i was wondering if any of you saw the documentary on pbs last night about the animals that were affected by hurricane katrina. it may have been on before but last night was the first time that i saw it.
it was about the rescue efforts for domesticated animals (dogs, cats, birds, etc) and about how the disaster affected wild animals in captivity. they showed the dolphins that were swept out to sea and what they were doing to save them. they showed zoo animals and spoke with someone from the zoo. he said that lack of visitors had been as devasting to the animals at the zoo as anything else had been. i would have never guessed that zoo animals could have been negatively affected by not having visitors. the zoo had went as far as to invite the military personnel that were initially helping with human rescue and clean up to come visit the zoo free of charge, and they talked about what a positive change had taken place in the animals since they were now receiving visitors.
to me the saddest part was seeing the dogs and cats that had been left behind. the animals that survived were in desperate need of food, water, and many times medical attention. i routinely watch animal cops on animal planet, so i have seen animals in desperate conditions before, and while it was very sad to see the starved animals, the part that really brought a tear to my eyes was when they showed a dog that although it was starving to death craved more than anything else human contact. it definitely made me hug our pets a little more tightly last night.