No Pet Left Behind

The PETS Act Calls for Disaster Plans to Include Animals
April 20, 2006

Doug Harris vividly recalls being told that he would have to do the unthinkable—leave his dogs Jasmine and Missy behind when he evacuated the Superdome.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans resident, along with his wife Joann and their two dogs, had fled the rising floodwaters in their home and stayed at a neighbor's two-story house until they could be taken by boat to the Superdome.
Days later, the thousands of pet guardians who had slept outside the Superdome with their pets (because animals were not allowed inside the temporary shelter) awoke to bittersweet news.
"We were informed that buses would be taking everybody to higher ground, and we would not be able to take our pets with us," said Harris. "I have never seen so many tears, mine included."
As the destruction and heartbreak of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita unfolded on television screens around the world last fall, it quickly became clear that humans were not the only victims of these disasters—thousands of animals were also in desperate need of help. Although The HSUS and countless other animal welfare groups and advocates were able to assist large numbers of people and their pets, their efforts would have been more effective had they been in conjunction with—not in place of—a strong, coordinated government response.
"People deserve disaster planning that takes into consideration not only their own safety, but also the safety of their pets," said Stephanie Shain, director of outreach for the Companion Animals section of The HSUS. "The bond between people and their pets is so great that it becomes nearly impossible to separate the human rescue and relief effort and the animal rescue effort during a disaster, whether it's a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, or terrorist attack. Emergency preparedness plans need to reflect the idea that pets are part of the family."
A new federal bill called the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS Act) may soon do just that, by ensuring that pets—present in 63% of American households—are taken into account in future disaster planning. The PETS Act requires local and state emergency preparedness authorities to include in their evacuation plans how they will accommodate household pets and service animals in the event of a major disaster. In order to qualify for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), local and state authorities must submit these plans.
"The PETS Act will prevent people from being forced to make the horrifying and unnecessary choice of either abandoning their animals to save their own lives, or staying with their pets and remaining in a hazardous—and potentially life-threatening—circumstance during a disaster," explained Lauren Silverman, federal legislative specialist for The HSUS.
The House version of the bill (H.R. 3858) was introduced last fall by U.S. Representatives Tom Lantos (D-CA) and Chris Shays (R-CT) and passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on April 5, 2005—the same day the Senate version of the bill (S. 2548) was introduced by U.S. Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ).
In addition to what H.R. 3858 calls for, S. 2548 also (1) grants the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) the authority to assist in developing these plans to meet the needs of individuals with pets and service animals, (2) allows financial help for states to create and operate emergency shelters for people with their animals, and (3) requires the provision of essential assistance for individuals with household pets and service animals, and the animals themselves, following a major disaster.
Animal lovers can help ensure that this critical legislation becomes law by telling their members of Congress that the PETS Act is important to them. The HSUS is launching a major national advertising campaign the week of April 24 to call attention to the PETS Act and to urge citizens to contact their lawmakers and tell them no pet should be left behind.
"People should contact their U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators and urge them to cosponsor the PETS Act and do everything they can to help ensure its swift passage,” said Silverman.

These days, Harris still lives with feelings of guilt. After an intensive search, Harris was reunited with Missy in December, but has been unable to locate Jasmine.
"The worst was being forced to walk away from my beloved dogs who loved and protected us for years, and never would have done that to us for any reason," says Harris. "Finding Missy helped out a lot. But I still get depressed—even seven months later—over Jasmine."
It may be too late for the PETS Act to help Harris and others who survived the 2005 hurricane season, but animal-friendly emergency preparedness plans can help ensure that, in the future, disaster victims who may have lost everything have at least one thing to live for—their pets.
Rebecca Simmons is the outreach communications coordinator for the Companion Animals section of The HSUS.


Take Action!
Call and e-mail your members of Congress and ask them to support the PETS Act. »