The dog is with you

Americans will be allowed to evacuate from disaster zones along with their pets

Pets in America are given new rights that bring them ever closer to the status of US citizens. US lawmakers have required state and municipal rescue services to take pets, politically incorrectly referred to as non-human companions, into account when compiling evacuation lists and conducting security operations. At the end of last week, the US Senate unanimously approved the corresponding bill, thereby supporting the initiative of the House of Representatives, which adopted a similar document back in the spring. After both acts are brought together, the bill will be sent to President George Bush for signature, Lenta.ru reports.

Animal advocates, who intensified the fight to change legislation after the New Orleans drama, did not wait for the president’s autograph and are already singing with all their might the sensitivity and care of senators, who, even in the midst of the global fight against terrorism, do not forget about thousands of dogs, cats and representatives of more exotic domestic animals. Established more than 20 years ago, the United Animal Nations (UAN) released a special statement of gratitude. “Too many lives were lost during Hurricane Katrina last year because people remained in the disaster area without permission to take their pets on rescue vehicles,” said UAN President and CEO Nicole Forsyth. “So we applaud our senators for understanding the importance of the bonds between people and their pets.” Animal advocates cite some opinion polls showing that at least two-thirds of Americans today would refuse to evacuate in the event of a threat if they were not allowed to take their pets with them to safety. True, in the context of not a hypothetical, but a real natural disaster, the number of “refuseniks” turns out to be much smaller. But, according to Reuters, during the rescue operation in New Orleans, several thousand residents of the capital of jazz motivated their refusal to leave their homes precisely by caring for animals. Volunteers had to rescue them, along with dogs and cats, from water captivity during additional operations.

The “animal” aspect of the New Orleans tragedy forced the American authorities to change their views on human companions. And while Congress was discussing the nuances of the new Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, municipal officials began compiling lists of pets. Even in the vast city of New York, the mayor’s office promised to provide shelter during emergencies, including for dogs and cats. Their nicknames, along with the names of city residents, were included in the “emergency lists” of the rescue service in May of this year. For now, however, rescuers do not take reptiles and other exotic animals into account, and owners of dogs and cats are given a number of conditions - for evacuation they must present documents for the pet, including a vaccination certificate, have a supply of food for several days, and transportation is possible only in special cells. In addition, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned in advance that the rescue service would evacuate animals only after the safety of their owners was ensured. “Our priority has been and remains the evacuation of people,” he said in May.

But it must be borne in mind that this statement was made several months before the Senate corrected the bill prepared by the House of Representatives. If the first version of the law was more of a good wish and a request to rescuers, then the Senate version already provides for the allocation of financial assistance from the center to states and municipalities for the creation and development of special shelters for Americans who do not want to part with their non-human companions.

Fedor SEREBRYANSKY