Katrina leading to better pet rescue efforts

Kim Campbell Thornton • E-mail

In the months after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast last August, there were heartening stories of pet rescues.

Gigi, a tuxedo kitten found in the rubble of a collapsed awning in Jefferson Parish, La., was fostered in Texas and later adopted by a single woman with a teenage daughter.

Bill Harris, who credited his survival of a three-day flood ordeal to the presence of his cat, Miss Kitty, was separated from her after his rescue, but she was later found. The story of their reunion touched many. Sadly, Harris died a couple of months later, but Miss Kitty has a new home in Canada with Donna Wackenbauer, a volunteer with animal rescue organization Noah’s Wish, who helped find Miss Kitty.

Gigi and Miss Kitty were among the lucky ones, about 15,000 of them that were rescued by humane organizations, dog and cat rescue groups, and individual volunteers. But an estimated 250,000 pets were left behind and drowned or faced starvation, forced to fend for themselves in an abandoned city.

That was the fear of so many people who endangered their lives by refusing to evacuate without their pets. If new legislation takes hold, they may not have to in future disasters.

More than property
The hurricane laid bare the dichotomy between people’s attachment to their animals and the unwillingness or inability of shelters, police and other rescue officials to accommodate pet owners.

Besides being a wake-up call to officials that pets are more than property, Katrina was a pet health and welfare disaster. Rescued animals were found to be suffering from heartworm disease, internal and external parasites, dehydration, trauma, wounds from debris and standing water, malnutrition, lethargy and exhaustion, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. And when rescued animals were transported out of the area to shelters around the country, it became more difficult for those shelters to find room for other animals in need.

Because of it, however, Congress is one step closer to protecting the health and well-being of dogs and cats in future disasters.

On Aug. 4, just weeks before the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Senate passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, which requires local and state disaster plans to include provisions for household pets and service animals in the event of a major disaster or emergency. A similar bill was approved by the House in May, but the House must either adopt the Senate version — which is more comprehensive — or the two bills must be reconciled before going into effect.

In addition, nearly a dozen states have enacted legislation aimed at protecting people and pets during disasters.

“Some of these state laws are simply one-sentence declarations that pets should be included in emergency preparedness plans, while other laws include specific plans and mandates related to the sheltering, housing and evacuation of people and their pets,” says Sherry L. Rout, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ legislative liaison for the southern region.

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