Animals in Disaster - survey for class

saramgriffith · Feb 24, 2007

Hi, I am in an Animals in Disaster class this semester and am trying to gather some info for a paper.

My question is:

If you were in a disaster like Hurricane Katrina and had to leave your pet
(cat, horse, dog etc.) behind, would this add to your emotional distress?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Sara

lsulover · Feb 24, 2007

Originally Posted by SaramGriffith

Hi, I am in an Animals in Disaster class this semester and am trying to gather some info for a paper.

My question is:

If you were in a disaster like Hurricane Katrina and had to leave your pet
(cat, horse, dog etc.) behind, would this add to your emotional distress?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Sara

To be quite honest it would never happen, I would NEVER and I repeat NEVER leave my pet behind. I grew up in Louisiana and we went through many hurricanes, and we never evacuated.

I was in Mississippi for Katrina and it did get bad where I live, but not as bad as the coast or New Orleans. We stayed here at our house along with our animals.

If my animals can't go then I ain't going. I know that people are gonna think I am stupid, and maybe I am, but I am not leaving my animals to fend for themselves.

lukin28 · Feb 24, 2007

I would do whatever it took to take my pets along. I could not live with myself knowing they had to try and survive on thier own and never knowing what happened to them.

graciecat · Feb 24, 2007

I agree with LSULOVER, if my cats can't go then neither can I.

lsulover · Feb 24, 2007

Originally Posted by lukin28

I would do whatever it took to take my pets along. I could not live with myself knowing they had to try and survive on thier own and never knowing what happened to them.

Yep, and that is what happened to some of them too. I watched several shows on tv about animals who got left behind, the people were all crying and stuff, I didn't feel sorry for the people one bit, I did feel sorry for the animals that did get left behind.

They had a real sad story on Oprah, about a fellow who wouldn't leave his dog, and him and his dog finally got took to Baton Rouge. It was a wonderful ending to the story.

lsulover · Feb 24, 2007

Originally Posted by SaramGriffith

Hi, I am in an Animals in Disaster class this semester and am trying to gather some info for a paper.

My question is:

If you were in a disaster like Hurricane Katrina and had to leave your pet
(cat, horse, dog etc.) behind, would this add to your emotional distress?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Sara

I forgot to wish you good luck with your paper too.

furryferals · Feb 24, 2007

I'm fortunate that I live in an area that doesn't really have natural disasters.
I can't Imagine what it must be like having to live through something like that

and I have tried to imagine what I would do and I know one thing,I would never leave my pets...
If the army got involved or anything like that and they threatened to shoot me...Then
That's what they would have to do,because I would never leave my pets and it would
only happen over my dead body.

Good luck with your Thesis

lsulover · Feb 25, 2007

Originally Posted by furryferals

I'm fortunate that I live in an area that doesn't really have natural disasters.
I can't Imagine what it must be like having to live through something like that

and I have tried to imagine what I would do and I know one thing,I would never leave my pets...
If the army got involved or anything like that and they threatened to shoot me...Then
That's what they would have to do,because I would never leave my pets and it would
only happen over my dead body.

Good luck with your Thesis

After Katrina came, I met some National Guard guys at our Wal-Mart, they were headed to New Orleans to help out. And I was talking to them, and I told them the exact same thing, the mayor of New Orleans had ordered mandatory evacuations then. I told the National Guard guys to please let the people take their animals. I told them then that I would never leave without mine, one of the men looked at me like I was stupid or something, he then told me that I was to little to be talking like that. I told him I might be little but it would take more than him to take me somewheres without my pets. I told him that I didn't care who told me I had to leave, I wasn't leaving without my pets.

lsulover · Feb 25, 2007

Originally Posted by SaramGriffith

Hi, I am in an Animals in Disaster class this semester and am trying to gather some info for a paper.

My question is:

If you were in a disaster like Hurricane Katrina and had to leave your pet
(cat, horse, dog etc.) behind, would this add to your emotional distress?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Sara

Since no one has answered your question, I figured I would try.

I would hafta say the answer would be yes, I do believe it would add extra to the distress you were already having. But like I said before, it would never happen in my house.

leto86 · Feb 25, 2007

Yes, it definatly would. I can't even imagine what this would feel like.

But it would never happen. I'd take the critters, or I wouldn't go.
Same as if the house were on fire, I'd go back in as many times as I would need to, to get everyone out.

lsulover · Feb 25, 2007

Originally Posted by Leto86

Yes, it definatly would. I can't even imagine what this would feel like.

But it would never happen. I'd take the critters, or I wouldn't go.
Same as if the house were on fire, I'd go back in as many times as I would need to, to get everyone out.

