Over Looked Victims

Hurricane Katrina claimed many victims. Alongside many unfortunate residents of New Orleans, animals also suffered. Dogs, cats, and other pets spent time tied to trees or porches while the rising waters raged. Many a pet succumbed to the waters unquestionable force. Thanks to the help of hundreds of volunteers, many animals were spared. My sister, Kari, was one of the volunteers that took time off from work and journeyed to the swamp that swallowed the once great city of New Orleans. Thanks to my sister, my family was able to welcome a new and spirited member. Max, our new dog, made the trip to Florida after spending a week tied to the front door of an abandoned house. He spent that week without food or water and without any human companion ship. Although the harrowing week of survival seemed to have dampened his spirit, Max overcame his hardships and greets the world with a confidence that is shocking to find in such a small dog.

Weighing only ten pounds, Max is not much bigger than an average house cat. His coat is all white except for his back feet which he loves to chew on every chance he gets. When he first arrived in Florida, he was sent to the Broward County Humane Society, where he was "lost" after being processed. My family spent a week sifting through personnel at the humane society before we found him. After Max made his trip from Fort Lauderdale in the passenger seat of my car, he was finally introduced into his new home. He was cautious and insecure at first. He would slowly walk around our apartment with his tail between his legs as if he were moping. With his head low, he sniffed around his new surroundings and picked out his favorite spots. My closet immediately became one of his favorite spots. We had bought him some toys to try and perk him up, and I soon found them hidden under my clothes. Our apartment borders a canal with a nice grassy area between which he could play, but he was reluctant to go outside unless nature called. Max was just very unsure of everything that was happening to him. He also did not seem to want to express himself. He never barked or made any sound at all. It just seemed that all of these changes affected him greatly.

Max was a big change for my family as well. We had not raised a dog in four or five years since our previous dog passed away. So we had to experiment with many different things to try and win Max's trust. Max turned down many flavors and types of food. He did not even want to try the hard, dry food and only seemed to like the chicken flavored wet food. However, it seemed he still did not like to eat. We were afraid that there was a serious problem. Max would slowly walk into our kitchen, and approach the food very carefully. He would stop in front of his dish and smell it a couple of times and look up at me as if to say, "Do I have to?" Eventually he would start to nibble slightly at the pile but never with any gusto.

I took him to the vet to hear the doctor's opinion. What she told me would put a huge piece of the Max puzzle into place. She told me that Max had a broken jaw and a couple of teeth loose, and she was not surprised that he did not want to eat. With news like that, I was not surprised either. After that visit, I started to add more water to his food and make a soup of chicken and rice goop. It did not look very appetizing to me, but Max seemed to like it. He was also running around more and seemed to want to play more often. I was very happy to watch the beginning of his transformation from injured and unhappy to healing and energetic.

After those first weeks of acclimation Max was definitely more comfortable with his new home