What if: We didn't have to worry about pets in a disaster?

Major events which rocked the foundation of two Canadian communities prompted PetLynx Corporation to offer free lifetime recovery subscriptions to people affected during the Alberta floods and the Lac Megantic train disaster.

At the time, PetLynx President and CEO Larry Evans engaged the urban animal community in a conversation confirming the importance of a central database with 100% of pets registered. A central portal, accessible by everyone, with a proven search algorithm would ensure that lost and founds pets involved in a disaster would be easily reported and the likelihood of a recovery episode would increase substantially. Additionally, if all pets were registered with up-to-date information, disaster evacuees could take solace knowing their pet's information and whereabouts were available to authorized personnel. 

Melissa Hunt, associate director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psycology at the University of Pennsylvania studied the psychological effects of losing a pet on people affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 

"Historically, pet ownership has been the single greatest risk factor for evacuation failure," Hunt told Global News. As human shelters often refuse to take pets, not being able to safely evacuate with an animal poses a problem. 

Hurricane Katrina prompted the creation of the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act by the U.S. government in 2006. The Act ensures that State and local emergency preparedness plans address the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals following a major disaster or emergency. 

Dealing with pets in a disaster is on the minds of many North American municipalities. The rate at which fires, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes seems to be increasing. Disaster preparedness requires a new level of thinking and collaboration in North America.  Perhaps executive thought leaders will take up this discussion and develop a new strategy during the Friday Forums at the 2013 Summit for Urban Animal Strategies, October 16-19. Imagine an industry that sorted this all out so that the anxiety which often accompanies separation was no longer a dilemma of an urban disaster.

Leaders who wish to add their voice to this and other key industry conversations, are invited to join the Urban Animal Program LinkedIn Group and also to REGISTER for Summit 2013. Get the facts, Have yourSAY™, Move the industry.