Lucky pup is reunited with victims of Katrina
By Eunnie Park
Source: The Record, Bergen County, NJ
The house was flooded. There was dog food in the second-floor bathroom. And Soldja's owners were drifting away from their New Orleans home in a boat.
The confused puppy, a German shepherd-Labrador retriever mix, crawled out the window and swam toward them.
"You can't come, Soldja!" the Raglin family cried, gesturing from the edge of the boat. "You can't come!"
Soldja followed as far as he could before turning around. He returned to the second-floor bathroom. For three weeks he survived on the food and water the Raglin family left for him. When animal rescuers finally came to his aid, he was still there - a little skinny, a little nervous, but otherwise in good spirits.
During Hurricane Katrina, thousands of animals were deserted, as flood victims were forced to evacuate without their pets. In the aftermath, many animals were rescued by volunteers, hundreds reunited with their families. Others, including Soldja, were listed on petfinder.com in hopes that families would find them online.
Vincent Raglin, his wife, Angela, and their 13-year-old daughter, Samira, relocated to Alabama, where they have relatives. They also lost contact with Raglin's father and niece during the storm.
The family called animal shelters and looked online for Soldja. They feared he might not have survived the storm.
Soldja had made his way north, with the aid of an "underground railroad" of volunteers that worked to rescue stranded Katrina animals and take them to shelters throughout the country.
The puppy eventually reached the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in Oakland, where two cats and more than a dozen dogs abandoned during Hurricane Katrina ended up. He seemed nervous but still cheerful. As volunteers poured affection on the blond 10-month-old canine, he would jump all over them and give sloppy kisses, said Christine Taylor, executive director of the Animal Refuge.
Soldja stayed at the Oakland shelter for several weeks. When no one called to claim him, Taylor made arrangements to send him to a foster family. Two days before he was set to go, she got a call from Vincent Raglin, looking for a lost dog that met the description of Soldja. He sent a photo. It was a match.
"We were so happy that we reunited him with his dog," said Taylor. "All of us were crying tears of happiness."
Soldja and Raglin were reunited at the end of October in a McDonald's restaurant in Georgia. A couple of volunteers drove the dog down from New Jersey. As soon as he saw Raglin, Soldja affectionately gnawed on his owner's hand. Raglin was surprised that Soldja could remember him - but more impressed that the dog weathered such a deadly storm, he said.
"My daughter named him right - he really is a soldier," Raglin said.
But finding Soldja was bittersweet.
Shortly before being reunited with the dog, Raglin had returned to New Orleans to search for his missing father and niece. He discovered their bodies in his father's home.
After all they've lost, the Raglins are especially thankful for Soldja.
"That's the one big bright spot in our life right now," said Angela Raglin.
Vincent Raglin, a retired veteran, said he especially needs Soldja by his side to keep his mind off his father.
"The thing is, I wasn't that close to him before," he said. "Now I'm closer to him than anybody. I spend my time with Soldja. We walk, I feed him, put him in the yard. With him, I don't have time to grieve."
(C) 2005 The Record, Bergen County, NJ. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
I came close to tears when reading this!
By Eunnie Park
Source: The Record, Bergen County, NJ
The house was flooded. There was dog food in the second-floor bathroom. And Soldja's owners were drifting away from their New Orleans home in a boat.
The confused puppy, a German shepherd-Labrador retriever mix, crawled out the window and swam toward them.
"You can't come, Soldja!" the Raglin family cried, gesturing from the edge of the boat. "You can't come!"
Soldja followed as far as he could before turning around. He returned to the second-floor bathroom. For three weeks he survived on the food and water the Raglin family left for him. When animal rescuers finally came to his aid, he was still there - a little skinny, a little nervous, but otherwise in good spirits.
During Hurricane Katrina, thousands of animals were deserted, as flood victims were forced to evacuate without their pets. In the aftermath, many animals were rescued by volunteers, hundreds reunited with their families. Others, including Soldja, were listed on petfinder.com in hopes that families would find them online.
Vincent Raglin, his wife, Angela, and their 13-year-old daughter, Samira, relocated to Alabama, where they have relatives. They also lost contact with Raglin's father and niece during the storm.
The family called animal shelters and looked online for Soldja. They feared he might not have survived the storm.
Soldja had made his way north, with the aid of an "underground railroad" of volunteers that worked to rescue stranded Katrina animals and take them to shelters throughout the country.
The puppy eventually reached the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in Oakland, where two cats and more than a dozen dogs abandoned during Hurricane Katrina ended up. He seemed nervous but still cheerful. As volunteers poured affection on the blond 10-month-old canine, he would jump all over them and give sloppy kisses, said Christine Taylor, executive director of the Animal Refuge.
Soldja stayed at the Oakland shelter for several weeks. When no one called to claim him, Taylor made arrangements to send him to a foster family. Two days before he was set to go, she got a call from Vincent Raglin, looking for a lost dog that met the description of Soldja. He sent a photo. It was a match.
"We were so happy that we reunited him with his dog," said Taylor. "All of us were crying tears of happiness."
Soldja and Raglin were reunited at the end of October in a McDonald's restaurant in Georgia. A couple of volunteers drove the dog down from New Jersey. As soon as he saw Raglin, Soldja affectionately gnawed on his owner's hand. Raglin was surprised that Soldja could remember him - but more impressed that the dog weathered such a deadly storm, he said.
"My daughter named him right - he really is a soldier," Raglin said.
But finding Soldja was bittersweet.
Shortly before being reunited with the dog, Raglin had returned to New Orleans to search for his missing father and niece. He discovered their bodies in his father's home.
After all they've lost, the Raglins are especially thankful for Soldja.
"That's the one big bright spot in our life right now," said Angela Raglin.
Vincent Raglin, a retired veteran, said he especially needs Soldja by his side to keep his mind off his father.
"The thing is, I wasn't that close to him before," he said. "Now I'm closer to him than anybody. I spend my time with Soldja. We walk, I feed him, put him in the yard. With him, I don't have time to grieve."
(C) 2005 The Record, Bergen County, NJ. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
I came close to tears when reading this!
