After Hurricane Katrina hit in late August 2005, thousands of animals were left stranded or dead in the water-covered streets of New Orleans. Following the flooding caused by El Ni'o in the 1990s, thousands of dead cattle lay strewn across the South Valley's rural areas. The Croy fire of 2002 killed domestic animals that were left behind by families who didn't have enough time to find their pets a safe place to ride out the danger.
But new legislation will help prevent heartbreaking stories of natural disasters causing the death and desertion of beloved pets. Two bills, both designed to protect animals and their owners, are currently awaiting signatures before becoming law. The California bill, awaiting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature, is designed to protect both livestock and pets during emergencies. The federal bill awaiting the president's signature, called the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, focuses on domestic animals, but both bills stem from the pet-related catastrophes following Hurricane Katrina.
Even though neither bill has been signed into law yet, both Santa Clara and San Benito counties have already worked to prepare for future disasters in the South Valley.
"It was obvious there had to be a better way when we saw what happened after Katrina," said Jon Cicirelli, the deputy director of animal care and services for the city of San Jose. "There were people who evacuated with their pets, showed up at a shelter and were told, 'You can't come in with that animal.' So, do you take shelter and leave your pet to fend for itself, or do you try and find alternative shelter? You cared enough about this animal to carry it out of the disaster area. You're standing there at the door with your pet that's been your buddy and companion for six years, 10 years, 12 years, and you're left with an incredible decision to make."
According to a Zogby International Poll conducted shortly after Hurricane Katrina, 61 percent of pet owners would refuse to evacuate if they could not take their pets with them.
Cicirelli has worked with a subcommittee of Santa Clara County's Animals and Disasters Planning Committee to plan how coordinated efforts could keep pets and their owners together during emergency situations. The subcommittee's working group conducted mock drills in July with the Red Cross to test the county's ability to provide shelter for animals and people.
"Some of the people who volunteered to be 'evacuees' for the disaster drill brought their pets with them so we could get a feel for how the process should go in a real disaster," Cicirelli said. "We found a lot of organizational issues. For example, we aren't sure in what order things need to happen when a pet gets checked in. Do the people fill out the form first, or do we take the pet and put it in a cage first? When should the vets check out the animals? Where should pets be held while paperwork is being filled out? We're still working these things out. We're not even sure if these models are going to be applied to all of Santa Clara County or not. But we're moving forward."
Julie Carreiro, supervisor of the San Benito County animal shelter, said the county's office of emergency services, the Red Cross and the shelter have also worked together in the past to plan how to deal with both people and animals in need of help after a disaster.
"If the disaster happens to be here, at or near the shelter, we have temporary kennels and portable dog runs that we could set up in a vacant building elsewhere," she said. "We can also set them up near a Red Cross shelter. If these bills are signed into law, we're hoping to be able to apply for grants that can get us more kennels and portable runs. We'd also like to have an evacuation trailer so we could go out and pick up animals that may have been left behind."
The logistics of housing 300 human evacuees and dozens of pets in neighboring shelters is a tricky operation but certainly not impossible, Cicirelli said, adding that it just takes a group effort.
"The bottom line is that if people bring their pets with them during an evacuation, we'll house them," he explained. "Then the owners will come over, walk their dogs, clean their animal's cage and just generally take care of their pets. The reality of being in a shelter is that it can get pretty boring, so it works out well. It gives the people something to do, the pets get taken care of, and of course, pet owners want to be able to check on their pet and spend time with them."
Both Cicirelli and Carreiro said pet owners can go a long way in protecting their animals by getting them microchip identification. Every animal shelter or animal control office is required to scan stray animals for microchips.
"We do microchipping for $28, and a microchipped pet that gets separated from its owner is much more likely to be returned than a pet without the chip," Carreiro said. "If you don't do the microchip, make sure your pet has some sort of identification on its collar. If it's a nylon collar, get a felt pen and write your phone number on it."
As the law is written, states that don't meet the standards outlined in the PETS Act will not be eligible for as much grant or Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money as states that do meet the standards.
"If this bill becomes law, it essentially says that if you don't do this type of planning for people's pets when a disaster occurs, you may be ineligible for certain grants from the Homeland Security department," Cicirelli said. "It doesn't mean you'll get zero if you don't plan, but it will mean you'll probably get less. This is the government's way of saying, 'We mean it, guys. You need to make a plan.'"
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