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Norfolk-based PETA flies poodle displaced by Hurricane Katrina from Norfolk to Thanksgiving reunion with owner in Texas. By Michael Zitz. Date published: 12/10/2005
By Michael Zitz
FANCY IS ONE of the lucky ones. The Norfolk-based group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals gave the 7-year-old miniature toy poodle that name. When she was found locked in a New Orleans home following Hurricane Katrina, from Aug. 28 until Sept. 16, she hadn't eaten in nearly three weeks and had lost half her body weight. Her fur was so fouled by floodwaters' chemicals, oil and human waste that shears wouldn't cut it, and it finally fell out. And she had developed a life-threatening infection. But, through it all, the dog's toenails remained painted hot pink. Fancy not only survived Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, but became one of the few New Orleans pets to be reunited with their owners. "It's amazing," said Cyrillia Duplessis, the dog's owner, who now lives in Fort Worth. "Her food was underwater, and I guess she was drinking the toxic water." Then there was the trek the dog made over half a continent as animal rescue groups moved in to help. "I was very surprised she ended up all the way up in Virginia," Duplessis said. Of 250,000 pets separated from their human families during Hurricane Katrina, it's estimated that 200,000 are still missing. The reunion took place the day before Thanksgiving, when PETA paid to fly the poodle and her "foster parent," Colleen O'Brien, from Norfolk to Dallas. O'Brien, PETA's 29-year-old communications director, took Fancy into her own Virginia Beach home for 10 weeks and fell in love with the dog, whose real name turned out to be 'Licorice.' Thanks to PETA, the poodle's story had a happy ending. "We've spent a great deal of money, as have a lot of animal groups, since Katrina," O'Brien said. She said volunteers from animal-assistance groups across the country went to New Orleans and broke down locked doors to rescue animals after receiving calls from displaced owners. Duplessis had taken her mother to the hospital for dialysis as Katrina approached, then couldn't make it back home.
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