These pets are home for the holidays

For anyone in need of some uplift this holiday weekend to keep their minds off high gas prices and the fear of avian pestilence, “Animal Planet Heroes: Hurricane Reunions” comes to the rescue at 8 tonight with an hourlong variation on an ancient theme: When all else fails, dogs will show us the way.

These are stories of reunions between humans and their four-legged companions (mostly dogs, with a couple of cats thrown in for balance) who were separated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

New Orleans residents Margie Wilmouth and Luana Rathman, for example, weathered Katrina with their long-haired Chihuahua and several large mutts. In the aftermath, they got a frantic call warning them that looters were rampaging through their neighborhood. Rescuers arrived but they had no room on their boats or helicopters for the large dogs, who were left to fend for themselves among the floodwaters.

In most cases, residents thought they would be gone only a day or two, so they left behind only a limited amount of food and water for their pets. That doomed many of the animals, but this show is all about happy endings, including a tearful reunion for Margie, Luana and their dogs.