, abuse, and an assault in 2006 by the New Orleans woman on the Texas woman. After court appeals and thousands of dollars in legal fees, Jazz/Hope was returned to her original owner. However upon arrival to pick up the dog, the woman was arrested on an outstanding warrant for the 2006 assault. Her supporters took Jazz.
I feel sorry for all involved in this lose-lose situation. Both owners love this dog very much and both, through no fault of their own, have had her companionship torn from them. I'm sure Jazz/Hope loves them both and has missed each of them in turn. For almost three years, the dispute has been hashed, chopped, diced and scrambled and still no painless solution could be found. In my opinion, it all goes back to poor disaster preparation and poor emergency management. In addition to better government preparation, we should all have individual disaster plans. Hopefully we've all learned something from the catastrophe that was Katrina.