''Pawprints of Katrina: Pets Saved and Lessons Learned'' is a

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

book written by

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Cathy Scott that documents the author's experience with an animal welfare group and the rescue and reunions of lost animals with their owners in the Gulf region. The book, with a foreword by

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Ali MacGraw, was released in August 2008 on the third anniversary of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

. More than 200 stories with photos by Clay Myers detail rescues, examinations, treatment, reunions, and follow-up care by volunteers.

Summary

The book begins on September 11, 2005, at a freeway off-ramp used as a boat launch, with New York City Parks Enforcement (Search & Rescue Team) Department's Captain Scott Shields, known for the efforts of his search-and-rescue dog, Bear, at the World Trade Center on 9/11. An excerpt from that chapter describes the moment: "Before we set out on a boat to look for stranded pets, the captain asked us to take a moment to remember those lost on 9/11. There, standing amidst the rubble of Hurricane Katrina with the black water just a few feet from us, we bowed our heads, and not a sound was heard. No cars. No lawnmowers. No birds. No planes. No trains. No voices. Not even the couple of dogs rescued and then tied with leashes to the off-ramp railing, awaiting transport, uttered a sound. It was as if, at that brief but somber point in time, they, too, acknowledged the loss of life. It was a poignant moment, observing those lost in the largest terrorist attack on American soil while we were in the thick of rescuing animals in the wake of the biggest natural disaster in U.S. history. The Crescent City was devoid of life, except for those of us out rescuing that day and, of course, the animals left behind." A story included in the book about Red, a partially paralyzed pit-bull terrier, was covered by

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator who anchors the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at CNN, Cooper serves as a correspondent for ''6 ...

. A gray cat whose owner drove 10 hours to reunite with his cat and covered in the book was featured by ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...

''.

Reception

Reviewer Steve Donoghue noted, in '' Open Letters: A Monthly Arts and Literature Review'', "...this will certainly be the definitive account of Katrina animal rescue." The ''Canada Free Press'' wrote that "''Pawprints of Katrina'' tells the inspiring story of the fate of the abandoned pets, some ending in tragedy, many in against-all-odds happy endings." ''Book Hounds review said, "An experienced rescuer herself, Scott conducted amphibious reporting on the ground and in boats, so her book makes you feel like a firsthand witness to history, as animals are saved and the lucky ones get to be reunited with their people." Reviewer Justin Moyer with ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area since 1981. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial ...

'' recommended the book on his Katrina reading list., as did the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. It was on Sacramento Public Library's "Suggested Reading List" for 2010. And the ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...

'' recommended it for spring reading. ''

The Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...

'' columnist Susan Larson reviewed the book, writing, "Scott ends her tale of this 'remarkable collaborative effort' on a note of hope: Katrina raised awareness about how important it is to incorporate caring for animals in disaster planning, and she offers helpful suggestions for pet disaster preparedness." The author spoke at the 2008

National Book Festival The National Book Festival is an annual literary festival held in Washington, D.C. in the United States; it is organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, and was founded by Laura Bush and James H. Billington in 2001. Background In 19 ...

in Washington, D.C., reading from ''Pawprints of Katrina'' on the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...

. She also appeared on KSFR's Santa Fe Radio Cafe in November 2008 while there for a ''Pawprints'' book event with MacGraw. Photographer Myers was awarded "Best Spot News Photo Coverage" from the Nevada Press Association for the book's cover photo included in a first-person account by Scott in ''Las Vegas CityLife''.''Las Vegas CityLife'', "Pet project: Local author and freelance journalist finds her calling on the Gulf Coast," October 22, 2005

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pawprints of Katrina Books about animal welfare History of Mississippi History of New Orleans Hurricane Katrina disaster relief Wiley (publisher) books Books about Hurricane Katrina International responses to Hurricane Katrina Books of photographs 2008 non-fiction books Books by Cathy Scott American non-fiction books