**The Pet Shootings

By now, many of you have heard the stories of the animals that were shot in various schools throughout St. Bernard Parish. These schools had been used as evacuation centers for St. Bernard residents who were awaiting emergency evacuation from the flooding. Evacuees brought their pets with them to these schools, expecting to take the furry members of their families with them upon evacuation. Sadly, this was not to be the case.

Evacuees were not allowed to take their pets when they evacuated. Many of us swear that we would lay down our own lives before we would leave without our pets, but those of us on our pedestals weren't there. We weren't forced to make unnatural decisions in the midst of a natural disaster. And moreover, we don't know the exact details of the forced evacuation. Until we do, I caution everyone to take a breath and wait to make a judgement until the entire story is revealed.

What we do know is that the animals were left in the schools, and that owners expected to be reunited with their pets at a later date. Evidence of this lies in the notes that adorn the chalkboards, entry ways and doors, and the food that lays out for them in the hallways of the schools. Instead of being evacuated and reunited, however, these pets were viciously shot and left to suffer, soon after their owners had left. The following story chronicles my visits to three schools in St. Bernard Parish, in which dogs, cats and birds were killed. These schools were: PGT Middle School, Sebastien Roy Elementary School and St. Bernard High School.

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What strikes you first is not the sight of a dead animal, but the smell. After searching many homes and rescuing many animals, you learn to differentiate smells quickly. Smells of mold, sludge, sewer and rotting food are odors you get used to...and then there is the smell of death.

In each of the schools, blood and decay are ripe to the nose and the scent of death is unmistakeable. Walking through each hall and each classroom, you walk in search of animals you have not come to rescue, with only your nose to guide you. When the odor reaches your nose, the site that awaits you is one of true horror. There, lying only feet away is a furry animal, clearly somebody's pet, lying dead in a great pool of blood. It is so surreal, so unnatural, that you step closer, trying to make sense of such an unimaginable event, and you notice the little black holes in the belly, the legs, the side...Bullet holes.

It is a tragedy to find one animal shot inhumanely for any reason. To find 26 who were shot, maimed and left to die gruesome deaths, is an abhorrent catastrophe.

On one wall, a note reads "In this room are 6 adult dogs + 4 puppies. Please save them! Kit". Kit's note is an ominous one next to a closed door. Where there should be barking or snoring or even the dull whine of young pups, there is none. There is no sound. No sound at all.

A side door to this classroom is propped open by the corpse of an adult golden retriever. She lies there with her right front paw gingerly propped across a golden puppy and another small black dog, a daschund, lays at the pup's feet. All have been shot.

Across the room lies yet another daschund. The mind swirls, trying to comprehend how anyone could kill these animals. The argument that these animals were shot because they were vicious and uncontrollable is hard to make when you're staring at small, friendly breeds such as these.

On another level lies a small cocker spaniel mix. He and the pit mix with a blue harnass and tags who lies near him are still largely enshrined in a deep pool of blood. The blood is so thick that it is a sticky puddle just to walk through. Stick, stick, stick. You can feel it as you trudge by, making your way into yet another room filled with dead dogs. This next room has a pile of milkbones right in the center, another sign that owners expected to see their pets alive again.

There are dogs tied to the walls, and dogs lying on staircases. There are dogs who look like they've tried to escape and dogs who cowered in corners. And there are tags and collars and harnasses that tell you that these dogs were somebody's pets.

In another school, there are two cats lying in crates in a hallway. Both were shot, apparently in their crates and both have owner's names, phone numbers and addresses on them. Piles of black and gray fluff are all that remain in these crates that have become coffins, bearing the names "Fluffy" and "Tips".

Down the hall there is a poodle, a yellow lab, a pomeranian, a parrot, a rottweiler and several furry mixes. Some are tied. Some are covered in bugs. It is enough to make a grown woman cry, a grown woman who has seen dead and dying animals all week and still, she is rattled to her core.

A note on a hall wall in PGT Beauregard reads, "There is one very nice dog in here. Please do not shoot her. Please find her a good home. Her name is Angel."

Angel, we could not get to you in time, and could not save you from your suffering, but we know that you are safe now and have found a truly "good home". And I promise you that many of us will not rest until we find who did this and make sure that they can never do it again. From then on, we will try to make things safer for all your furry little brothers and sisters still on this earth.

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These animals did not die humanely. We know that they were shot, and that their deaths were close enough in succession to suggest that there was more than one killer, and probably several. The bullet holes suggest that animals were shot in ways that would not lead to an immediate death, and that the animals probably suffered a great deal. We can also tell that they did not die of starvation by the piles of food left for them. A hallway in St. Bernard High School where many of the animals were shot have boxes of fruit loops, bags of chips and other snack foods strewn across it, uneaten. The multitude of animals suggests that the animals did not die of disease, or from attacks by other animals. The decay of their bodies suggested that the animals had been dead already for several weeks.

There were also gun casings at the scene. Unfortunately, by the time I first saw the animals (9/29), people had collected them as "souvenirs", therefore making the crime scene less powerful. One Humane Society (HSUS) volunteer wearing her bright yellow T-shirt told me that 'they' had collected them for souvenirs to show people, and produced a bullet casing in a ziploc bag. When I suggested that by doing so it destroyed the integrity of the crime scene and made the story less powerful in the media, she brushed me off. The gun casings were apparently police casings, and many people assumed that the police were behind the massacre, though this claim is as yet, unsubstaniated.

In these schools, room after room is filled with the same carnage. In all, I saw 26 animals shot (11 at PGT Beauregard, 6 at Sebastien Roy and 9 at St. Bernard High), all innocent victims of a needless tragedy. If you are outraged, or saddened, or sickened by this event, you are not alone...and you can help us bring justice and honor the furry little ones that were so viciously taken.

Pasado Safe Haven, an amazing rescue society based in Seattle, is now handling the investigation of these shootings. They are funding the necropsies of all the animals who were victims of these shootings, each of which cost nearly $500. Monetary donations for this cause can be given directly to their site (see links on left side of page or click on link below). They are also offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people who have committed this crime: http://www.pasadosafehaven.org/NEWS/DOGSHOOTING/REWARD.htm

As well, we're hoping to find a way to enact stricter laws for people who maliciously harm animals. Keep checking this site to find out how you can help with this effort.

Do this for Angel, and for all the pets that were hurt in such horrific ways. Let's find a way to make sure this can never happen again.

(Pictures of the schools and the animal victims may be viewed by clicking the link "Cat's pictures" to the left. Be prepared for what you will see. It is difficult.)