Doc Watchers

Curated by Hellura Lyle

Mine

Geralyn Pezanoski,81 Minutes, 2009

When tens of thousands of pets were left behind as Hurricane Katrina bore down on New Orleans, custody battles arise between the pets’ original owners and their adoptive families that bring to light some of the same race and class issues that have permeated five years of discussion of Hurricane Katrina.In the clamor to get out of the city, many pet owners left their animals with food and water, fully intending to return in a few days. People without the means to leave the city on their own were forced onto buses and barred from bringing their pets. Mine follows some of the hundreds of volunteers who mobilized in the hours and days after the storm, entering the city and capturing as many stranded pets as they could find.