The adamant school boards will now have to bend their stiff backs. They have been turning down requests of Palm Beach County government to allow pets in school-based shelters during hurricanes. But with the intervention of the Congress the evacuation plans will be redefined including pets and service animals.
Hurricane Katrina has done its job. The heart tearing scenes of the pets in hurricane have opened the eyes of the authorities to act fast and target the issue in a positive manner.
Lynne Weil, communications director for U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., sponsor of the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, known as PETS said, ‘We’ll never know how many people suffered or perhaps even died because they made the terrible choice of staying behind with their animals and confronting the flood. The legislation would ensure that nobody has to confront the horrible choice of having to be separated from their animals in the case of disaster.” (Regards: The Sun Sentinel)
The school authorities still seem skeptical with respect to their contribution in the future. The only way out is to make them understand the real damage done to pets and their owners by the hurricane.
Via: The New York Times
