The following story, was on the cover of the Metro section in the Palm Beach editon of the Saturday, April 6, Sun-Sentinel. It presents a great opportunity for animal friendly letters to the editor. The Sun Sentinel takes letters at
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-letterseditor.customform
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
April 8, 2006 Saturday
Palm Beach Edition
LOCAL; Pg. 1B
PET-FRIENDLY SHELTER BILLS ADVANCE;
DESPITE CALLS OF SUPPORT, SCHOOLS HAVE CONCERN
BYLINE: Jennifer Peltz Tallahassee Bureau; Mark Hollis of the Tallahassee Bureau contributed to this report.
BODY:
For an untold number of Floridians, hurricane warnings force a wrenching
choice: their well-being, or their pets'?
Few public storm shelters allow pets, out of concerns about taking on care
and cleanup.
But since two bruising hurricane seasons have proven that many people would
imperil themselves before abandoning their pets, a South Florida legislator
and others are pushing for more free, public, pet-friendly shelters statewide.
Proposals (HB545, SB1484) made headway this week in the state Legislature,
getting nods from both House and Senate committees.
To Tara Foye, it's an idea whose time has come -- at 100 mph. She vividly
remembers huddling in her bathroom last fall as Hurricane Wilma trashed the
back porch and threw a tree through her windshield.
She and her boyfriend, Dennis Stroccia, had thought about clearing out. But
with a Labrador retriever and two cats, where?
"And I'll be damned if I'm going to leave them," says Foye, who lives west
of Boca Raton. "... When an animal lives with you for five or 10 years,
they're part of the family."
Broward and Miami-Dade counties already have hurricane shelters that
welcome pets along with people.
But the topic is a raw nerve in Palm Beach County.
Nearly all of the county's public hurricane shelters are in public schools,
and county leaders have implored school officials to designate at least one as
a place for pets. But school administrators have raised a host of red flags,
from air quality to pet escapes, according to schools spokeswoman Vickie
Middlebrooks.
"The School District is sensitive to the needs of people who do not, and
should not, need to abandon their pets during emergencies," Middlebrooks says.
"... However, the School District doesn't feel that schools are the solution
to the problem."
But county Animal Care and Control Director Dianne Sauve thinks they are,
for lack of other hurricane-safe options.
As a stopgap, her agency took in pets during Wilma, but owners couldn't
stay with them and had to sign forms acknowledging the West Palm Beach-area
building might not withstand the storm.
Last summer's catastrophic Hurricane Katrina put a nationwide spotlight on
the predicament of pets in disasters. Stories of Gulf Coast residents who
refused to evacuate because buses or shelters wouldn't take their pets, as
well as images of other pets abandoned amid the floodwaters, compelled
Congress to consider the issue.
Those stories and pictures made a similar impact on state Sen. Nan Rich,
D-Weston. She's pushing to require a pet-friendly storm shelter in each
Florida county.
"Seeing the plight of people who had pets and who had nowhere to go in
Mississippi and New Orleans and even in our own state ... I just thought that
this was an important component of our emergency plans," says Rich, a former
dog owner.
Mark Hollis of the Tallahassee Bureau contributed to this report.
Jennifer Peltz can be reached at
jpeltz@sun-sentinel.com
or 850-224-6214.
PROTECTING PETS
Hurricane preparations need to include pets, too. Some advice from
animal-care experts:
Prepare a two-week pet survival kit before a hurricane. It should include a
crate or carrier large enough for each pet, veterinary records, photos of the
pet, leashes, toys, blankets, water and food dishes. Make sure to add a
two-week supply of pet food, water, pet medications, cleaning supplies and
litter.
Be sure each pet has current vaccinations, especially rabies.
Be sure each pet has a current identification tag. Attach a phone number of
a relative or friend not in the evacuation zone, so anyone who finds your pet
will be able to call a person who knows how to reach you.
Don't leave your pets at home if you evacuate. If they survive the storm,
they might wander out through a broken window or door and get lost.
If you plan to board your pet at a kennel, make reservations early.
If you have fish, consider getting a battery-operated air pump.
For more information on disaster planning for pets, call Palm Beach County
Animal Care & Control at 561-233-1200.
(END OF SUN SENTINEL ARTICLE)
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Date: Mon Apr 10 11:09:05 2006
