I'm sitting here with my pooch in my lap, with tears flowing down my cheeks. It's the first time I've cried - well, since I saw Aaron Brouchard (?), the president of Jefferson Parish, break down.

I loved how the dog wagged his tail immediately - he KNEW that the reporter had the solution. Bless him - bless them all.

i saw that oprah, you need the clip where her reporter is interviewing a faimly, and the daughter has a black shirt on with a giant green weed leaf on the front. lol.

Once Oprah arrived the whole disaster has turned into a tearful emotional circus. She sure knows how to get her ratings.

i'm not a dog person, or an animal person for that matter, but couldn't help but be happy for that family. A minor happy moment in the middle of so much going wrong over there.

Oprah sure loves her photo ops. She went to South Africa and taped her tears and donations to boost her ratings. She is no better than Bush doing his public relations to seem as if he is interested in people's wellbeing and to show to everyone that he's working. Scum!

I am happy to see the owner united with his pet, one he cares so much about. Also, I believe that the buck stops with the President and he is ultimately accountable for the shameful way this tragedy has unfolded.

But just a couple of observations: 1. Had this been a rich guy, refusing to leave NO unless his dog is rescued, would we call it love for his pet or lack of respect for human life? 2. Had a white rapper said that Ray Nagin doesn't care about white people, would you be posting the vid on your site?

I think the failure was at local level, state level as well as national level. Things went so wrong at so many different levels. It is incorrect of us to lay the entire blame on the fed and none on the mayor/governer.

We are liberals; we should be more fairer than this.

That video is heartrending. The story about the evacuees not being allowed to take their pets is much bigger than is generally being reported. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate: "Pets appeared to be the No. 1 reason many of the estimated 10,000 residents still holed up in their flooded homes are refusing to leave." The story is really worth checking out.

I think the fact that fema turned away help, supplies and refused to allow people to get fuel... trumps anything else. the guy with the dog said the dog had saved him! i don't think i would leave him behind either...

Why do neocon Bush worshippers feel the need to come here and give us copies of the latest Rove talking points, pretty much always anonymously? Do they think we care what slime Rove has dripping out of his various orificies this week?

First off as a minor correction to ejpoeta, the gentleman talking was rescued by the dog and his owner, not the dog. He chose there to stay with them out of gratitude for that. If anything is really heartrending here it is not so much the owner's love of his animal to the point that he refused to abandon him - but rather the loyalty the other man felt to the dog's owner for having rescued him. He could have left with everyone else, but he chose to stay out there with him out of pure gratitude.

Anyone who thinks that mankind is hopeless and doomed to destroy themselves need to watch that and see just how great of a character these people have. Who cares if Oprah was using it as a photo op? Soemthing real did happen here, and something positive at that. Bush's photo ops achieve nothing at all, and even go so far as to create more harm than good. Lest we forget cases like this one where Bush's very precense brings the meager aid that is there to a grinding halt.

Really though this is a great bit on how human compassion is still there despite how badly they've been abandoned. Stories like this one tell you just how bad things are. Even though they went through all that, they're still good people and you have to love them for that.

If ever there was a time for PETA to do something it's now. We just saw maybe 10000 people die and now, sitting in toxic water, people are refusing to leave because of their pets? PETA should get in there, set up a temporary adoption or something because enough PEOPLE have died in New Orleans.

I just shed my 1st tears in regards to this disaster, my emotions up until now were dominated by anger and utter shock. If you've ever had a pet you know how that guy feels. Anyone on this thread that is making light of this situation needs to go join the neo-cons b/c you're no better than they are.

I love Oprah. She started out as a news reporter, but she had too much compassion for the job. That says something about our news media, I think. They've taken their cult of objectivity to the point of losing some of their humanity. They've built this infrastructure where they can get to any crisis anywhere in the world almost instantly, and they use it to just go put on their makeup and shove microphones in people's faces and say "And how do YOU feel about losing everything you've ever cherished? Bad? Well you heard it, Chad; they're feeling Bad. Back to you."

With all due respect, in a crisis, where someone can't get a spot on a bus because someone's dog is there, the pet has to stay behind. How do you explain to a family that their loved mother/father etc was left behind because someone refused to part with their dog? People are living in malaria,e-coli infested water and have to get out now. Not when there's room for their dog. Obviously, the people that feel strongly about it are staying in the toxic waste but you can't leave people behind because people want to save their pets. I have 2 dogs and love them, but I also love my wife and daughter. When there's a disaster, you have to make tough decisions to protect your family.

Seven days after the crisis with most people already evacuated there is no reason they can't take people and their pets.

Dogs are GREAT. Oprah is not.

I knew some would write that humans should always come first etc. and, as humans, we have made sure we do. We have hunted and killed animals to extinction, polluted land and water that animals thrive on and many cage and beat innocent animals every day. I hate to say it - but there are many dogs I would rather give a seat to than humans and I love that this reporter was able to assist this person and his dog and I am hoping that it happens more and more.

Ummm, they (human rescue groups/Red Cross) won't evacuate pets or allow them in shelters, period. This is a reoccuring problem during evacuations,cited as a health/sanitation concern, since folks refuse to leave without their animals. Are people being asked not to bring their luggage (if they are lucky enough to have any) on the buses? Everyone who wants out (in NO at least) can get a bus ride out now, once they make it past the water, which these folks have. This issue is not about a dog/other pet taking space from a human. Finally, if rescue workers have to go back several times to convince someone with a dog to leave without it, thats a waste of rescue efforts too.

I don't understand why the folks manning the busing stations/evacuation stage areas aren't interacting with the animal rescue groups (a couple are already there, the central animal rescue location is the Louisiana Vet school, I think.) Then, humans could drop off their pets with info at the stations, and get taken to the Red Cross etc. Everybody gets out, and everyone gets taken care of, pets included. Rescue groups get saved a whole lot of work and time.

If you will notice this guy rocking back and forth because he has just been asked to abandon a companion he has known for half of his life after four days (or more?)of unbelievable misery(with said companion)....well, animal rescue is about people too.

I would rather have a dog sit next to me then I would Bush. Maybe it's not just blacks but dogs too that Bush can't stand.

"I would rather have a dog sit next to me then I would Bush. Maybe it's not just blacks but dogs too that Bush can't stand."

He did drop his on its face...

Despite the ratings, despite my unfavorable opinion of Oprah Winfrey, despite the exploitation of human suffering... this clip depicts a man in a truly desperate moment and the sudden surge of hope that the reporter brings to him. This is undeniable. This man goes from lost to found in 5 seconds and it srikes a cord. This is real. Shift through the garbage and realize that people are suffering. Set the politics aside and HELP.