This week marks the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It also marks the opening of a special exhibit to Katrina’s four-legged victims in Bethesda, Maryland.
The exhibit at the Discovery Too Gallery is called “Lest We Forget.” It focuses on the pets who were left behind in the devastation and the people who went in to the save them. Three artists are featured in the exhibit: Carol Guzy, Scotland Haisley and Bill Manley.
“All of the artists witnessed the disaster firsthand, and through their art were able to share it with the world,” said Jennifer Smith, the gallery director at Discovery Too.
Scotland Haisley, the director of the Washington Animal Rescue League, was one of the first people on the ground looking for abandoned pets. His paintings, captured on antique ceiling tiles from New Orleans, are featured in the exhibit.
Carol Guzy, a Washington Post photographer and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, took a year’s leave of absence to capture Katrina’s aftermath and found herself awash in animal rescues. “This caused so much unbelievable suffering that didn’t have to happen by not including animals in the (evacuation and rescue) plan,” she said.
The exhibit also features New Orleans native Bill Manley, an artist who lost everything but his talent to the storm. His large, bright canvases show the ragged edges of his ruined home town.
Twenty-five thousand pets perished in Katrina, but rescuers from across the country managed to save thousands.
This Sunday, the Washington Animal Rescue League will head back to New Orleans to gather more animals born in the aftermath.
