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Pets still barred from storm shelters

Officials say they need to resolve health and safety issues so they can offer pet-friendly places before season's end.

By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published August 26, 2005

Thousands of Pasco residents were ordered to evacuate last year for Charley, Frances and Jeanne. But many of them stayed home for Fido, Fluffy and Tweetie.

The problem: Pasco County's emergency shelters don't allow pets. Owners have to take their furry friends to a kennel or a friend's house or ride out the storm at home.

That's why Pasco officials are working on a plan to provide pet-friendly shelters for owners and their animals. Nothing is finalized yet, but officials hope to work out something before the hurricane season ends Nov. 30, said Jim Johnston, the county's emergency management coordinator.

"I'd like to think we can get something together this year," Johnston said, "but until everybody's concerns and issues can be addressed satisfactorily, it stands as-is."

Meaning: For now, Pasco doesn't have any shelters allowing pets.

The issue is not as simple as it might seem. For one thing, Johnston said, officials must decide whether all animals would be welcome, or whether some creatures would be barred for safety reasons.

"My boa may be a pet to me," he said, "but it may pose a risk at the shelter if you brought your bird."

Cleanup is another concern, he said. The most likely shelters would be schools, county buildings or civic association buildings, Johnston said. After the storm passes and the pets go home, he said, the buildings would need to be cleaned so the pet dander doesn't cause allergies for the regular occupants.

Animal Control manager Denise Hilton is hopeful those details can be ironed out. She said the need for pet-friendly shelters is obvious.

The U.S. Census estimated Pasco's population at 407,799 last year, but it's impossible to say how many of those residents have pets.

County records show about 50,200 dogs, cats and pot-bellied pigs are licensed, but an equal number might be unlicensed, Hilton said.

And those figures don't include hamsters, turtles, parakeets and other pets. (Licenses are required for dogs and pot-bellied pigs, optional for cats and nonexistent for other pets.)

As Hurricane Charley barreled toward Florida last year, Pasco officials ordered evacuations for 168,000 residents in mobile homes and coastal areas. Only 3,100 went to county-run shelters. Even assuming some folks went to motels or a friend's house, officials estimated only a quarter of the affected residents heeded the evacuation orders.

The evacuation rates for hurricanes Frances and Jeanne were equally paltry. Johnston suspects a good number of those who stayed behind were pet owners.

Officials are now watching Hurricane Katrina. The County Commission will meet this morning to grant a local state of emergency, allowing staffers to make any necessary storm preparations.

Evacuations look unlikely, Johnston said Thursday afternoon, but nothing is set in stone. The official forecast from the National Weather Service changes every six hours.

It's too late to set up any pet-friendly shelters for this storm, but Johnston hopes to have such shelters by the end of this season. Still, he said, there's no one-size-fits-all solution for Pasco's pet owners.

"If you don't (have pet-friendly shelters), the perception is you're not addressing the public's needs," Johnston said.

"If you do, you're only discriminating against certain pet owners (who can't bring their creatures for safety reasons).

"No matter what you do, you're not going to make everybody happy."

Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 26, 2005, 01:36:21]