“It's hard to look at this book without feeling a pull on the heartstrings.” – The Dallas Morning News

The flooding of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina was only a few days old when a team of rescuers from the Best Friends Animal Society started saving animals from the flooded streets. For the next two weeks, Best Friends photographer Troy Snow took pictures as he helped with the rescues. Not Left Behind is the story—in Troy’s stunning photographs and riveting eyewitness accounts—of those two weeks, and how Best Friends went about saving some 4,000 dogs, cats and other pets.

One of the many tragedies associated with Katrina was that most evacuees had to leave their pets behind, a wrenching experience that was as heartbreaking for some as losing their homes. Managers at Best Friends Animal Society, known nationwide for its “No More Homeless Pets” campaign, knew that saving as many of those dogs, cats and other animals as possible was a mission they could not refuse even had they wanted to. And they certainly didn’t want to. So they headed into the devastation.

What those Best Friends teams did in the next weeks and months is a moving testimony to the power of unconditional love. Their efforts were matched by equally stirring miracles of generosity from thousands of volunteers, donors and supporters of Best Friends.

Not Left Behind doesn’t attempt to provide a complete picture of what was done to rescue the pets of New Orleans. Probably no single book ever can. But in its small way, the story of what these few did speaks volumes about the spirit of compassion that floated on those waters of destruction.

As for the animals shown on these pages, they too represent but a few of literally tens of thousands of pets affected by the catastrophe. Their expressions also speak volumes—telling of fear and desperation and despair, but also of hope and resilience. Many of these animals were ultimately reunited with their families; almost all of the rest found new homes. There were indeed many many happy endings.

As a national community, we made mistakes in responding to Katrina. But we also did things right. In our ignorance, we insisted that people leave without their pets. But in our compassion we went back, and we made sure that as many as possible were, in the end, not left behind.

FOR PUBLICITY INFORMATION CONTACT: MEG PARSANT (212) 787-5704

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