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In the initial hours after the horrific Texas school massacre, in which 18 children and one adult was killed, CNN’s Jake Tapper noted that politicians’ expressions of thoughts and prayers “has sadly become a cliche at this point.”

But even calling it a cliche seems like a cliche, because the mass shootings, and school massacres in particular, keep happening.

Ed Lavandera, covering the shooting for CNN, was able to give some insight to a reunification center that had been set up for parents at Ross Elementary, as he recalled the same set up for Sandy Hook Elementary. “You could hear the yelling and screaming of the parents who were there,” he said.

Later in the evening, one local reporter at the scene of the Texas shootings, Leigh Waldman of Ksat-tv in San Antonio, wrote on Twitter, “We just heard screams inside the civic center. Yet another family hearing the worst news possible.

It was a photo that upset many: two dogs peeking helplessly out of a boat surrounded by flood waters.

The pair of pups were left behind to brave the ravages of Hurricane Harvey — which has now been downgraded to a tropical storm as it continues to dump rain on the Houston area — alone.

CNN reporter Ed Lavandera captured the shot of the stranded canine comrades on Monday and posted it to his Instagram account.

“Two dogs left behind in a boat. Sadly a family had to evacuate their flooded neighborhood in Dickinson, #Texas without their dogs. Hope they’re ok.