Dear World,

This week marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. As I look back on both the tragic event itself and the weeks that followed the disaster on the Gulf Coast of the United States, I am filled with both pride and resolve.

Pride. Approximately 15,000 animals were rescued by IFAW and other humane organizations under extremely challenging conditions. Despite its many tragedies, Katrina served as an example to all how far people will go to risk their lives for their animals. This was a wake-up call to government that pets cannot be treated like property.

And just a few weeks ago, the U.S. Senate passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, which requires local and state disaster plans to include provisions for household pets and service animals in the event of a major disaster or emergency. This bill will now go back to the House for consideration and you can urge Congress to show its support here.

Resolve. Despite these incredible successes, an estimated 250,000 pets were left on their own to fend for themselves in an abandoned city after Katrina hit. The hurricane exposed the gap between owners' devotion to their pets and the inability of shelters and rescue officials to provide for them.

People must have a plan for evacuating a major disaster with their pets. Leaving them behind should not be an option. Here are a few of the things IFAW is currently working on now to help make sure pets are not forgotten when the next disaster strikes:

* Organizing and training NGOs in better animal search and rescue techniques as well as how to provide more efficient and safer emergency shelters.

* IFAW, along with several other major humane organizations, initiated collaborative spay and neuter efforts in the US gulf coast states of Louisiana and Mississippi. We are also conducting a survey of pet owners in the area to determine where animal welfare education is most needed.