Bill Would Require Safety Plans for Pets

[Rose Siding]

snip>
"I cannot help but wonder how many more people could have been saved had they been able to take their pets," Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said Thursday.

Lantos and Reps. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Barney Frank, D-Mass., are sponsoring a bill that would require that state and local disaster preparedness plans required for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding include provisions for household pets and service animals.

More than 6,000 pets have been saved in Mississippi and Louisiana, said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, but tens of thousands more could still be in New Orleans alone. Texas, he said, has been better at allowing people to take their pets with them ahead of Hurricane Rita but a formal policy is still needed.

"We cannot rely on individual acts of compassion," Markarian said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/22/AR2005092201081.html

[calico1]

1. Its about time. n/t

[aquart]

2. But George thinks that's all you need: individual acts. And a church.

[leftchick]

3. Someone mentioned it used to be in FEMA's policy

Back in the good old days when FEMA used to try and save lives.

[mike_c]

4. cuba evacs pets, farm animals, and valuable belongings....

Hundreds of thousands of animals along with their owners. We could do it too.

[cornermouse]

5. If you're really serious about a mandatory evacuation without use

of physical force, you have to allow the people who want to take their pets a way to bring them along. Fact is, some of them consider the pets a member of the family and they react to the idea of abandoning them accordingly.

Also, although I realize putting children on a bus separate from their parents may have seemed to be a necessity at the time, in hindsight it clearly was disastrous. This should be addressed and changed the next time.

[MaineDem]

6. I know I may be a minority here

But i think this is ridiculous.

Service animals, yes without question but pets? Nope. Our efforts should go toward saving humans.

Maybe I'm just uneducated as to the need but it seems extreme to me.

[LeftyMom]

7. This will save people

because people stay behind to care for thier animals.

[rocktivity]

9. This will also save

1) animals from having to eat human cadavers to survive

2) rescuers from having to kill animals (that may have developed a taste for humans) in self-defense

3) taxpayers the additional cost, and rescuers the extra work, of having to recover and dispose of animal cadavers.

:headbang:
rocknation

[fudge stripe cookays]

8. .

:eyes:

It is not extreme for people who stayed behind to care for their pets and died because of it.

There is no way I could leave my babies behind. No way in hell.

FSC

[Catchawave]

12. me neither :(

My pets are part of the family afterall, I wouldn't leave my human kids behind.

[Love Bug]

10. It's not just about saving pets because we love them

It's also about cutting down on the number of dead animals that contribute to disease after a disaster.

[SomewhereOutThere424]

13. In my opinion

Anyone selfish enough to believe they have more a right to be rescued than another deserves to be rescued last. In this case: I think some senators are simply agreeing, by rescuing those willing to treat their pets as equal, they can be rescued first, not last.

I can understand if it's impossible to rescue an animal, searching for it may endanger a rescue worker, and in that case it's tragic but true that you may need to leave an animal behind. But to watch as an animal is left stranded and doing nothing is no different to me than leaving a child, an african american or a caucasion an elderly woman or any other kind of human for whatever biased bigoted or prejaduice reasons you may have.

Prejaduism and arrogance doesn't make leaving something to die right. It didn't in the day of the confederate flag and it doesn't now. People often pull the argument 'well they're stupid and we can't understand them, so we shouldn't rescue them'.

I'd like to hear your opinion of rescuing a mentally handicapped child from a disaster.

[MaineDem]

14. "I'd like to hear your opinion of rescuing a mentally handicapped child "

I assume you're not equating a mentally handicapped person to a pet.

[SoCalDem]

18. Here's the thing... A hurricane gives plenty of advance warning

we are not talking about a 3 AM tornado or a dam burst.

With a plan in effect , people have plenty of time to evac with their pets.. If pets are not a part of the "plan", they are more likely to stay behind and "chance it"..

No one should ever die in a hurricane...

They should also address the WAY we evac people.. If it's a true emergency situation, they need to contraflow ALL traffic OUT.(maybe leave a few surface streets could be one way IN for people who need to get to their place to collect kids, pets etc.)

They should also evac with a special order..

elderly/hospitals/handicapped
people with small kids & pets
general public

perhaps in "rings"...furthest away from "strike" goes last..

The National Guard should be there BEFORE storms to aid in evac..

There would be fewer bodies to collect and rescues if they had a better plan.

[Coventina]

21. If it's all about dollars and effort for you, allowing people to take

their pets would save both effort AND money.

Less people staying behind because of their pets means less people needing rescue after the storm.

But besides that, it is immoral to abandon a creature that is dependant upon you for survival.

[Piperay]

22. Lots of people died

because they couldn't and wouldn't leave their animals that they had to choose between leaving without their pets or not leaving is what is extreme!

