As a result of the masses of animals abandoned during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 Arlington County has purchased a 20 foot trailer that is stocked with food, pet supplies, and it cost $20,000, Fairfax County has purchased an incident response center for its animal response staff.   Montgomery County and Alexandria are looking into doing the same.  Policies for many disaster/emergency plans have changed to include pets as it is known that many of the people during Katrina would not leave without their pets. 

As I noted in a previous post, Human Animal Bond, yes people do live longer lives because of their pets but the love between an owner and a pet is unconditional.  It would be devistating for a person to leave a pet behind, for some it would feel like leaving a member of the family behind. 

While many would say that the spending of homeland security money on animals is frivilous I think that saving a pet may save a human life as well.

To read more about the story go to Washington Post.