Is it normal for people who evacuate?
To leave their pets behind?
I can’t stop thinking of the girl that asked about shelters in LA taking pets because her family was evacuating today…yet couldn’t take their 4 dogs. Uggg…I could never leave my pets behind (fortunately, we don’t have hurricanes or tornadoes in my area).
What’s the normal practice?
Actually she said that during Katrina they left thier dog, then had family go let it out like days later, and the dog was lost and they never found it (duh). Now 3 years later they have 4 dogs that they were leaving behind in their home because they don’t have a car.
Don’t you think if you live in an area where evacuations are a possibility that you shouldn’t have pets that you can’t bring with you? I do…call me mean, but that’s my opinion!
Casey…do you read or watch the news at all? I am referring to Louisana (not Los Angeles). They are evacutating New Olreans due to hurricane Gustav.
Miaugh…didn’t see that one, but it’s just as bad. 
Good Evening Laurie 
My thoughts exactly!
Kimberly…my pets lives are more important to me than any material crap I could cram into my car. If I needed to evacuate my home…right now…My car would easily fit the 3 humans, 2 dogs, 1cat…that is all that really matters to me. The rest of the crap can be replaced…lives can not. I would never leave my animals to face those fears alone.
Add to Kimberly…I hope that you and your family are safe for this awful storm coming. Didn’t mean to imply that I didn’t care about your situation. I feel for you…I really do.
I agree L…who heartedly. Like Miaugh said…you should have a plan in place if you live in area like this. As far as Katrina goes…I understand that much more because it hit hard and fast and no one really expected it, but with Gustav, people have time to prepare. They don’t predict the storm to hit until Monday. Rental Cars anyone??? I’d sleep in my car w/my pets if I had to.
I can’t find the link…I didn’t answer it because I didn’t have anything of value to say.
Shanna…I hope that Hanna leaves you alone I think the reason this bugged me so much is because I’m on a completely different coast, but have known this hurricane was on it’s way. You’re right, they are very predictable and you should be prepared to leave before a last minute evacuation. Hope all works out for you and my other Floridian contacts, and all make it through the rest of hurricane season unscathed!
Crysti…I picture you, your hubby, Eli, Molly, and Tiki all loaded up in the car and headed somewhere safe before mandatory evacs are called for. I honestly can’t picture you leaving your precious fur babies behind.
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16 comments
Shanna on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
When Katrina hit, many people would not leave their pets and ended up waiting out the storm needing to be rescued later so this time around there have been many pet friendly shelters set up as well as poeple are allowed to take them on city buses when evacuating.
Katrina showed that many people would not evacuate when faced with leaving their pets so provisions have been made so that people don’t have to leave their pets behind.
Where I am, there are 3 pet friendly shelters should I ever have to evacuate. With careful enough planning, there is no reason to have to leave your pets behind anymore. The problem is that some people have failed to plan ahead or would rather leave their pets than be bothered.
Actually, my husband and I were just talking about this tonight. We are safe from Gustav but Hanna is on it’s way and we may get it so we were talking about what we would have to take with us. First and foremost, the dogs go in the car and anything else is secondary.
If you can’t find a way to care for your pets, even when there are numerous shelters that will accept pets, then you shouldn’t have pets. Hurricanes are VERY predictable and you know if you live in a hurricane zone. It’s not as if anyone that lives in the south is surprised when a hurricane hits. Anyone guilty of leaving a pet behind these days has simply failed to plan for the inevitable.
hottblonde16 on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
i don’t know… but we don’t know their situation also. are the going to a family member’s who is afraid of dogs? Are they going to a hotel that doesn’t allow dogs.
I totally understand, i wouldn’t be able to leave mine behind, but we don’t know what their situation is going to be, and maybe it’s better to give the dog up.
PERFECT POMS *Abby* on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Oh, I would absolutly die.
I could never leave my pets.
I would face the tornato/hurricane myself before leaving my pets.
I remember reading an article of a Lady who instead of Leaving her two parakeets behind, stuffed the poor birds in her bra. Wow, that lady realy does love them parakeets, err, that must of been so uncomfortable.
miaugh on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
I keep thinking about that question too. I realize the storm track can change, but wouldn’t it be wise to have a plan in place well in advance of hurricane season?
add: Right, after loosing the first dog in Katrina, wouldn’t you plan for your next dogs’ safety ahead of time, or rethink getting another dog (or 4 ) altogether, especially if you have no car and can’t drive. and live in a hurricane zone.
