What in the world are officials thinking?! Did they learn nothing from the Hurricane Katrina debacle, when people were forced to choose between their pets and safety? A chemical fire in Apex, N.C. outside of Raleigh, forced the evacuation of 17,000 people. Too bad the evacuees weren’t allowed to bring their dogs inside the shelters set up for the humans. (The caption for the photo on the previous link explains why they’re standing outside.) What is the Red Cross thinking? What is it going to take for authorities to realize that for a great many people their pets are part of the family. For some, their pets are their only family. Knowing that their whole family is safe will make coping with an emergency, a crisis, or a disaster a little easier. If we want people to be safe, we need to make sure their pets are safe too.
(Note: The links and this post were updated because Yahoo News purges stories so quickly.)