When
planning the scope of our Katrina coverage, we
decided to reach out to those from the affected
region and ask them to share their stories and
insights with us. In a moment of serendipity,
we were fortunate to find Julia Kamysz Lane, who’s
both a published author and a Bark reader. Julia—with
her intimate knowledge of New Orleans and connections
to the humane/dog community—was willing
to put her combination of talents to work for
us, compiling most of the personal accounts and
adding her own. Also included in this special
section are articles about the heroic rescue work
performed by the “first-responder”
groups; how others contributed by coordinating
airlifts, sheltering and fostering; and stories
about those who refused to leave without their
dogs. Among the many accounts of devastation and
loss, stories offer opportunities to rejoice and
to be grateful for what we hold dear.
Here, we are presenting one of the chroniclers,
James Mercadel, who appears in our magazine, the
other five narratives are only presented online,
all of these stories have been gathered by Julia
Kamysz Lane.
If you would like to add your story, or offer
comments, you can send them to Claudia@thebark.com.
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| Photo by Allison V. Smith |
So the three of us were in the home together and
I was lying on the floor in the den just going
through the hurricane. The home was vibrating
and it was very scary. It sounded like the home
would collapse. Then I could hear rippings on
the roof. All of a sudden, my feet started getting
wet. The water was coming into the home! It came
in fast but it didn’t make any noise. In
five to 10 minutes, I had about three feet of
water, and my house is raised up.
I first rushed Gressive up the steps to the attic
because she was the smaller dog. Then I came back
and got my Leader Dog Jake up to the attic. I
already had a bucket of water up there just in
case, mainly for the dogs.
We stayed in the attic and I was listening to
the hurricane outside. When the winds calmed down,
I went down the steps and I had maybe four feet
of water in my home. I went outdoors to see if
anyone was there. I didn’t hear anyone around,
so I went back to the attic with the dogs.
Right then, I heard the neighbor across the street.
It sounded like they were leaving in a boat but
I wasn’t sure because I couldn’t see.
So what I did was I started yelling for help.
About 20 minutes later, I heard my neighbor come
yelling if I needed any help. I told him yes and
from there, by that time, I was standing in the
living room. He took my hand to leave the home
and I told him I have my dogs in the attic. He
said, “I will come back to get your dogs.”
He was never able to go back to get my dogs.
I had to walk through the water shoulder-deep
to get to the boat and that water was filthy,
and all the way from that Monday [Aug. 29] to
that Saturday [Sept. 3], I wasn’t able
to shower. We went through the water and would
go on people’s porches, go from one porch
to another, and travel-ing like that until we
got to the boat.
They brought me over to the church. We waited
in there for two days, and for two days, I was
able to hear my dogs bark. It was awful. We had
food and water because they used the boat to break
into the grocery. They were feeding other people
in the neighborhood also.
The National Guard came and they assisted me
down into the boat. They drove us to the interstate
and told us we would be picked up. From listening
to WWL radio, they had advised everyone to go
to the Superdome and there would be buses to pick
you up to bring you out of town.
We walked all the way to the Superdome. I was
missing Jake. He went everywhere with me. All
the bus drivers know Jake because [at our stop]
I’d tell him, “Jake, say goodbye,”
and he’d say, “Woof, woof,”
and everyone would be saying, “Did you hear
that dog?”
I got to the Superdome and had to wait for 10
hours before I could get in. I told the National
Guard that I did not have my medications since
Sunday [Aug. 28]. By this time, it was Friday
[Sept. 2]. He sent me to special services and
I waited in line and they never did take me because
there were so many people with more serious problems.
Then they told us we had to go to the Hyatt,
the hotel outside the Superdome. I got on the
bus at the Hyatt and they drove me straight to
Houston. They sent me to special services at the
Astrodome. I was waiting for my medication when
I was taken with a seizure. That’s when
they sent me to a hospital.
Before they brought me to the hospital, I told
the guy assisting me about my friend, Dr. Glen
Morgan, who lives in Houston. After [staying at
the hospital], I went to Glen’s parents’
house and from there, I went to Glen’s home.
On Saturday, [Sept. 10], I went to the shelter
at Christ Baptist Church Fellowship and that’s
how I met [church volunteer] Shelly Thornton [with
whom he is now staying].
On Sunday, [Sept. 11], I met Judy Livingston
and [her daughter] Heather. Miss Judy was going
to get in touch with her friend in the National
Guard and see if they would go to my home and
look for the dogs.
Glen’s sister had gotten in touch with
Leader Dogs for the Blind and they had sent someone
out to my house, too. But when they went there,
no dogs were at the house. So the National Guard
were going to put a poster on the side of my home
about Jake missing in case anyone saw him. When
they went over to attach the flyer to my home
on Thursday [Sept. 15], Jake was in my home! One
week and three days since the hurricane hit, he
was waiting for me.
Jake got to Houston on Friday [Sept. 16]. He
didn’t see me right away so I said, “Hey
Jake, c’mon buddy,” and I clapped
my hands. When he heard that, he came running
at me, he jumped in my lap and I got kisses from
one end to the other! It was the best day of my
life.
All I can say is thank you, Jesus, because it’s
the good Lord that brought me and Jake together.
I can say I haven’t been through anything
compared to what my dogs went through. When I
got Jake, he was dehydrated and malnourished,
and he had a urinary tract infection. To tell
you how wide Houston has opened their doors to
New Orleans evacuees, a vet here said he will
take care of Jake for the rest of his life.
I just received a call from the Humane Society
telling me that Gressive is in Michigan. They
told me they will hold her until I get my place.
So I just found her today [Sept. 27]! The Humane
Society got Gressive after Jake was found. They
asked me on the phone, “What color is she?”
I said, “Uh-oh, I’m blind!”
I told them she answers to name of “Gressive.”’
They say, “We found her at 1902 Industry,”
and I tell them, “That is my house! That
is my dog!”
My dogs know I love them. I had Gressive since
she was six weeks old, a little bitty puppy. I
had to teach her how to drink out of a bowl. I’m
the only mom she knows. I got my family back together.
It’s just blessings after blessings.
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