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Tippy and Christopher, together again
October1, 2008
Tiparue, affectionately called Tippy by his family, is living proof that
a hurricane experience can change someone’s life and take one on
journeys both painful and bittersweet.
Having survived a difficult evacuation with his New Orleans family and
being rescued from the
I-10 Causeway during Hurricane Katrina, Tippy was separated from his
family, Pam Coffee and her son, 15-year-old Christopher Hitte, a few
months ago – shortly before Hurricanes Gustav and Ike struck the Gulf
Coast.
Tippy’s original journey began when his family was trapped in the
Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans by floodwaters. After several
hours, most of Tippy’s human family, including Christopher, were rescued
by helicopter, but Pam and Tippy were still there waiting for the next
helicopter to arrive.
 As
minutes turned into hours, Pam was concerned that she and Tippy had been
forgotten, but eventually a boat came by to rescue them as well. Like
hundreds of others, Tippy and her family were transported to the
interstate in New Orleans to wait for yet another rescue that would
ultimately take them out of the city. Pam, Christopher and Tippy found
each other on the interstate and their experience lives with them to
this day. Pam said she will never forget the elderly man who had less
then two swallows of water left in his water bottle, when he turned to
them and offered it to Tippy. Pam said she never learned his name but
she will never forget this person’s extreme generosity in the face of so
much loss.
Like so many other people who are lucky enough to have an animal
companion, Tippy became a source of strength for this family that had
survived Katrina, a re-location to Alabama, and later another
re-location to Oklahoma, until they were ultimately able to return home
to
New Orleans.
Pam said Christopher still cannot bring himself to talk about his
experiences during Katrina, “He’s never been comfortable talking about
it,” says Pam. “but he’s always happy with Tippy by his side.”
On the final leg of their Hurricane Katrina initiated journey, when the
family attempted to board a bus from Oklahoma to New Orleans, they were
not allowed to have Tippy travel with them, even though he’s small
enough to sit on their laps. Forced to leave Tippy in Oklahoma, the
family, and particularly Christopher, were devastated. To make matters
worse, Tippy ended up at an animal shelter in Enid, Oklahoma, where he
spent several months.
But, thanks to Furever Friends, the Humane Society of the United States,
and the LA/SPCA,
the Coffee family was finally reunited with Tippy . Furever Friends and
HSUS had arranged to transport Tippy from Oklahoma back to New Orleans
in late August, but those plans were interrupted due to Hurricanes Ike
and Gustav.
 In
response to Hurricane Ike, the LA/SPCA deployed several teams of urban
animal rescuers into Houston and Galveston for a 6 day rescue period.
With the LA/SPCA preparing to leave Texas to return to New Orleans, HSUS
contacted LA/SPCA's Kathryn Destreza to ask for assistance transporting
Tippy back to the area and reuniting her with her family.
On September 21, 2008, three weeks after Hurricane Gustav struck, that
reunion became a reality. An LA/SPCA team led by Destreza traveled from
Houston early Sunday morning with Tippy in tow. Stopping only once for a
bathroom and food break, of which Tippy enjoyed a few French fries and
others treats, two LA/SPCA vehicles blazed down I-10 like an invisible
parade with the grand marshal, Tippy, leading the band.
Five hours later they arrived back at the LA/SPCA with Tippy’s family
eagerly awaiting her arrival. As Kathryn Destreza emerged from the
vehicle with Tippy cradled in her arm, the family was overjoyed and
Christopher, with Tippy once again, had every reason to smile.
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