INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

CNN Reporter Snaps Photo Of 2 Abandoned Dogs In Texas Flood

By Roz Zurko
Published on: 11:06 PST, Aug 30, 2017

The stories of people struggling to survive in the water-drenched state of Texas has captured the hearts of the nation, but with human life on the line, dogs tend to come second to some. One family getting into a rescue boat found that out the hard way when they were told they had to leave their two dogs behind.

There are not too many places considered safe to leave your pets in rising flood waters, but at least a boat will float as the waters rise. If they can’t go with their humans, that might be a better option than leaving them on the ground level somewhere. That is just what this family did, and a photo of their beloved dogs left behind on a boat with flood waters rising around them has since gone viral, according to People Magazine.

However, the photo received mixed responses from social media users.

CNN reporter Ed Lavandera caught the dogs on camera Monday and posted a photo of the pups to his Instagram page that started the viral concern over the dogs. You can see his post below.

Many folks could not fathom leaving their pets behind because they consider their dogs and cats as part of their family, and they let that be known in the comment section. Some, however, said that because they were not there, they couldn’t objectively judge the situation. One person defended the dogs being left behind by suggesting the ride the family was offered might have been considered life-saving for them, so they had no choice once the dogs weren’t allowed on the boat.

Other commenters were not as forgiving. Some people were quick to point out that the dogs are sitting in a boat, which the family could have used to sail away, with the dogs, to safety. This flooded neighborhood is in Dickenson, Texas, according to Lavandera’s post.

Of course, there were some folks on Instagram who were ready to shoot the messenger, Lavandera himself, for taking this picture and sharing it online instead of helping the dogs. Misty S 83 wrote, “This is horrible! how can someone take a picture and post it and NOT do anything?” This was not the first case online this week when people went after the photographer for snapping a photo and leaving the dog behind. It happened with another viral dog photo this week.

It seems that Lavandera decided to provide an update later on, saying, “I should add, I think the people have every intention of coming back to get the dogs. Food was left behind and I suspect it had to be a tough choice and that they will come back for them as soon as they can.”

When someone saw a dog tied to a tree with flood waters rising around the poor animal, they snapped a picture of the sad sight. While the picture got a lot of mileage, the person who snapped the picture was lambasted for just taking the picture and moving along. Leaving the dog tied to that tree had many peeved at the photographer who took the picture, much like what is going on today with the CNN reporter. The dog tied to the tree was also eventually saved as reported on another Inquisitr article.

People Magazine reports today that the concern over these two dogs is over. The CNN reporter got a message the next day that the dogs, named Frankie and Bear, were rescued by “a dedicated group of first responders and locals.”

In the end, both viral pictures of dogs abandoned and in jeopardy served a purpose.

[Featured Image by David J. Phillip/AP Images]

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