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NEW BOOK SAYS: "SAVE YOUR PET. SAVE YOUR LIFE."
Rescued: Saving Animals
from Disaster, By Allen and Linda Anderson
A Zogby International study found that 44 percent of those
who stayed behind when Hurricane Katrina hit did so because they
wouldn't abandon their pets. Animal rescue and disaster preparedness
for pets has become vital for saving human and animal lives. Allen
and Linda Anderson, Minneapolis-based authors of the new book, RESCUED:
Saving Animals from Disaster, with a foreword by US
Senator John Ensign, provide practical suggestions to pet owners
for fast evacuation in the wake of any emergency. The authors and
their publisher are donating a portion of the proceeds from RESCUED
to animal rescue organizations.
A husband-and-wife writing team
with a series of popular animal books, the authors drew upon Allen
Anderson's eight years as an Atlanta police officer and his subsequent
position as director of safety for an international nonprofit organization.
The couple interviewed hundreds of animal rescuers and survivors
of the Gulf Coast hurricanes to find the best methods for keeping
pets safe in a disaster. Allen Anderson says, “Tragedy
is compounded when people feel guilt and severe depression over
loss of a companion or service animal. Laws and policies regarding
the value of rescuing animals have not caught up with the reality
that pets are family members in two out of three American households.
People choose to stay in or return to dangerous situations rather
than abandon their pets. It happened that way in Hurricane Katrina
and again in Lebanon when people wouldn't evacuate from a war zone
due to the no-pets-allowed policies."
The Andersons hope with
their book to keep a national conversation going on how to strengthen
animal rescue and replace
outdated, agrarian policies regarding animals with more effective
lifesaving procedures. Among other vital pieces of information,
the Andersons discuss and can demonstrate for audiences:
The
five crucial questions everyone with a pet must ask to assess
if they are prepared for disaster:
 What essential
elements are needed in a pet preparedness kit for an owner
to evacuate safely and quickly in the event of a house fire,
neighborhood chemical spill, terrorism threat, evacuation
order, or natural disaster such as hurricanes, tornadoes,
wildfires, floods, and earthquakes.
How to have a
family emergency disaster plan that includes pets.
What should be
in a person's car or a safe deposit box that could save lives.
What questions
to ask of local, state, and national emergency planning committees,
fire and police departments, and legislators to make sure
people have support for pet evacuation and sheltering in disasters.
What will get
a person into a shelter or rescue vehicle and why they and
their pet could be turned away.
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All
images are from the book: RESCUED: Saving Animals from
Disaster by Allen and Linda Anderson, New World Library,
© 2006
“Compelling, fascinating, and
most important — highly moral.”
—Ben Stein, author, actor, commentator
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In addition to motivating
and educating the public about pet evacuation,
RESCUED offers a history of animal rescue as
an evolving social movement that is gaining in importance.
It gives readers a comprehensive look at animal rescue as
it occurs with 7,000 organizations and 10,000,000 members
operating in communities across the country everyday. The
book demonstrates how animal sheltering has evolved into state-of-the-art
facilities, how animal control has grown from the catch-and-kill
mentality to law enforcement capabilities that curb animal
abuse, and how national animal organizations' missions affect
the lives of people who don't even have pets. This book has
been called a must-read for every pet owner and anyone who
has considered volunteering, making a career in, or training
for animal rescue. |
PET DISASTER
PREPAREDNESS QUIZ
Excerpted from:
Rescued: Saving Animals from Disaster by Linda & Allen Anderson
If you’re like us and get
overwhelmed easily, you might appreciate knowing the top five things
you can do to prepare your pets for disaster. The following are
five simple points to consider as a way of assessing
your preparedness. Much of the information was adapted from material
developed by the HSUS and American Red Cross. The questions below
each point will give you ideas for actions to take.
1. Take your pets with you and get
out fast.
Can you gather all your pets quickly and put them into pet carriers?
Can you grab leashes,
muzzles, and water bowls and pack a couple days’ supply of
water bottles and food in waterproof containers for each pet?
Can you get your pets
out of the house in less than five minutes?
If you have a bird,
do you have a blanket in your car that you can wrap over the carrier
to keep the bird warm if necessary?
If you have a snake
or reptile, do you have a large pillowcase handy so you can secure
the animal until you reach the evacuation site?
If you have small mammals
(hamsters, gerbils, etc.), do you have carriers suitable to keep
the animals in while you evacuate? Do you have bedding materials,
food bowls, and water bottles nearby?
2.
Make sure your pets can be identified even if their collars come
off.
Are your pets wearing securely fastened collars and ID tags with
their names and identifying information either laminated or written
with indelible ink?
Are your pets microchipped?
(For microchips, contact 24PetWatch, HomeAgain, and Avid.)
If you have a bird,
do you have a leg band for him or her with identification?
Do you have identification
and emergency phone numbers securely fastened to your pets’
carriers?
Does the collar ID
tag and microchip have the pet’s name, your name, and two
emergency telephone numbers, including one that is not your home?
3. Keep photographs
and descriptions of distinguishing features and medical conditions
of your pets in the glove compartment of your car and/or in a safe
deposit box.
If your pet escapes from the carrier or runs off from the house
when a firefighter busts open the door, do you or someone else have
photographs and descriptions somewhere, other than your home, so
you can make a flyer and post the information on PETS911.com?
4. Keep in your car or away from
your home a list of places to evacuate.
Do you know where you can go with your pets in the event of an emergency
evacuation?
Do you have a list
of nearby pet-friendly motels along a fifty-mile evacuation route?
5. Make sure your pets are taken
care of even if you can’t do it yourself.
Have you posted on your front door a Rescue Alert sticker listing
the type and number of pets in your home?
Have you made prior
arrangements with people you can trust who will help you and your
pets in an emergency?
Have you made arrangements
with a friend or relative (who is not allergic to pets) where you
can spend the night or a few days and bring your pet?
Does a friend, family
member, or neighbor have access to photographs and veterinarian
information about your pets in case you are too sick, injured, or
far away to save and find them?
Did you discover holes in
your readiness? If so, you are not alone. We, like many others,
were shocked to find how many times we answered no to the quiz questions.
So now is the time to become
the doer, the smart one, and prepare for an event that you hope
never arrives. Look at the questions again and do whatever you need
to do, immediately, to answer each question with a yes.
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From the book Rescued:
Saving Animals from Disaster. Copyright © 2006
by Allen and Linda Anderson. Reprinted with permission from New
World Library. www.newworldlibrary.com For more
info, visit www.rescuedsavinganimals.net
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