Dog That Survived Katrina Helps Unprotected Cats

Nearly a decade after Arizona Humane Society volunteers rescued a dog named Boots from the ruins Hurricane Katrina left in the United States, a dog now helps rescue unprotected cats in Phoenix.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the hardest hitting natural disasters in the United States. Possibly, something that added to the disgrace even more was the order to evacuate cities that would be impacted by the natural phenomenon, as people had to leave their pets behind.

This decision left hundreds of pets in their homes, enduring alone and scared the next step, which would be the most devastating hurricane seen in decades. The property damage was incalculable, but the damage done to the pets was even worse.

Due to the total or partial destruction of many houses, the animals escaped to the streets, others were injured and many lost their lives. This situation was further aggravated, since, due to the emergency situation, the population was prohibited from returning to rescue their animals.

Source: Arizona Humane Society/ Facebook

However, some institutions were allowed in after a few weeks to rescue the affected pets and, fortunately for many, this turned out to be the biggest recovery of animals in history.

Close to 60% of households had pets at the time of the hurricane, so it is estimated that nearly 50,000 animals were affected by the tragedy, unfortunately help came too late for many of them.

Fortunately this was not the case with Boots dog. He,  at the time of his rescue, was two years old and had serious burns on his paws, which forced him to wear some bandages (and hence his name).

Boots, which is a cross between Chow Chow and Golden Retriever, was just one of 300 animals rescued by Animal Emergency Medical, which also transported Boots dog to Louisiana for necessary medical care.

At the Foundation with unprotected cats

Source: Arizona Humane Society/ Facebook

However, after the rescues, accommodation of the animals was necessary, in addition to the difficult process of returning the animals to their owners. Only 60 of the 300 animals rescued by the foundation managed to return to their original home.

Despite this, a large pet adoption campaign was started and many people, moved by the images that came to them in the press, decided to take one of these animals into their care, so many unprotected cats found a home.

It is worth saying that many of the animals could not find their owners because they were stray animals, so for them it was an opportunity to find a home. It’s still unclear whether this was Boots’s dog’s situation, but he was fortunate that the foundation staff took a liking to him.

A volunteer at the emergency center, who had lost her dog shortly before the tragedy, adopted Boots, who immediately got on well with her cats.

From then on, Boots the dog began to help the Arizona Humane Society to welcome and welcome unprotected cats that arrive at the shelter, especially those between 5 and 8 weeks old.

The support that Boots offers them, in addition to company, helps them to adapt to the presence of dogs, if there are dogs in the household that are considering adopting these cats. This is extremely important, as cats with good behavior are more likely to find a home.

Boots dog is an amazing babysitter as he is very quiet and doesn’t mind what the kittens do to him. He only worries when someone climbs to a high place or gets into trouble, the dog then runs to help him.

We’ll leave you with an emotional video of a campaign launched after Katrina to pressure the state, in the event of a new disaster, to allow people to evacuate their homes with their beloved pets.