It may be the normal practice–did you see this question re: the hurricane?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Al_EXKGCz5_hhwX07il8apvty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080830082335AAP7BR9&show=7#profile-info-NPSFqTHKaa
Bonzie12 on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Well normally you would take your pets with you, but from what I understand this individual did not have a car. I know if it were me and my pets, I’d find some way to get my animals out of danger and away from the area.
CaseyD.T on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Actually I don’t really get your question,but that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to answer!
^_^
LA doesn’t have any hurricanes.
Ithink it is normal for a person to evacuate,but usually that doesn’t happen in LA….
In LA there are no tornadoes,hurricanes and stuff like that.That usually happens in Arkansas or other places that forms tornadoes or hurricanes.
The little girl’s family probably couldn’t afford to take her dogs with her….kinda’ sad though.
hudsongray on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
There were new laws put into place BECAUSE of Katrina that makes it illegal to leave pets behind now for evacuations. Down there and elsewhere in the country, you can take your pets with you and nobody can stop you.
Borders Rock on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
If I can’t take my dogs, I don’t evacuate. No, I am not in a high risk area but if they have to be left behind, so will I. There is NO WAY I WOULE EVER LEAVE THEM.
ainawgsd on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Unfortunately it is common. Since most temporary/disaster/emergency housing does not allow pets it can be very difficult for people who have fallen on hard times or do not have family to stay with during evacuations to find a way to take their pets with them. There were a lot of people who did not evacuate during Katrina did so because they couldn’t take their pets with them.
I do agree that if you get a pet it is your responsibility to also make plans to be sure they are safe and protected during an emergency. This means making arrangements to take your pets WITH you during an evacuation.
theresagerber on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
I`m like you I would sleep in my car somewhere with them if I had to. I thought most hotels and motels let pets in when it is something like a disaster. I know if I owned one I would allow it, although some people don`t take care of their animals and may allow them to tear up or potty everywhere. I guess it just what you think you can do. I would not leave mine no matter what !
Love is an American Bulldog on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Hmmm, can’t afford a car but can afford 4 dogs?? Alrighty then…. they took on the responsibility of caring for these dogs when they got them, they are supposed to be treated like a member of the family. Would they leave one of their children behind because they just didn’t have any more room?? Good Lord, what are people thinking? Well they have to live with their actions. I personally couldn’t ever leave my animals to die that lonely horrible death. Their faces constantly in my mind would haunt me forever. God help those animals
Edit: Hi Jen….you’re question made me sad now thinking about all this
Edit: I don’t understand what people are saying here…. If you’ve lived through Katrina and had to leave pets behind and know that you live in a very well known hurricane zone now….why on earth would you get an animal that you couldn’t take with you if another hurricane hit????? Didn’t they learn the first time?? If you can’t take it with you in an emergency, don’t get it in the first place!
Yes, Katrina was a tragedy…but good lord, learn from it and don’t get another animal if you are not going to fully care for it.
Kimberly B1971 on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Unfortunately, sometimes they have no choice but to leave their pets behind. I know that is hard to think of, but it happened alot during Katrina years ago. If you evacuate on your own, packing up as many of your belongings as you can, sometimes you can’t fit as much as you would like in the vehicle you are taking. If it is a large family with a smaller vehicle, there may not be room.
Then there are those that want to take their animals but are being evacuated by bus or other means provided by the government. They are not allowed to take pets with them. I was watching "How do I look?" and they did a special show on Katrina victims in Louisiana, and this one woman just sobbed telling how they wouldn’t let her take her dog and she had to leave him on the side of the road. I cried and cried. It was heartbreaking. I am feeling sad right now just remembering that.
When we evacuated for Rita not long after, we went to my Mom’s house, we packed up our 4 cats and took them with us. We had a medium sized car and we almost all didn’t fit, but I made it work. My cats had to stay in one room of my Mom’s house that entire few days that we stayed there, but they were safe. Now we have added 2 dogs to the family. Gustav is coming and we are far enough inland that we won’t evacuate this time even though we might should because it looks like we might still get very heavy winds and rain and we live in a manufactured home. The problem is that we won’t have room to evacuate 1 lg dog, a small dog and 4 cats. We will stay and hope for the best this time.
