Katrina pet crisis persists

The first crisis was those lost, abandoned or killed in the storm and its immediate aftermath.

Now there are pets like Hank, who stayed with his New Orleans East owners for the first 10 months after Katrina, which submerged their home in 7 feet of water.

After moving several times and struggling to rebuild their lives, Hank's owners realized they could no longer cope with owning a dog. So they surrendered Hank to Animal Rescue New Orleans, or ARNO, a grass-roots group that cares for animals that were left behind or separated from their owners.

The dog bounded with joy as ARNO shelter coordinator Robin Beaulieu entered his pen one recent afternoon. Hank flipped onto his back for a tummy rub.

"He loves to be petted and groomed," Beaulieu said.

The dog has lived at ARNO for the last eight months while he waits to find a new home.

Animal advocates say many pet owners living in trailers and tight on cash while they rebuild their flood-damaged homes opt to give up their animals because they don't have space or can no longer afford to keep them.

"So many people out there need help with their pets," said Charlotte Bass Lilly, ARNO's executive director.

Beaulieu estimated that the number of families surrendering their pets to shelters had gone up between 45% and 60% since Katrina. ARNO was founded shortly after the storm.

Laura K. Maloney, executive director of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said that although some of the animals being put up for adoption by her agency these days could be the offspring of animals separated from their families since the storm, most were pets that had been relinquished by their owners.

According to LA/SPCA statistics, about 259,400 families owned pets in Orleans Parish before the storm. As many as 104,000 were left behind after Katrina; about 15,000 were officially rescued. An estimated 3,000 have been reunited with their families, and at least 88,700 pets remain unaccounted for, Maloney said. Thousands of the pets unaccounted for are believed to have died, she added.

ARNO and other animal advocacy groups believe many of the strays that remain on the streets are "Katrina pets" and their fourth- or fifth-generation offspring. And most have not been spayed or neutered.