One of the many lessons we learned as a country during Hurricane Katrina is that plenty of people won't leave their pets behind. You remember the little boy who wouldn't leave Snowball behind, and threw up when he was told he would have to. For many pet lovers, it's a choice they refuse to make.
This week, the U.S. House passed legislation requiring that state and local officials take into account pet owners, household pets and service animals when drawing up evacuation plans. (Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., voted for the bill.) Don't do it and you won't get FEMA grants. Similar legislation is pending in the Senate. In Delaware, state, county and local officials, and pet groups are hammering out evacuation plans with pets and pet owners in mind.
During Katrina, one estimate put the number of animals that died or were left without shelter at 600,000. (The accompanying Sept. 10 photo is of a dog in the contaminated floodwaters of the Industrial Canal in eastern New Orleans.) And a Zogby poll found that 49 percent of U.S. adults say they would refuse to evacuate if they couldn't take their pets with them. That puts human lives at risk, too.
2 comments:
can u get more specific on what's happening in del?
Let me do some more checking. I think the officials involved are close to releasing details.
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