Posted on 09/22/2005 1:03:57 PM PDT by cwiz24
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal disaster grants to state and local governments should be conditioned on how they accommodate pets in their evacuation plans, say lawmakers disturbed that some Hurricane Katrina victims refused to leave home because they couldn't take their animals with them.
"I cannot help but wonder how many more people could have been saved had they been able to take their pets," Rep. Tom Lantos, D-California, said Thursday.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Ping!
What about horses?
Don't know about horses, although horses and other larger animals would be exceedingly more difficult to evacuate than cats and dogs.
I'll bet some of those stranded on the interstates down there wish they had a horse right about now...
That would be a wonderful thing. People should take responsibility. I'm sure a lot of people in N.O. would have taken their pets if they could have - while some people left without a thought, I'm sure. Hopefully, that will serve as a model of what NOT to do. From the news reports I'm seeing in Galveston I heard that more people are taking their pets. Let's hope this legislation passes.
I could not agree more. If the situation ever arose, I would send my two-legged family members into safety and remain behind with my furkids. I don't think I could live with myself if anything happened to them. They are totally defenseless against human cruelty and the forces of nature.
I know that some people will say it's ridiculous but the fact is that many people only stay in harms way because of their pets. Unfortunately I suspect that the elderly are the most likely to refuse to leave a pet.
I won't leave my dogs any more than I would be willing to leave a child. Fortunately I can leave and take my dogs. Many elderly people can't.
I bet they do!
Does this mean we let the people die if we can't get their 14 dogs, two cats, 5 hamsters and 12 goldfish on a helicoptor we paid to go get them?
Just take the pets and leave the people behind I guess.
Well, I guess it would be their choice. I guess you cannot force anyone to survive!
OK, picture this -- the school buses/ Amtrak/ Grayhounds -- pick up REFUGEES, including my family and our dog. He's a Border Collie, pretty ADHD, Alpha Male, kills cats and would kill skate-boarders if he could get at them. OK, and my cat is aboard too. Cat gets loose, dog runs down the aisle, bites an old lady who is a liberal/ thinks he's CUTE and reaches out to pet him. Another dog joins him. They relieve themselves on someone who is sleeping on the floor because the train/ bus is full.
I am SO SORRY. I love my pets, but ....
How about Teddy Bears?
Lantos is a hard left socialist, since when did they develope an interest in pets? There is something in the wood pile here that smells.
Total insanity.
What about your finkids? Would you stay behind to to protect a gold fish? How-bout the kids Ant Farm, gerbils, pet mice?
Remaining behind just puts some coastgardsman at risk to have to come and rescue you. Don't tell me you wouldn't be up on your roof waving your arms just because you CHOSE to stay back.
If you can't afford your own transportation for your family AND your pets, you got no business owning pets and imposing the cost/burden on society for the rescue of same.
Sorry if this seems heartless. A dog takes as much room in a shelter or a chopper as a child.
No, We the People PAY for a limo to get them and their 14 goldfish and iguanas and small ocelot and .... Because it's not FAIR to evacuate some pets and not others. What about the 4-H kids who are raising baby COWS? It's not fair if they are left behind. Uncle Sam picks up the bill for the helicopter to take that one out.
hahaha, I think this is the most ridiculous idea I have ever heard. Think about the logistics. Think about the reality of it. Think about the whining if someone's pet is left behind -- the lawsuits, the special circumstances extended to that whiner, the whining Senators, the tax expenditures. It boggles the mind.
Yes. This should have been common sense policy applied to the appropriate agency ... but federal law? Aw. c'mon.
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