Yep, me too, I would go into a burning building after a child, I would to the same thing for an animal.

catsrnmom · Feb 25, 2007

I can tell you from my different type of experience, that yes, this type of situation makes one's stress level increase greatly...When my house burned down 3 yrs. ago in the middle of the night, I was able to safely remove all humans, and 4 dogs before the fire department got there, but my 3 cats went into hiding with all of the hysteria, and I could not locate them, and when the fire dept. arrived, I was still in the house full of smoke, with flames coming down from the attic, looking for them, and was quickly removed from the house by the firefighters. I was in hysterics, yelling at them that my cats were still in there, and that I had to get back in to find them. So as I stand in the street watching, the firemen soon came to me to tell me that all 3 cats were located under my sons bed, and safe as the fire didn't hit that room yet, and eventually brought each one of them to me... There are NO words to describe the horrible feelings that I had during the time of not knowing if they were safe, even as I watched my home and most everything inside gone, I only wanted my cats...I can only imagine that everyone affected by Katrina and such, felt some of the same feelings I had, except many of them, never knew what happened to their pets.
So, added emotional stress? That is a HUGE yes.
I hope this will help for your paper, and good luck.

lsulover · Feb 25, 2007

Originally Posted by catsRNmom

I can tell you from my different type of experience, that yes, this type of situation makes one's stress level increase greatly...When my house burned down 3 yrs. ago in the middle of the night, I was able to safely remove all humans, and 4 dogs before the fire department got there, but my 3 cats went into hiding with all of the hysteria, and I could not locate them, and when the fire dept. arrived, I was still in the house full of smoke, with flames coming down from the attic, looking for them, and was quickly removed from the house by the firefighters. I was in hysterics, yelling at them that my cats were still in there, and that I had to get back in to find them. So as I stand in the street watching, the firemen soon came to me to tell me that all 3 cats were located under my sons bed, and safe as the fire didn't hit that room yet, and eventually brought each one of them to me... There are NO words to describe the horrible feelings that I had during the time of not knowing if they were safe, even as I watched my home and most everything inside gone, I only wanted my cats...I can only imagine that everyone affected by Katrina and such, felt some of the same feelings I had, except many of them, never knew what happened to their pets.
So, added emotional stress? That is a HUGE yes.
I hope this will help for your paper, and good luck.

I am sorry to hear that your house burned, but I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy that your cats were ok, and I know that is the only thing that you cared about. It might have been sad that you lost your material possessions but you didn't lose the most valuable things.

catsrnmom · Feb 25, 2007

Originally Posted by LSULOVER

I am sorry to hear that your house burned, but I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy that your cats were ok, and I know that is the only thing that you cared about. It might have been sad that you lost your material possessions but you didn't lose the most valuable things.

Thanks..and yes, they were the only things I was worried about. I rushed them to the vet the next day, just to make sure their lungs were ok from all of the smoke inhalation, and they were just fine. An angel was really watching over us that night....

momofmany · Feb 25, 2007

Originally Posted by SaramGriffith

If you were in a disaster like Hurricane Katrina and had to leave your pet (cat, horse, dog etc.) behind, would this add to your emotional distress?

Absolutely!!!

We had a tornado pass next to our house one time. We had no warnings and it was on us before we knew. We had to leave the house to get to the storm cellar and if we had even tried to carry the cats out, they would have been blown away with the tornado. We were blown to the ground trying to get there ourselves.

All I could think of while we stood in the cellar, hearing the train sound overhead, was "OMG I hope the house stands and the babies make it thru it".

Sometimes you have no choice, and the results would devastate me.

lsulover · Feb 25, 2007

Originally Posted by Momofmany

Absolutely!!!

We had a tornado pass next to our house one time. We had no warnings and it was on us before we knew. We had to leave the house to get to the storm cellar and if we had even tried to carry the cats out, they would have been blown away with the tornado. We were blown to the ground trying to get there ourselves.

All I could think of while we stood in the cellar, hearing the train sound overhead, was "OMG I hope the house stands and the babies make it thru it".

Sometimes you have no choice, and the results would devastate me.

I think in a situation like that, you do not have a choice. The tornado is there before you know it.

When a hurricane is coming, you know ahead of time. If there is one in the Gulf, you just watch to see the projected path of the hurricane. Therefore you have enough time to know if you are gonna hafta evacuate.

nellers · Feb 25, 2007

Sara,

Yes it would add to mine. Personal belongings are just inaminate objects. My cats are part of the family. To me, it would be equal to leaving behind a loved one. I am certain my emotional distress would increase. With a hurricane though, I'd have planned ahead and left beforehand, cats in tow, just "in case" it hit my city. I would like to think I am the type of person who would not have braved the Katrina hurricane and headed out of the city well in advanced when the first warnings began. Thankfully, this is an area which rarely has any significant storm events, by the time they reach us, they are weak.

(thanks LSULOVER for directing me to this thread)

pettransport · Feb 25, 2007

Definitely!! unless you don't think of your pet as part of the family this would be like having to leave a family member behind to die.

maddensmom · Feb 26, 2007

Originally Posted by PetTransport

Definitely!! unless you don't think of your pet as part of the family this would be like having to leave a family member behind to die.

I don't think that I could ever leave them. I would risk my life for theirs in a heartbeat. My animals are like my children, and I would never leave my children behind.

luckygirl · Feb 26, 2007

yes it would add to ones emotional stress. I would never leave my cats, I won't even go on vacation without them.... they are my babies, and I would not leave a burning building without them....

heck, I have to work late on Wednesday, and won't get home till after 7pm, when I usually get home at 4:30pm, I am having someone come over to feed them so that they are not late in getting their dinner.

Animals in Disaster - survey for class

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