I know I would never had left without mine so I would most likely be dead if I had lived in a low lying area of NO.

[DebbieCDC]

11. Pet Safety Plan

If my pets can't go, I don't go. End of story.

[Piperay]

23. Same here

no way would I ever leave without them!

[SomewhereOutThere424]

15. And before I get too off track on my strong opinions of protecting animals

Thank you Rose Sliding for posting this. I'm glad that the animals who had to suffer in new orleans will atleast put a precursor on protecting animals in the future. Even if congress won't force it, I'm sure many will reconsider the way they treated animals and want to do better during it. No child should have to be torn from their lifelong friend if they were lucky enough to survive the hurricane itself. It's like taxing the survivors, like santorum recommended.

[SillyGoose]

16. Good. A lot of people won't evacuate because they won't leave their pets.

This could save a lot of lives.

:thumbsup:

[Catchawave]

17. "Sit and Stay" - a tribute to the left behind pets

from internet mail which stated forward to all the pet lovers you know!
******
"Sit and Stay"

When the levee broke, the water came,
And flooded the entire town,
To save the folks, men came in boats,
So not a soul would drown.

"Not any room," the rescuer said,
"For dogs, or cats, or pets,
Men, women, and children only,
Sorry," he expressed regrets.

"You can't go, girl," her master said,
As, with tears, he turned away,
"I promise I'll come back for you,
But for now, girl ... SIT and STAY!"

So Princess sat on the front porch steps,
While the dark waters swirled below
Her doggy heart nearly broke apart,
When she saw her master go,

She could have jumped into the water,
And dog-paddled after him,
But SIT and STAY were the words she heard,
So she made no effort to leap in.

Always an obedient dog,
She listened to her master's voice,
And his command still fresh at hand,
Gave her no other choice.

She had water; she had food,
Enough to last for several days,
But her doggy appetite left, too,
When her master's boat got under way.


The first night on that dampened porch
Princess felt fearful and alone,
She whimpered nearly all night through,
She missed her master and her home.

The next day came, and then the next,
With no boats approaching her,
She saw a few rush by her porch,
But most of them were just a blur.

One night the house began to shudder,
The porch shook and broke away,
Then, like a raft, it floated off,
While on it, Princess SAT and STAYED.


In the morning, far from home,
The raft was caught in tangled weeds,
Back and forth poor Princess paced,
A pathetic sight, indeed.

She stared up at a cloudless sky,
Her eyes too tired to really see,
But she thought she saw a rainbow,
Up above the flooded trees.

It started near the porch's edge,
It seemed like a bridge high in the sky,
Perhaps if she could reach it,
It would lead to some place dry.

She stretched to reach the rainbow,
She stood tall on her hind legs,
She lost her balance several times,
And almost fell into the dregs.



If it truly were the Rainbow Bridge,
She knew it would lead to Heaven's Gate.
But ... what about her master,
Who had commanded her to wait?

She could not forget his orders,
And always she obeyed his words,
So she'd SIT and STAY and wait for him,
No matter how absurd.

Limp, exhausted and resigned,
She fell asleep on the old porch floor,
Then she awoke, surprised to find
The rainbow closer than before.

Easier now for her to reach,
She wouldn't have to stretch at all,
But then across the murky waters,
She heard a sweet, familiar call,



"Princess! Princess" Where are you, girl?
Her master's voice rang loud and clear,
She stood and weakly wagged her tail,
While whining softly she was here.

A reunion to end reunions!
Wet kisses, wags, and hugs!
Tears of joy and happy howls!
Heart strings pulled and tugged!

The Rainbow bridge no longer seen,
By the loyal dog that had obeyed
Nor would it reappear for years,
For the dog that chose to SIT and STAY.

Virginia (Ginny) Ellis
Copyright September 2005




Dedicated to the all the loyal pets who sat and waited for their
masters to return after Katrina's winds and waters separated them.
Let us pray all were found and all were united once again.
**********

[saigon68]

19. AWESOME TRIBUTE

Thanks :-)

[Catchawave]

20. You're welcome and hopefully

it will give some of the naysayers something to think about. It's a good bill.

[Piperay]

25. Yes hopefully

it will open their hearts.

[Piperay]

24. WOW

that literally brought me to tears. :cry:

THANKS!

[MasonJar]

26. Excuse me, but it is absurd to deny pets and other animals an

escape. Why are those that depend on us and love us less worthy? I would never leave my pets to die; life would not be worth living if I did. Animal cruelty is a stain on America that needs to be erased. We are just a part of the world around us; we are not more important. If we continue to live as if we were, the earth will not sustain us and our children. I for one am glad that my forbearers did not leave me a land devoid of wildlife and environmental protection. I certainly disdain leaving a legacy of destruction to my heirs.