Hurricane Gustov moved through Louisiana September 1st and 2nd and storms trailed. The damage is substantial. Some, like me and the residents near me in Lafayette, LA where I live, were fortunate and had little damage and no disruption in utility service. Others, even many who were close by, were devastated, including one spot on the map in Mamou, Louisiana where at least two people lost their lives. As noted in a local news article, neighbors said it appeared the residence exploded when a tornado hit it on the day after the hurricane. It was tragic.
Photos can't depict such a tradgedy, especially when it comes to destruction of property. It's too vast a landscape. So it's easy to detach oneself from what's really happened; especially in a world where we hear reports of death daily.
So how does it happen that a photo of a dog, on a chain, at the scene of the devastation, rile compassion and concern for the dog? My initial thoughts followed; "what happened to that dog on the chain?", "oh my God, look at the size of that chain?", "who leaves their dog tied up in the back yard on a chain in a storm?", "Did the reporter or photogropher unleash the dog?", "Is the dog still on the leash?"
So, out comes the iPhone and quickly I send off an email inquiry to Leslie, the photographer, credited below the photo, including her email. I was very pleased to get a quick response and to discover that I was not the only reader concerned for the dog. She promised she and her editors were working on finding out what happened to the dog and posting a followup on their website.
Now, anyone that knows me will happily tell you I'm not patient...and that I may be a bit compulsive. So, I politely asked the photographer for the address where the photo was taken. She offered some direction, but prudently, she urged caution (due to the high waters) and sensitivity to the people in the area (picking up the pieces to their lives). In other words, she kindly suggested it wasn't a good idea to go out there in rescue of the dog.
So, here I arrive at a familiar paradox. How am I focused on the welfare of a dog, when the human tragedy is so great? Why do I feel compelled to save a dog, and spend so much energy considering his plight, and so little thought on the people who lost their lives, their property and their loved ones? What does this say about me as a person?
With every bit of introspection, a bit of nausea sets in. I don't like it. I don't like it because the human loss begins to set in as well. And ultimately, there's nothing me or anyone else can do to change the outcome. The more I think about it, the more helpless I feel. The more helpless I feel, the less alive I feel.
Yet, when I see a sad dog, chained down, amid an open field of debris, suddenly, I feel alive! Suddenly, I feel like there's some hope. Suddenly, I feel useful. There is something left to save, and if you love animals, there's something precious left in the wreckage!
But then my mind returns back to the paradox. "Lots of people need rescue, help and support," I think. Many have been impacted. So many people will now have to rebuild their lives. And again I begin to slip into that dark spiral of helplessness. "That's way too much to comprehend, to fathom."
I have three very happy dogs. I rescued each of them. From what, exactly, I don't know. I don't know their past and I know very little about their stories before I adopted them.
Despite the frustration and work they require each day, I cherish their companionship, and it warms me to know that they will never be chained and left out in a terrifying storm.
I still can't say I fully understand why my mind works this way...why I fight with this paradox. I can say I don't like it when I consider what it might mean or say about me, and I certainly understand how it perplexes others.
What I can say is that loving animals and treating them with kindness and compassion is good for the human condition, and its goodness spills over into society. It washes over us and hopefully spills into the way we treat one another.
There's still no end to the story of the chained dog in Mamou. But I hope and pray, at least that part of this story has a happy ending.
See the photo and news story "Tornado in Mamou" at http://www.theadvertiser.com/
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