With all the other terrible things going on in the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the stories of pets just add to the terrible sadness. People who left their pets behind, now desperate for information about them, people who refuse to leave their homes without their pets — all of it is sad. Most of these people have lost everything, and making them leave pets behind (and worse, to be KILLED) is an unimaginable burden.

It's good to know that local animal welfare organizations are doing their best to help out. CNN has been following the story, here's the latest: "Pet rescuers race against time," Peggy Mihelich, 9/9/05.

The Humane Society of the United States published an article on September 4th about people who managed to bring their pets with them: "Refusing to Leave Them Behind, Evacuees Smuggled Their Pets Out With Them," Carrie Allan. Scroll down to read Lola's story. She's a love bird who spent the bus ride from Louisiana to Texas hiding in her owner's cleavage.

I don't have a firm disaster plan ready, although I've certainly thought about it. Given enough time, I'd catch all the Finsters and put them into the hospital cage, and take that, Peanut's house, and all the tasty seeds I could find with me in my car; the destination would depend on the disaster. In a pinch, I don't know what I would do about the Finsters. They're hard to catch even in the darkness, I don't know if I could do it under stress, in only a short amount of time.

Despite his Mighty Beak Of Biting, Peanut would be much easier to grab and carry. Those lightly clipped wings of his, combined with a napkin for 'toweling,' make his capture relatively easy even in a hurry. But we're going to have to work on the whole cleavage idea. Oh, he likes to snuggle during Warm Toasty time, so once he gets used to the new spot he should settle in well enough. But I don't have a whole lot of cleavage. Good thing Peanut is so small.