Pets and Hurricanes: Florida’s Ongoing Struggle for Shelter Solutions
The unbreakable bond between people and their pets
Your pets are family, and you’d never leave them behind. But how do you keep them safe when disaster strikes?
Living in the sunshine state often means facing an inevitable reality — the great threat of hurricanes.
For Floridians, hurricane preparedness is not just a matter of convenience but a matter of survival. But for those who have pets, the challenge is even greater. What happens when you have to evacuate, and your pets are part of the family equation?
In the state of Florida, where tropical storms and hurricanes frequently make landfall, pet owners fight with the daunting task of ensuring the safety of their four-legged friends.
Here, it’s not just about finding shelter and securing supplies; it’s about navigating a the lack of pet-friendly options and the uncertainty of the outcome.
Facts:
- Out of the 67 counties in Florida — only 28 counties offer ‘some type’ of pet-friendly hurricane shelters.
- Pet owners are 60% less likely to go to a shelter.
So what do you do if you have pets and have to evacuate?
Well, that’s the million dollar question. What do you do?
I am one of those that have pets. And not just one or two pets, but five, and I can tell you that evacuating with five pets is no easy feat.
And more than once I was at a crossroad as to what to do.
I will NEVER leave my pets behind. I would rather go down with the ship than to leave my furries to fend for themselves. Some would say that’s stupid, but any true pet lover would completely understand.
Over the past few years, some counties have become more pet-friendly and have created some type of shelter for animals but most of these shelters will separate you from your pets.
Again, that would not work for me.
If you’ve ever lived through a real hurricane, you know it’s loud. The severe howling wind, things banging against other things, the down pouring rain. Your pets would be scared and stressed out. I would want (and need) my pets with me during any type of disaster, such as a hurricane.
Do hotels waive pet requirements in Florida for hurricanes?
That depends. Ultimately, it’s up to each establishment to decide whether they are willing to waive their pet requirements during hurricanes
Prior to Hurricane Idalia, Governor Ron DeSantis worked with the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association to waive their no-pet policies; however, that doesn’t mean that all will.
While preparing for the always tedious task of finding a safe haven for my family and pets prior to Hurricane Idalia, I called numerous hotels to confirm whether they would be lifting their pet restrictions prior to booking a room. Each and every one said ‘we don’t know yet.’
How are you supposed to prepare for an evacuation when you don’t even know if the hotel you were lucky enough to find an available room at, is going to lift their pet restrictions.
I have visions of sitting in my car outside the hotel with my pets while a hurricane bears down on us because the hotel I booked said ‘nope, sorry…no pets!’
So what are the options?
- Try to find a pet-friendly shelter (preferably one that doesn’t separate you from your pets).
- Try to find a hotel that will confirm they’ll lift their pet restrictions prior to the hurricane landing.
- Nothing. Stay put, hunker down and hope for the best.
No event showed the lack of options then when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in 2005. So many residents didn’t evacuate because of the lack of pet accommodations.
How did Hurricane Katrina shape the changes made towards pet evacuations during disasters?
When Hurricane Katrina was heading towards New Orleans, nearly 50% of the residents refused to leave their animals behind. While others left their pets behind thinking they’d only be gone a day or two, only to never be seen again.
The results of both left approximately 100,000 to 250,000 stranded pets and between 70,000 and 150,000 pets died as the result.
Many people had to be bussed out of the city to other shelters throughout the country and they had to leave their beloved pets behind.
We’ve all seen the pictures. Dogs stranded and shaking on rooftops, trapped inside locked, flooded homes and swimming in infested water trying to find dry ground. These aren’t pictures any of us will ever forget.
Pets After Hurricane Katrina
So what happened to all of the abandoned and lost pets after Katrina came through and destroyed the city?
Some were lost. Some died. Some were reunited with their families. Some were not. Many, many pets were sent to shelters throughout the country to try to find them new homes.
The stories could go on and on. But the bottom line is the devastation was horrible and the reality of it is real.
However, some good did come from all of this.
In October 2006, the PETS (Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards) Act came into law. In order for states to receive funding they must follow the rules set in place by this law, which requires state disaster preparedness and evacuation plans address the needs of people with pets and service animals.
The key issues include:
- animal care and response teams
- evacuation shelters
- ID of rescued animals
There’s still so much more to do.
Although great strides have been made towards keeping both pets and their owners safe during hurricanes, we still have a long way to go.
Cities, counties and states must come up with a solution so both their residents and pets can go somewhere safe during hurricanes.
People don’t want to be separated from their pets and I 100% completely understand this. More than once I’ve had to make a decision to ride out a hurricane because I didn’t have the resources available to safely evacuate myself, my family and my pets.
My pets are my family. I would not leave my pets behind any more than I would my child.