Bill Maps a Pet Evacuation Route
SLIDELL, La. — As the Pontchartrain Humane Society was working Saturday to match rescued pets with new owners at its first Pet Adoption Day since Hurricane Katrina, a Louisiana state senator was preparing to introduce legislation he hoped would prevent widespread separation of owners and pets during any future emergency.
Thousands of pets were rescued in the wreckage of abandoned houses or found wandering the streets of Louisiana and Mississippi towns after the storm.
In some cases, owners were forced to leave their pets behind because rescue teams were obliged to concentrate on saving human lives; and shelters where evacuees were taken would rarely accommodate animals.
"I felt we were derelict in our duties to the citizens of Louisiana, because we didn't make arrangements for pets," said state Sen. Heulette "Clo" Fontenot, who planned to formally introduce legislation Monday that would ensure that an emergency evacuation plan specifically for pets is put into place.
"I don't think we recognize that pet-human bond that was there, and a lot of people refused to evacuate because they weren't going to leave their pets behind," Fontenot said.
Seven months after the storm, scores of humane society and animal rights advocates from across the country are still trying to help reunite pets with their owners.
Of the estimated 16,000 animals rescued in Louisiana since Katrina, about 3,000 have been reunited with their owners, said Laura K. Maloney, executive director of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Most of the rescued animals have been taken in by shelters around the country.
The low reunification numbers of pets and owners has not deterred animal protection groups from continuing to search for abandoned and lost Katrina pets, Maloney said. "We've on the streets every day, and have been since the Wednesday following the storm." Katrina hit on Monday, Aug. 29.
"There really is no end," said Charlotte Bass Lilly, executive director of Animal Rescue New Orleans.
In January alone, her group rescued 1,000 animals, thought to be Katrina survivors because of the areas in which they were found. The group has set up 4,000 animal food and water stations in areas that were devastated.
Placing the pets up for adoption has seemed the most humane solution, said Maloney of the LA/SPCA. She added that the group hoped the new owners would be willing to relinquish their pets if the original owner were found.
- Time Is Running Out for Stranded Pets Sep 08, 2005
- A Place for Pets in Disaster Planning Dec 27, 2005
- Thousands evacuate New Orleans area in advance of Hurricane Gustav Aug 31, 2008
