Snowball's chance

Today I was wondering what happened to Snowball. Last year, during Hurricane Katrina, CBS showed footage of a police officer taking a little dog away from a boy as his family got on the bus to leave the Louisiana Superdome. The boy cried, "Snowball, snowball!" and threw up. People across the country saw this and were outraged.

It was reported a few days later that the dog had been captured and was safe and sound. But then another report said the first one wasn't true.

To this day, no one knows where the boy is, or the dog. Even though thousands of dollars in reward money have been put up by animal lovers for returning the dog to his boy. Even though you'd think the cop would have brough the dog SOMEWHERE. Even though the House of Representatives just passed the Federal Pet Evacuation and Transportation Law, spurred by the images of Snowball.

There is also an organization called Snowball's Chance that helps to reunite pets with their owners. Sadly, their message boards are currently frozen out of respect for one of their volunteers, a beautiful 36-year-old woman who apparently killed herself last week. (It says it vaguely and you have to read between the lines.)

When a creature gives you so much love and doesn't understand what is happening, to lose that animal is heartbreaking. I am glad that lawmakers are seeing fit to make sure animals are taken care of in times of crisis.

Someone mentioned in a newspaper column that the officials were right to reject pets during the hurricane, as 15,000 people could have meant 7,500 pets. Maybe, but they shouldn't have all been left to drown or turn into wild animals. People are still put first - but some of those people love their pets.


Passing on

I saw an obit in the paper today of someone whom I think it would have been neat to know:

Jean Keenan, 83

Mrs. Keenan was a writer for the Silver Burdett Co. in Morristown for many years before retiring. Earlier, she was an English teacher at Hillside High School and worked in the advertising department for Hahne's department store in Newark. She was also a copy editor in Chicago.
...Mrs. Keenan was a member of the Short Hills Ski Club, the Hunterdon Hiking Club, the Bicycle Touring Club of North Jersey and the Union County Hiking Club. She was also a member of the Morristown Free Wheelers and the Frost Valley Trail Walkers.

First off, she was 83 and involved in all of those organizations. Even if she was only involved in her 70s - wow. Also, it seems like she was a smart working girl back before it was common for women to work in corporations. I'd have loved to hear what it was like to advertise a Nylon sale at Hahne's, or copyedit at some big buliding in Chicago, as the only woman on the 20th floor.
She also was born in Detroit and was working on a Ph.D at Rutgers.
I think she really would have had some cool stories to tell.