Pets fare much better in Gustav than Katrina.

Just when I’m convinced we (the human “we”) never learn anything, something comes along that makes me rethink that stance.

Take the recent response to Hurricane Gustav.
Not only did a record number of Louisiana residents (including my brother’s family) hit the road as the storm drew near. Most were able to take their animals with them. It was a far different scenario than what unfolded pre and post-Katrina, which struck New Orleans almost a year ago to the day that Gustav arrived.

I remember having to watch, over and over again, the video clip where a crying young boy leaves behind his tiny dog, Snowball, as he’s hustled onto a bus evacuating residents from the city. The final shot is Snowball, jumping toward the bus steps as the door slams shut.

Didn’t see that kind of footage this year.

Animal welfare organizations from around the country joined forces to give residents options as Gustav approached. They assisted with evacuating hundreds of dogs and cats from shelters in threatened areas, including New Orleans, to safer quarters.

Here is a video from the Humane Society of the United States about one of three massive temporary shelters that were set up before Gustav. This one in Shreveport could accommodate up 1,000 dogs and cats, with housing nearby for their owners.

More people living in hurricane-prone areas seem to be including their pets in their disaster planning. Both Broward and Palm Beach counties have pet-friendly emergency shelters, although some have questioned if they are large enough if a serious storm threatens.

Disaster housing for pets doesn’t just save animal lives. It saves human ones, too. Many people died in Katrina because they had no way to leave the city with their animal companions, and refused to go without them.

Thanks to all the first responders who recognize that animals, too, need assistance when disaster arises.

Keep reading for a story from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram over the weekend on New Orleans evacuation efforts for pets.

By Alex Branch/McClatchy Newspapers:

NEW ORLEANS — Elisa Miller (left) dropped to the pavement and nuzzled her face against the neck of her fittingly named coonhound Hurricane. Then she stood up outside the New Orleans downtown bus station and watched officials lead Hurricane into a portable crate, which would then be loaded onto an 18-wheeler.

“The driver will stop every two hours to check on the pets,” a worker assured her. “We’ll take good care of him. We promise.”

“Please do,” Miller said, casting one last nervous glance before heading to a bus taking people to Shreveport, La. Three years after pet owners were reduced to tears while being forced to leave their dogs and cats in neighborhoods ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, emergency response officials are taking extraordinary care to ensure animal safety during Hurricane Gustav, due to strike the Louisiana coast late Monday morning.

At the bus station, a designated pick-up point for evacuees, a pet registration center was set up under green tents. Dozens of white pet-traveling crates were stacked against the curb.

“We’re making sure the pets go where their owners go,” said Sandy Cochran, South Carolina state coordinator with United Animal Nations, who came to New Orleans to help with the effort. “During Katrina, there was really no plan for what to do with pets. We have a 178-pound English Mastiff on a truck right now. We’ve seen and are taking everything here.”

Before pet owners boarded a bus, they filled out paperwork about their animal and were given a paper bracelet with a code number on it, she said. That code number was then written on the traveling crate along with the names of the pet and owner.

The pets were loaded onto 18 trucks, which follow their buses to their destination. Every two hours, the truck drivers were to stop to check on the animals, which are fed, watered and kept cool. A veterinarian was on standby at the registration tent to treat sick or injured animals, Cochran said.

State officials said they requested about 150 trucks to help transport pets out of the city. Among the animals to arrive Sunday were cats, dogs, a brightly colored bird and a rabbit.
Adam Woods said he and his Labrador mix, Mandela, spent five days outside the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina because he refused to board a bus without Mandela.

“I wasn’t gonna leave this time until I heard they’d help you get your dog out of here, too,” he said, stroking Mandela’s back. “As a worker led Mandela away on a leash, Woods said, “I don’t like that dog; I love that dog. He’s not used to this, so look out for him, OK?”