August 23rd was the 2nd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's assault on the Gulf Coast.  There were all the indications of an anniversary.  HBO replayed its indictment of the Federal Government "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts."  Newspapers and magazines all published articles about Katrina and its aftermath, mostly in New Orleans.

The LA Times has had a number of articles in recent days.  There was an article and an op-ed in today's times; both of which warrant reading.  For different reasons.

The article describes the fight for custody of a rescued pit bull between a California relief worker (who rescued the dog) and the Ninth Ward original owner of the dog (who wants her back).  The LA Times, as you know, has a decidedly left-wing, California slant to its reporting...so I'm not surprised at the snidely judgemental references to things no self-respecting middle-class Californian would allow with their pet.  Mortal sins like not neutering and clipping the dog's ears.  The horror.

The article does, however, do a good job of presenting both sides of the story.  The rescuer has considerable emotional and financial investment in the dog she calls "Sweetie."  She found her on the porch of the abandoned Ninth Ward home, followed her progress from animal shelter to animal shelter, eventually adopted her and nursed her back to health.

The owner also has considerable emotional and investment in the dog she calls "Crown."  She bought the dog for her husband but, as fate would have it, the dog bonded with her.  She cared for the dog on a working class wage, likely devoting more of her take home pay as a percentage on the dog's care than the rescuer in California.  She raised the dog, saw it through a litter of puppies and searched for it after returning to New Orleans post-Katrina.

Bear with me for a moment as I seem to switch topics.  The op-ed likens the recovering New Orleans to a person who has suffered a near-fatal stroke.  When Dan and I came back from New Orleans earlier this year, having spent time with our shell-shocked friends and having seen some of the devastated areas, we used the same metaphor to describe the city and its residents. 

So while I sympathize with the woman who rescued and cared for Sweetie, my decision (if I got to be Solomon in this situation) would be to return Crown to her owner.  The loss that the owner has endured, in belongings, in feeling safe within her home, in trusting the government--well, that can never be completely healed.  But the cold snout of her loving dog could go a good way toward restoring her heart.  And the self-less giving back of the dog, regardless of the rescuer's cultural judgements of Lousiana pet owner mores, would be a far more charitable and meaningful act than her original rescue of Crown.

 

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