Pet parity: governments need to have an emergency rescue plan in place for pets as well as people.

• Author: Goodwin, Janna

In the months following Katrina, images rotated regularly on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 and MSNBC's Scarborough Country. Desperate dogs paddling their way through toxic waters. Filthy felines scavenging inside scorching hot houses. Grisly carcasses scattered along soggy streets. Animal lovers around the nation were aghast and appalled at the gruesome imagery.

Hurricane Katrina made all levels of government aware of the need to have an emergency rescue plan--not only for the residents of ravaged areas, but for their animal companions.

"The amount of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita was unprecedented, and a new need arose: animal evacuation," says Commissioner Bob Odom of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, who coordinated with state and local officials as well as animal welfare groups during the rescue efforts.

Animal welfare organizations flocked to the scene, yet there was no formal chain of command. Preliminary rescuers prohibited animal lovers from taking their pets with them. Because of this, many dog and cat owners refused rescue. Even service animals were turned away.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION

State lawmakers took notice and began drafting legislation that addressed the need to recognize that our furry friends also require attention during disasters. Senator Heulette "Clo" Fontenot of Louisiana had a bird-eye's view of the issue, thanks to his research assistant Cathy Wells, who was a volunteer pet rescuer after the hurricanes hit. He sponsored legislation that provides a disaster operation plan for service animals and household pets. The bill was signed into law in June.

Assemblyman Leland Yee sponsored a similar law in California. "If service animals are left behind, the cost to replace them are a serious financial and emotional burden to individuals with special needs," he says. There is an "emotional and dependent link between human beings and pets."

A study conducted shortly after a 1997 levee break in Yuba County, Calif., revealed that 21 percent of residents did not evacuate because they did not want to leave their animals; 80 percent of those who returned without authorization did so to rescue their pets.

"I never realized that animals are sometimes the only thing a person has," says Fontenot. "Animals give unconditional love and are part of a person."

Fontenot's enactment is lauded as the model law for pet lovers everywhere. Among other provisions, the legislation provides for three major...