Hurricane Katrina Pets Still Need Homes

Image Source: petfinder.com

By Maryann Mott

Harriet desperately clung to the top of a dog house. Candy roamed the streets, scared and alone. Charlotte was found barely alive.

These and thousands of other animals were rescued after one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history: Hurricane Katrina.

Now, five years after the powerful storm pummeled the Louisiana coast, nearly 200 pets -- plucked from the putrid flood waters in New Orleans and found fending for themselves in neighboring parishes -- are still in need of permanent, loving homes, according to petfinder.com.

The reasons are many. Some of the cats and dogs were passed over by adopters because they're too plain looking; others aren't good with kids and a few found homes but were later returned. Continued financial hardship in the area, caused by the BP Oil Spill, doesn't help.

If you're searching for a new BFF, consider opening your heart and home to one of these animal survivors.

Candy, a retriever-spaniel mix, was found roaming the streets after Hurricane Katrina. "When she first came into rescue she was terrified of everything and we could barely touch her without her cowering or running," recalls Laura Berg of Homeward Bound Rescue in Monticello, Minnesota. "Now, she's kissing everyone all over and loves people with a passion."

Get all her adoption info here.

UPDATE: Candy has been adopted! But you can find lots of other wonderful, adoptable pets at petfinder.com.