As Hurricane Harvey pelted Houston with heavy rains over the weekend, a local television news station broadcast footage of flood evacuees sitting outside the George R. Brown Convention Center. The people weren’t waiting for space inside what would become a massive emergency shelter. They were choosing to remain outdoors because their pets were not allowed in with them.
That policy changed within a day, after a top elected official made clear that both humans and animals were welcome at the city’s evacuation centers.
“We all saw what followed Hurricane Katrina, where people weren’t allowed to keep their pets with them, so they said, ‘Well, never mind, we’ll just stay outside,’ ” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett told reporters Sunday evening. “We obviously don’t want that to happen.”
Emmett wasn’t making just a passing reference to the catastrophe that hit New Orleans in 2005. During that disaster, many residents stayed put – and died in some cases – rather than heed rescuers’ instructions to leave pets behind as waters inundated homes. Others faced wrenching choices when they arrived at shelters that would not allow animals. One small white dog, Snowball, became a national symbol of these emotional separations after he was taken from the arms of a child who was boarding a bus to Texas that did not take pets. The boy cried so hard, according to an Associated Press report, that he vomited.
One 2006 poll found that 44 percent of people who chose not to evacuate during Katrina did so because they did not want to abandon their pets. Even so, the Louisiana SPCA estimated, more than 100,000 pets were left behind and as many as 70,000 died throughout the Gulf Coast.
A dozen years later, Katrina is viewed as a watershed moment in planning for pets during natural disasters. It changed federal and state policies – and, animal advocates and experts say, made clear that Americans have widely embraced the idea of dogs and cats as family members.
“You saw pictures of dogs standing on roofs and cats swimming in these toxic waters, and there was a huge public outcry,” said journalist David Grimm, who wrote about the impact in his book, “Citizen Canine.” Katrina “was a real turning point,” he added, “where suddenly it wasn’t just, ‘This is how I view my pets.’ It’s, ‘This is how everyone views their pets.’ ”
At the time, emergency management plans took only people into account. The result was an ad hoc approach to animals, with some responders flat-out turning away dogs and others agreeing to evacuate them. Animal protection groups, which quickly became overwhelmed with displaced critters separated from their owners, often found themselves at odds with local and state officials, recalled Wayne Pacelle, chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Evacuees sit on a boat after being rescued from flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 30, 2017 in Port Arthur, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Volunteer rescuer workers help a woman from her home that was inundated with the flooding of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 30, 2017 in Port Arthur, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Photo by Scott Olson, Getty Images
Rescue workers and volunteers help to rescue residents of an apartment complex after it was inundated with water following Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 30, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi Aug. 25, has dumped nearly 50 inches of rain in and around Houston.
Us Coast Guard / Brandon Giles / Restricted To Editorial Use - Mandatory Credit "afp Photo / Us Coast Guard/brandon Giles/handout" - No Marketing No Advertising Campaigns - Distributed As A Service To Clients Brandon Giles, AFP/Getty Images
This US Coast Guard photo obtained Aug. 31, 2017 shows the Coast Guard responding to search and rescue requests in response to Hurricane Harvey in the Beaumont, Texas, area on August 30, 2017.
The Coast Guard is working closely with all federal, state and local emergency operations centers and has established incident command posts to manage search and rescue operations.
Us Coast Guard / Brandon Giles / Restricted To Editorial Use - Mandatory Credit "afp Photo / Us Coast Guard/brandon Giles/handout" - No Marketing No Advertising Campaigns - Distributed As A Service To Clients Brandon Giles, AFP/Getty Images
TOPSHOT - This US Coast Guard photo obtained Aug. 31, 2017 shows the Coast Guard responding to search and rescue requests in response to Hurricane Harvey in the Beaumont, Texas, area, on August 30, 2017.
The Coast Guard is working closely with all federal, state and local emergency operations centers and has established incident command posts to manage search and rescue operations.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
People wait on a strip of dry land for rescue boats after being driven from their homes by the flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 30, 2017 in Port Arthur, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images
Rescue workers begin mandatory evacuations in the area beneath the Barker Reservoir as water is released after Hurricane Harvey caused widespread flooding in Houston, Texas on Aug. 31, 2017.
Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas coast with over 3 feet of rain and 125 mph winds.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
People are led down a staircase to a rescue boat after the flooding of Hurricane Harvey inundated their apartment complex on Aug. 30, 2017 in Port Arthur, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
People look out the window of a hotel at the flooding of Hurricane Harvey that surround the building on Aug. 30, 2017 in Port Arthur, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Erich Schlegel, Getty Images
The Martinez family evacuates the apartment complex they live in near the Energy Corridor of west Houston, Texas where high water coming from the Addicks Reservoir is flooding the area after Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 30, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi August 25, has dumped more than 50 inches of rain in some areas in and around Houston.
David J. Phillip, The Associated Press
Beth Kendrick pauses while sorting through belongings damaged by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey at her parents home Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, in Houston.
Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images
People wait in line to shop at a Food Town grocery store during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 30, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Monster storm Harvey made landfall again Wednesday in Louisiana, evoking painful memories of Hurricane Katrina's deadly strike 12 years ago, as time was running out in Texas to find survivors in the raging floodwaters.
Win McNamee, Getty Images
The Tellez family is evacuated from their home after severe flooding following Hurricane Harvey in north Houston Aug. 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards of 40 inches of rain over the next couple of days.
Scott Olson, Getty Images
People make their way out of a flooded neighborhood after it was inundated with rain water following Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi August 25, has dumped nearly 50 inches of rain in and around Houston.
Water from Addicks Reservoir flows into neighborhoods as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston.
David J. Phillip, The Associated Press
Residents evacuate their homes near the Addicks Reservoir as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Houston.
Erich Schlegel, Getty Images
An elderly woman leaves her home and is helped into a boat after flooding caused by heavy rain during Hurricane Harvey Aug. 29, 2017 in the Bear Creek neighborhood in west Houston, Texas. The neighborhood flooded after water was released from nearby Addicks Reservoir.
Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle via AP
A rescuer moves Paulina Tamirano, 92, from a boat to a truck bed as people evacuate from rising waters from Tropical Storm Harvey, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017 in Houston.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Mark Ocosta and his baby Aubrey Ocosta take shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center after flood waters from Hurricane Harvey inundated the city on Aug. 29, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The evacuation center which is overcapacity has already received more than 9,000 evacuees with more arriving.
LM Otero, The Associated Press
People rest at the George R. Brown Convention Center that has been set up as a shelter for evacuees escaping the floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017.
Evan Vucci, The Associated Press
President Donald Trump, accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, waves as they arrive on Air Force One at Corpus Christi International Airport in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, for briefings on Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.
Evan Vucci, The Associated Press
Supporters of President Donald Trump cheer outside Firehouse 5 in Corpus Christi, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, as the president received a briefing on Harvey relief efforts.
Evan Vucci, The Associated Press
President Donald Trump, accompanied by, third from left, acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and first lady Melania Trump, participates in a briefing on Harvey relief efforts, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, at Firehouse 5 in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Evan Vucci, The Associated Press
President Donald Trump is greeted as he tours the Texas Department of Public Safety Emergency Operations Center, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017, in Austin, Texas.
Armando Bustsamante walks along the street over Buffalo Bayou as flood waters from Tropical Storm Harvey flow toward downtown Houston Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. More than 17,000 people are seeking refuge in Texas shelters, the American Red Cross said. With rescues continuing, that number seemed certain to grow.
Erich Schlegel, Getty Images
Matthew Koser looks for important papers and heirlooms inside his grandfather's house after it was flooded by heavy rains from Hurricane Harvey Aug. 29, 2017 in the Bear Creek neighborhood of west Houston, Texas. The neighborhood flooded after water was released from nearby Addicks Reservoir.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
A man waves down a rescue crew as he tries to leave the area after it was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
People walk down a flooded street as they evacuate their homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
People catch a ride on a construction vehicle down a flooded street as they evacuate their homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
A person walks through a flooded street with a dog after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
A Coast Guard helicopter hoists a wheel chair on board after lifting a person to safety from the area that was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
People evacuate their homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
People walk down a flooded street as they evacuate their homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
People wait to be rescued from their flooded homes after the area was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP
Volunteers assist police in making welfare checks on flooded homes, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Dickinson, Texas, in the wake of Tropical Storm Harvey. Floodwaters reached the rooflines of single-story homes Monday and people could be heard pleading for help from inside as Harvey poured rain on the Houston area for a fourth consecutive day after a chaotic weekend of rising water and rescues.
Charlie Riedel, The Associated Press
People evacuate a neighborhood inundated by floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston, Texas.
Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP
Volunteer Aaron Crump, center, and a police officer search a Dickinson, Texas, property on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in the wake of flooding due to Tropical Storm Harvey.
Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images
A truck driver walks past an abandoned truck while checking the depth of an underpass during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images
Rescue crews search for people in distress after Hurricane Harvey caused heavy flooding in Houston, Texas on Aug. 27, 2017.
Massive flooding unleashed by deadly monster storm Harvey left Houston -- the fourth-largest city in the United States -- increasingly isolated as its airports and highways shut down and residents fled homes waist-deep in water.
Erich Schlegel, Getty Images
Evacuees fill up cots at the George Brown Convention Center that has been turned into a shelter run by the American Red Cross to house victims of the high water from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in areas of Texas over the next couple of days.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP
Tomng Vu holds her one-year-old granddaughter, Fatima, as they rest in a display chair at a store where they and other area residents took shelter after their homes flooded as Tropical Storm Harvey makes its way through the area on Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle via AP
An overhead view of the flooding in Houston, from Buffalo Bayou on Memorial Drive and Allen Parkway, as heavy rains continued falling from Tropical Storm Harvey, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Houston. Houston was still largely paralyzed Monday, and there was no relief in sight from the storm that spun into Texas as a Category 4 hurricane, then parked itself over the Gulf Coast.
Gabe Hernandez/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP
This aerial photo shows a view of damage in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey hit the coast as a Category 4 hurricane.
Gabe Hernandez/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP
This aerial photo shows a view of damage in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Harvey hit the coast as a Category 4 hurricane.
Charlie Riedel, The Associated Press
People push a stalled pickup to through a flooded street in Houston, after Tropical Storm Harvey dumped heavy rains Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground.
Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP
Neighbors used their personal boats to rescue Jane Rhodes, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Friendswood, Texas. Harvey made landfall in Texas on Friday night as the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. By Saturday afternoon it had been downgraded into a tropical storm, but it had dumped over a dozen inches of rain on some areas and forecasters were warning that it could cause catastrophic flooding in the coming days.
Thomas B. Shea, AFP/Getty Images
People walk through the flooded waters of Telephone Rd. in Houston on Aug. 27, 2017 as the US fourth city city battles with tropical storm Harvey and resulting floods.
David J. Phillip, The Associated Press
Evacuees wade down a flooded section of Interstate 610 as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey rise Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground.
Charlie Riedel, The Associated Press
People watch heavy rain from the relative safety of a flooded gas station caused by Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. The remnants of Hurricane Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into Houston Sunday as rising water chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground.
Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP
A man drives by debris cluttered properties in Port Aransas, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. Harvey made landfall in Texas on Friday night as the strongest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade. By Saturday afternoon it had been downgraded into a tropical storm, but it had dumped over a dozen inches of rain on some areas and forecasters were warning that it could cause catastrophic flooding in the coming days.
Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP
Melani Zurawski cries while inspecting her home in Port Aransas, Texas, on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Aaron Tobias who said he lost everything stands in what is left of his home after Hurricane Harvey blew in and destroyed most of the house on Aug. 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Mr. Tobias said he was able to get his wife and kids out before the storm arrived but he stayed there and rode it out. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.
Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images
TOPSHOT - Damaged boats in a multi-level storage facility are seen following passage of Hurricane Harvey at Rockport, Texas on Aug. 26, 2017.
Scott Olson, Getty Images
Rain from Hurricane Harvey inundates the Cottage Grove neighborhood on Aug. 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Scott Olson, Getty Images
Volunteers and officers from the neiborhood security patrol help to rescue residents in the upscale River Oaks neighborhood after it was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days.
Daniel Kramer, AFP/Getty Images
A big rig lies on it's side on Hwy 59 near Edna, Texas, south of Houston, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 26, 2017.
Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images
People wait in a city dump truck on an I-610 overpass for evacuation during the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Aug. 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas.
Hurricane Harvey left a trail of devastation Saturday after the most powerful storm to hit the US mainland in over a decade slammed into Texas, destroying homes, severing power supplies and forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee.
Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP
Precinct 6 Deputy Constables Sgt. Paul Fernandez, from left, Sgt. Michael Tran and Sgt. Radha Patel rescue an elderly woman from rising water on North MacGregor Way, near Brays Bayou, after heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston.
Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images
People make their way down partially flooded roads following the passage of Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 26, 2017 in Galveston, Texas.
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP
Ruby Young waits with her husband, Claude Young, after being rescued from their flooded home by boat and taken to a pickup point along Edgebrook Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017. The elderly man had many medical issues from a stroke in May. Rising floodwaters from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey chased thousands of people to rooftops or higher ground Sunday in Houston, overwhelming rescuers who fielded countless desperate calls for help.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Billy Raney and Donna Raney climb over the wreckage of whats left of their apartment after Hurricane Harvey destroyed it on Aug. 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Donna and Billy were hiding in the shower after the roof blew off and the walls of her home caved in by the winds of Hurricane Harvey. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall by next Wednesday.
