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Home for Life®'s role in hurricane response

When the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, many rescues and shelters volunteered to assist by taking animals who had lost their homes or who had been abandoned. Others sent representatives to the devastated areas to help in whatever way they could.

At that time, the right decision for Home For Life®, as a care-for-life sanctuary, was to wait for those animals who were still in need after the flurry of activity of the first responders: the animals who were not able to reunite with their families or who were not adopted into new homes, still adrift, homeless and hopeless.

Skippy and Hattie are among the several dogs and cats that Home For Life® has taken in since Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Skippy and Hattie at HFL

Since arriving at HFL, Skippy and Hattie have been through obedience training! As participants in our Renaissance program, each dog was trained by an at-risk teen.

Both Skippy and Hattie developed strong bonds with their trainers, as shown in the School Days photos at left. It is heartening to see them respond so openly to new people and to eagerly begin this new chapter in their lives.

Keeping siblings together

HFL provides a home for many canine and feline siblings that have survived difficult times together and formed strong bonds. At Home for Life®, they can enjoy the good times together, too. As long as they live, they will benefit from the bonds they have forged.

Just a few of these siblings:

Skippy's and Hattie's Story

Skippy and Hattie, side by side in the snow
Skippy and Hattie stick close together for their walk in the snow. More: Noses to the ground | back to initial picture

Skippy and Hattie, both purebred Weimaraners, lost their home during Hurricane Rita. Their two-year journey to Home For Life® was long and treacherous.

Skippy was adopted from a Weimaraner rescue in Texas as a young dog, surrendered by his breeder as "unsaleable." He was born with Spina Bifida—his hind legs work together instead of independently. He can run, jump and play like a normal dog, but with a bunny hop gait. He is nine years old. Hattie is his little sister. She is seven years old and has been with Skippy since she was a puppy. She is very bonded with him, and he protects and loves her.

School Days Young man offering Skippy a stick
Skippy considers the offer of a stick presented by his trainer in the Renaissance program. More: Hattie and her trainer rest after a workout | back to initial picture

Skippy's owner took in Hattie from a family friend who was overwhelmed by raising a hyperactive hunting-breed puppy. The dogs' adoptive family included two other dogs, two cats, two children and two adults in a loving home in Texas.

As Hurricane Rita approached, the family was evacuated. They had room in their car to load up the children, cats, parents and the two "other" dogs, who were quite old. The Weimaraners were left behind. The husband brought his family to safety in Minnesota and dropped them off with his in-laws before heading back to Texas to stay with Skippy and Hattie.

In the meantime, the storm hit. The family's house was demolished. When the owner arrived in Texas, he found his house leveled and everything lost. Skippy and Hattie were living in the yard, fending for themselves.

The two dogs lived with their owner in a travel trailer for over a year while he finished his job in Texas. When he brought the dogs to Minnesota, it was not an easy integration. His in-laws had two dogs of their own that constantly attacked the two Weimaraners. The owner's geriatric dogs did not remember Hattie and Skippy, and would join the attacks against their old housemates.

The final straw was when their owner got in the middle of a dogfight begun by his in-laws' Golden Retriever. The owner was bitten badly by the Golden Retriever while trying to intervene and stop the unprovoked attack on Skippy and Hattie. He spent a week in the hospital on IV antibiotics. It was decided that because the family was living in their in-laws' house, they had to respect their dogs and find an alternative for Skippy and Hattie.

Skippy and Hattie were surrendered to a Minnesota rescue whose mission is to find adoptive homes for the dogs in their care. The dogs were in foster care with the organization for about two months. The rescue realized how bonded the two dogs were and wanted them to stay together. They had offers of adoption for Hattie, but no one wanted Skippy because they saw him as crippled. Skippy had developed multiple lipomas on his chest and ribs, and was quite underweight with pressure sores on his ribs. He had a hard time keeping weight on due to his spinal issues.

Although the rescue was committed to both dogs, they realized that it would be best to find a long-term care or hospice facility for Skippy. However, the rescue still felt it was important to keep the two dogs together. The dogs had been to hell together and survived—they endured a hurricane, lost their home, sustained multiple challenges and attacks from other dogs, and finally lost their family. It would be the final cruelty to split them up; they would lose each other, too.

There was no long-term care organization or foster home for Skippy and Hattie, but there was Home For Life®. Thanks to the support of our generous donors, the sanctuary stood ready and able to reach out to these special dogs that had been virtual refugees for over two years.