When Disaster Strikes, PETA Reminds Everyone, "Have a Plan. Save Your Pet."
by Danny Davids(39)I don't know what it is with ads and me these past few days, but another ad on television tonight caught my attention--hard. The ad is a spot from PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, reminding people to "Have a Plan. Save your Pet." It shows the helicopter rescue of a family during a hurricane--but not everyone gets flown to safety.
As we learned in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike, pets are the family members that often get left behind during natural disasters. Shelters here in the Houston area were full of pets whose owners were unable to take them when evacuating, or who were lost during travel. The good news is that there were plenty of stories where people were reunited with their lost pets. The bad news is that many more did not have the same happy ending.
We are encouraged to have a plan in place during any kind of emergency so that our families will be safe. Are you including your family pets as part of that plan? When you have practice fire drills at home with your kids, do you delegate responsibility of the cat or dog to a family member? When making lodging arrangements in the event of an evacuation, do you check to make sure the location where you'll be staying will accomodate your pets? When packing food and water for the duration, do you include pet food as well? These are things we need to remember when planning for the unexpected.
You wouldn't dream of leaving your child behind during an emergency. Why would you leave your pet? Thanks, PETA, for getting it right and reminding us that we have responsibilities to our four-legged family members as well.
Article submitted Tuesday, August 25, 2009 & read 591 times.
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» left by Marijo Phelps(17) (1 year 11 days ago.)
Great head's up and I bet a much needed reminder - we had a tornado close by the other day and our neighbor, a volunteer fireman called to tell me to get ready, my plans included our 4 house kitties and what room we'd go to shiould it come closer...MarijoRespond to this comment