Eric Gay, The Associated Press
A trailer overturned in the wake of Hurricane Harvey lies upside down, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Aransas Pass, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Daisy Graham reacts to the news that a friend of hers may still be in an apartment that was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey on Aug. 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. The friends were found alive but still hiding in the shower stall after the homes roof was blown off and walls blown in by the high winds. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall by next Wednesday.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Lee Guerrero tries to kick open a door of an apartment after hearing his friends say they were hiding in the shower stall and were okay after Hurricane Harvey destroyed the apartment on Aug. 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Donna Raney makes her way out of the wreckage of her home as Daisy Graham tells her she will help her out of the window after Hurricane Harvey destroyed the apartment on Aug. 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Donna was hiding in the shower after the roof blew off and the walls of her home caved in by the winds of Hurricane Harvey. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall by next Wednesday.
Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle via AP
As a preventative measure, empty Metro buses are lined up in the center lanes of Interstate 59 near Cavalcade in case their bus shelters flood, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Houston.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Valerie Brown walks through a flooded area after leaving the apartment that she road out Hurricane Harvey in on Aug. 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
A Rockport firefighter goes door to door on a search and rescue mission as he looks for people that may need help after Hurricane Harvey passed through on Aug. 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall in the next few days.
Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images
A lies abandoned after heavy damage when Hurricane Harvey hit Rockport, Texas on Aug. 26, 2017.
Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast late Friday, unleashing torrents of rain and packing powerful winds, the first major storm to hit the US mainland in 12 years.
Ralph Barrera, Associated Press
Gov. Greg Abbott receives a briefing at the State of Texas Emergency Command Center at Department of Public Safety headquarters in Austin, Texas as they monitor Hurricane Harvey Saturday morning, Aug. 26, 2017.
Jack Fischer, NASA via Getty Images
In this NASA handout image, Hurricane Harvey from the cupola module aboard the International Space Station as it intensified on its way toward the Texas coast on Aug. 25, 2017. The Expedition 52 crew on the station has been tracking this storm for the past two days and capturing Earth observation photographs and videos from their vantage point in low Earth orbit.Now at category 4 strength, Harvey's maximum sustained winds had increased to 130 miles per hour.
Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via AP
Two kayakers try to beat the current pushing them down an overflowing Brays Bayou from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017.
Brendan Smialowski, AFP/Getty Images
People walk through flooded streets as the effects of Hurricane Henry are seen Aug. 26, 2017 in Galveston, Texas.
Hurricane Harvey left a trail of devastation Saturday after the most powerful storm to hit the US mainland in over a decade slammed into Texas, destroying homes, severing power supplies and forcing tens of thousands of residents to flee.
David J. Phillip, The Associated Press
Jennifer Bryant looks over the debris from her family business destroyed by Hurricane Harvey Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, in Katy, Texas. Harvey rolled over the Texas Gulf Coast on Saturday, smashing homes and businesses and lashing the shore with wind and rain so intense that drivers were forced off the road because they could not see in front of them.
Joe Raedle, Getty Images
Jessica Campbell hugs Jonathan Fitzgerald (L-R) after riding out Hurricane Harvey in an apartment on Aug. 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Jessica said is became very scary once Hurricane Harvey hit their town. Harvey made landfall shortly after 11 p.m. Friday, just north of Port Aransas as a Category 4 storm and is being reported as the strongest hurricane to hit the United States since Wilma in 2005. Forecasts call for as much as 30 inches of rain to fall by next Wednesday.
The sense that systems had failed both pets and people quickly reached Capitol Hill. In 2006, Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation requiring local and state authorities who want federal emergency grants to include pets in disaster plans. It also authorized the use of federal funds for pet-friendly emergency shelters.
Snowball was the impetus.
“The dog was taken away from this little boy, and to watch his face was a singularly revealing and tragic experience,” Rep. Tom Lantos said at the time. The California Democrat, who died in 2008, sponsored the House version of the Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act – legislation “born at that moment” with Snowball, Lantos said.
More than 30 U.S. states now have laws that address disaster planning for pets and service animals. Texas requires its emergency management officials to help localities devise plans “for the humane evacuation, transport and temporary sheltering of service animals and household pets in a disaster.”
