Finally there is a bill in the us government that states that plans for the pets that are displaced by natural disasters and pets that will be displaced in years to come. The bill will require that state and local preparedness offices take into account pet owners, household pets and service animals when drawing up evacuation plans. If the fail to do so they will not qualify for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This bill came about because pet owners were asked this questions and I am not surprised by the answer, "When asked to choose between abandoning their pets or their personal safety, many pet owners chose to risk their lives.” How do you feel about your pets? Would you risk your lives for them? I think it is about time for this law to come and I hope that its passes today and we will have it in effect or this coming hurricane season.
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There is NO way that I would leave my baby (dog), Peche behind! He is a member of my family. He cheers me up when I am down. He greets me when I get home. How could I possibly choose to leave him behind?
As stupid as it sounds, if I was posed that question I would have stayed behind. The bond a person can have with an animal can be as strong if not stronger than the bond between two humans. Any pet owner can tell you that.
I worked as a tv news editor during the aftermath of Katrina and cried almost every day from the footage. I watched as rescue boats attempted to take people, but the declined their pet and the owner stayed -- the shot stagnant on the ever decreasing size of said person and their pet. Not to mention the animals that were left (shame on their owners!) running around looking for food, covered in slime and death, with not other possibilities. In fact, the plight of these left-behind animals was far sadder to me than the people, at least the people had some sort of choice to leave or stay.
Any good pet owner, in my opinion, will have made arrangements for that pet before it comes down to the point of having to decide whether or not to leave it behind. Any person who lives in an area with a hurricane season MUST have an evacuation plan that includes arrangements for everyone in the household, adults, children and pets. A person who is forced to decide at the last minute to same themself or save a pet probably deserves to be in that position for being so unprepared in the first place.