Michael C on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
standards are always changing and evolving after each desaster they review what went right what went wrong. During Katrina there was a no pet policy on busses or shelters, no exceptions. Owners were placed in the choice potentially die and get left behind or leave your pet, I also heard of arrests being made because people would not leave their animals. In the shelter that I worked there was one man who managed to keep his dog, it stayed in a crate outside the shelter, this was the exception not the rule. The Red Cross had a strict no pets policy in place at that time.
In the past three years I heard they have tried to be more acomodating due to the horrid, criminal policies demonstrated in Katrina. Most disasters on grand scales the incident public Info officers have a big job distributing what services are offered. With this huricane I saw they were allowing dogs on busses and in shelters, the catch? Most likely they would need to be crated with owners crate.
You should post the link to the previous question.
Honeybelle on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
I live in a cyclone area which was hit in 1974 by one of the most devastating cyclones in history – Cyclone Tracy in Darwin. I think that people who say that they wouldn’t evacuate but would stay home with their pets are very short-sighted. I have 2 children and 2 dogs. I would not put my children’s lives at risk by staying home to be with my dogs. The reality is that in Australia you cannot take dogs with you to cyclone shelters. The shelters are for people not animals and I guess that the powers that be rightly think that human lives are of more importance. If you want to go to a shelter of sorts with your pets you can go into underground carparks with them. In the event of a Category 4 or 5 cyclone this would not be acceptable for me cos I would want my children to be in the safest place possible.
This is a scenario that I have often considered cos I do love my dogs and they are an important part of our family. If a really big cyclone was bearing down on us I would try to convince my husband to evacuate further south, taking dogs and kids. This does pose problems cos flooding could prevent us being able to get home afterwards for some time.
If necessary, as a last resort, I would leave the dogs secured in the downstairs toilet with plenty of food and water. Our house is a brick house and I am sure they would be as safe in there as anywhere.
After Cyclone Tracy, I have been told that many dogs were shot in the rural area cos trees took out fences releasing dogs from their yards and the dogs formed packs looking for food, etc. Most of the city’s residents were evacuated south by plane, so of course pets had to be left behind. There was no food, water, etc in Darwin for quite some time after Tracy. The city had to be rebuilt.
I guess you have to go through one of these devastating events to understand the decisions that people are forced to make. I have been through less damaging cyclones and they were bad enough.
As I said, I love my dogs but I love my kids more and their safety is my first priority. Anyone who judges me poorly for this just doesn’t understand the forces of nature.
PS My thoughts and best wishes are with the people living in the area which Gustav is bearing down upon. I hope that everything is OK for you and your pets.
Add: Wow, a thumbs down. Would you seriously put your pets before your kids and keep your family at home to stay with your pets through a Category 4 or 5 cyclone? I don’t believe that people who would stay in their home with their pets through this type of cyclone have kids.
Also, I have to believe you when you say that hurricanes are predictable but I can tell you that cyclones are not. Where I used to live on the Gulf of Carpentaria by the time we would know definitely that we were in the path of a cyclone we would not be able to evacuate due to the preceeding rain flooding the one and only road out of town and closing down the dirt airport. We all need to make our own choices and shouldn’t judge the choices others make cos their circumstances are different.
•Poppy• on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Luckily, I’ve never had to evacuate. Though I live in an area of fairly high tornado activity, people don’t typically evacuate for tornadoes…there’s never really time. Though I will say when the weather gets dangerous…we all cram down in our cellar. I dont go down until I know my pets are down.
And, luckily, any impact *I* would have from hurricanes would just be quite a bit of rain. Which I’m never opposed to.
I don’t know what I would do if I had to leave my pets behind. I don’t think I could do it, to be honest. I don’t even think I could leave my cows behind! And actually, when I was younger, I heard about evacuations and had it all planned out..we would take the van and fill it with our cats and dogs, then get a trailer for the cows. A happy ending.
If only it worked that way. But 4 dogs is definately managable (in my opinion). It would be tragic to leave them behind.
♡♡♡♡♡♡ Crysti sees hearts ♡♡♡♡♡♡ on June 22, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Yep. There aren’t many evac shelters that take pets. It’s horribly sad. That’s why a lot of people stayed behind in Katrina 3 years ago because they didn’t want to leave their pets.
I honestly can’t say that I wouldn’t do the same thing. It would be hard to leave them.
The SPCA is in New Orleans with crates. They are taking pets of the people who are evacuating and promising they will be returned to the owners after the storm. I surely hope it all works out well.