None Left Behind
“Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” — Lilo & Stitch
The most memorable line from Lilo & Stitch — perhaps any Disney animated film — resonates strongly with me. One of the biggest reasons why is because the moment Lilo adopts Stitch — a pet — she views him as a member of the family. Even in the midst of the ensuing chaos, and as the government of Stitch’s home planet attempts to take him away, both he and Lilo repeat “Ohana.” And “ohana” is a word that has come back to me as I watch videos of the animals in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence.
As the after effects of Hurricane Florence are felt across the Carolinas, there is one effect that is entirely avoidable: leaving pets behind. The Stafford Act is the federal act that provides a system for states to deliver relief for disaster events. The Pet Emergency Transportation Standards (PETS) Act is an amendment to the Stafford Act that requires areas to make considerations for pets during disaster events. While this Act does not require that pets remain with their humans in shelters, the intent is that there is a place for them during the disaster event. With the number of pets left behind (though that is another complaint entirely) and people refusing to evacuate because they cannot take their pets to shelters, there seems to be only two explanations: (a) locations experiencing disaster events are not abiding by the PETS Act or (b) they are abiding by the amendment, but are not adequately explaining these available resources to the public.
In my opinion, pets should be permitted to remain with their families, albeit with rules and restrictions. According to the people I spoke with when studying disaster communication for my master’s thesis, all of whom were professionals in the field, the overwhelming concern is liability. Although this is understandable, I also feel people should be responsible for their pets. While I could go on about this particular notion, I want to focus on the immediate solution: have a preparedness plan in place that includes your pets before the disaster strikes.
For most disasters, you have time to prepare. Ready.gov provides some resources to create a preparedness plan that includes pets as well as a lot of other very helpful information for disaster event preparedness. If you’re being told to evacuate, or even being told that evacuation would be advisable, that’s your cue to grab everything in your “go bag” and go. And that includes your pets and their necessities.
Ohana. To our pets we are the world. We are all they have. We owe it to them to keep them safe.