Not all evacuation centers there are accepting pets this week, but many are accommodating them in separate areas or coordinating with off-site shelters to house them. In San Antonio, for instance, a state-run reception center for Harvey evacuees routes pets to a city-run animal shelter, after assigning them and owners individual ID numbers that will help reunite them later.
The images and stories out of southeast Texas – of rescue boats loaded with dogs and people – are far different from those that emerged during Katrina. Lisa Eicher’s experience offers just one example. When the Conroe resident woke on Monday, floodwaters had nearly submerged the 15 feet of steps up to the first floor of her family’s home. Before she, her husband and four children could pack more than a garbage bag of clothes, firefighters had rolled up outside in a muddy dump truck and were telling them to leave.
“We have two kids with Down syndrome, a pig and a three-legged dog,” Eicher recalled telling them.
“Sounds good,” one firefighter responded. “Let’s do this.”
Soon Eicher’s husband and a firefighter were helping Pip, a terrier mix, swim across the murky water. Next up was Penny, a mottled potbellied pig that floated on a yellow life jacket.
“A dog is one thing, but a pig is different,” Eicher said in a phone interview from Austin, where the family – pets included – are staying with friends. “I was worried that we weren’t going to be able to bring her . . . The fact that they were so good with our pets was really sweet and meant a lot.”
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society both greatly expanded their disaster response divisions after Katrina. The latter now has memorandums of understanding with many local organizations and localities – including the Houston suburbs of League City and Dickinson – that allow for more nimble and organized responses, Pacelle said.
“In a general sense, Katrina was the teaching moment in the United States for people to understand . . . that the lives of humans and animals in our communities are intertwined,” he said. “You couldn’t look at individuals. You had to look at the family group when you approached disaster response.”
Animals that do not remain with owners also have more places to go these days, advocates say. As Harvey approached, several Texas shelters shipped dogs and cats out to distant facilities to make room for furry refugees. Those far-off places, such as the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, in turn revved up adoptions to clear even more space.
“We’re working nonstop to get out every single animal that was currently adoptable in some of these cities where we know that these evacuees are going to need to come,” said Katie Jarl, senior state director in Texas for the Humane Society. The organization sent more than 100 shelter animals out of San Antonio between Monday and Wednesday.
Much of the movement is relying on sophisticated transport networks, many of which grew out of the chaos during Katrina. On Tuesday night at 10 p.m., eight mixed-breed dogs – labs, hounds and pit bulls – arrived at the Somerset Regional Animal Shelter in Bridgewater, New Jersey. They had come from San Antonio on a plane flown by Wings of Rescue, a California-based charity that uses private aircraft to fly animals from high-kill southern shelters to northern areas where euthanasia rates are lower.
“We saw a lot of dogs out of that plane getting a second life,” said Brian Bradshaw, who manages the Somerset shelter. “By helping these animals, we are also helping people, and that goes hand in hand.”
The Harvey efforts are by no means “copacetic or settled,” Pacelle said. Citing health concerns, some emergency shelters are turning away people with pets, as are hotels – though both face shaming on social media when they do so. The corporation that owns Holiday Inn Express apologized this week after reports that its Katy, Texas, hotel rejected a family with three dogs.
And though animal advocates say arrangements have greatly improved since 2005, they are still not ideal for some pet owners. One Corpus Christi couple who evacuated to San Antonio opted to go to a hotel after learning that their dog would be temporarily housed at the city-run shelter, rather than with them at an evacuation center.
“This isn’t a dog. This is a child,” Kevin Pogue told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. “I’m not going to be separated from my child; it’s that simple.”
But the fact that Pogue’s sentiment is now enshrined in legal code, which has long viewed pets as property, is one of Katrina’s lasting legacies.
“Pets essentially became members of society: You rescue the people, and you also try to rescue the cats and dogs,” said Grimm, the journalist. “Nobody is passing laws saying you should rescue the toasters. It’s really a huge, fundamental shift that happened.”
![The United States is gearing up for Cinco de Mayo. Music, all-day happy hours and deals on tacos are planned at venues across the country on Sunday -- May 5 — in a celebration with widely misunderstood origins that is barely recognized south of the border. In the U.S., the date is largely seen as […]](https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Cinco_de_Mayo_72355.jpg?w=525 "The United States is gearing up for Cinco de Mayo. Music, all-day happy hours and deals on tacos are planned at venues across the country on Sunday -- May 5 — in a celebration with widely misunderstood origins that is barely recognized south of the border. In the U.S., the date is largely seen as […]")
