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People and Their Pets: Lesson Learned from Katrina

The following story by Amy Weaver appeared in the June 3, 2007 edition of the Opelika-Auburn News.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many Gulf Coast residents could not or would not leave their underwater homes without their pets.

This kind of reaction got the attention of Dr. Philip Chaney, associate professor of geography at Auburn University, who studies human behavior after natural hazards, like hurricanes.

He recently earned a grant through the Natural Hazards Center in boulder, Colo. to study evacuations. If there is one this hurricane season, the grant will pay for him to travel to the region to visit public shelters and interview people with pets. Chaney said he wants to know about their decision process during an evacuation. Were they prepared to leave? Were they prepared to leave with a pet? How are the accommodations at the shelter for you and your pet? there is one this hurricane season, the grant will pay for him to travel to the region to visit public shelters and interview people with pets. Chaney said he wants to know about their decision process during an evacuation. Were they prepared to leave? Were they prepared to leave with a pet? How are the accommodations at the shelter for you and your pet?

“It was such a big problem in New Orleans and throughout the region really,” Chaney said. “It was such a huge problem. All emergency management agencies were hit with this decision.”

Those who did evacuate the Gulf Coast with their pets often found themselves without anywhere to go because shelters were not set up to deal with animals, only people. Chaney said that has changed though thanks to groups like the American Humane Society and American Kennel Club who lobbied Congress to change emergency management laws to include people as well as pets.

Since there is hardly any research on this topic, Chaney is certain his findings will help emergency management organizations be better prepared to accommodate all evacuees.

“There are so many different attitudes about pets,” he said. Since some people view a pet as a family member, it is a “difficult situation” to make families choose travel over a pet.

If anything good came out of Katrina, Chaney said it proved that people who live in the path of hurricanes have to be prepared, especially if there is a pet involved. He suggested people have a pet carrier or leash readily available for evacuation, some identification for the animal, medical records or medicine, and a plan of what to do, where to go and how to get there.

“I think some people would have left, but they didn’t have a carrier, or transportation out, or a place to go,” Chaney said.
Chaney, who received his doctorate from Louisiana State University, teaches students at Auburn about similar situations each spring. In “Hazards Geography,” students learn about the different management, policy and behavior to natural hazards around the world.