Would you leave pets behind in a disaster?

Posted:
in AppleOutsider edited January 2014
Many holdouts of Hurricane Katrina stayed in dangerous conditions because of their pets. They just could not leave them behind. Facing nearly immediate evacuation of your home without means to take the animals, would you stay with them or leave them behind?



I think of any pets I have as animals first. Yes, they have personalities and in many ways they become "part of the family," but I can't help but place them subordinate to humans in the whole scheme of things. I don't treat them like people and I don't expect them to be little dog or cat shaped people. Along those same lines, I don't expect that, facing life-threatening circumstances, I would be willing to risk my own life to stay with a pet.



Oh, and try to keep this from getting political. Be sensitive to everyone's opinions.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    I'll take my cats with me. Nobody can force me to leave my cats behind me.
  • Reply 2 of 4
    There's no way in hell that I'd leave my cat behind if given the chance. I know that this topic is spawned from what happened with Katrina..... in that situation especially, there was plenty of time to evacuate and I would have been one of the first to leave a sub 20 foot city with a category 5 storm headed for me... with may cat in hand.
  • Reply 3 of 4
    This is kind of a bad question, since it assumes the case where a tidal wave is about to hit your domicile and you need two hands to get up the rope ladder dangling from the helicopter. When I evacuated for Hurricane Frances last year (cat 5, direct hit) I waited for longer than most to leave, but there was still plenty of time to grab some things and get the hell out of dodge.



    I'm not sure what I would have done with a cat or dog (I am pet-less) during the three months that I was displaced after the house was torn apart, but there was certainly ample time to deal with the pet. I'm guessing the reason why pets are stranded is due to [very] poor planning or forgetfulness on the part of the owner.
  • Reply 4 of 4
    I agree with everybody about it being a bad question but if i HAD to decided, i would leave the pets.



    I absolutly love my cat but the way i see it, there is nothing i can do for him if i stay. And if there was no need to evacuate, he would still be here when i come back.
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