September 15, 2005
Waiting
People leave, dogs wait. It's an old rule. You'd think we'd be used to by now.
Usually, it works out fine. We sleep safely. Then the people return and we shake the sleep out of our bodies and all is right with the world.
But with Katrina, it was different. The winds whipped and people left, maybe thinking they'd be back soon. Except they weren't.
The photo that sticks out for me was not on the TV but in an article on the Internet. It's a picture of a dog sitting on the side roof of a house. The flood is all around him. Even the flat roof is puddled with water and littered with branches, grit and blown boards. It looks like the end of the world. And still the dog waits.
"If you are home and are ordered to evacuate, take your pets with you," the article says. Mike says maybe some people screwed up and panicked, or maybe they had to leave without a car, or go to a shelter that didn't allow dogs. The waters were rising. Maybe they had no choice.
Maybe not. A dog waits in the ruins for them either way.
Usually, it works out fine. We sleep safely. Then the people return and we shake the sleep out of our bodies and all is right with the world.
But with Katrina, it was different. The winds whipped and people left, maybe thinking they'd be back soon. Except they weren't.
The photo that sticks out for me was not on the TV but in an article on the Internet. It's a picture of a dog sitting on the side roof of a house. The flood is all around him. Even the flat roof is puddled with water and littered with branches, grit and blown boards. It looks like the end of the world. And still the dog waits.
"If you are home and are ordered to evacuate, take your pets with you," the article says. Mike says maybe some people screwed up and panicked, or maybe they had to leave without a car, or go to a shelter that didn't allow dogs. The waters were rising. Maybe they had no choice.
Maybe not. A dog waits in the ruins for them either way.
