A viral video has led to the creation of the FOUND Act, aimed at giving residents an avenue to rescue their pets during disaster situations.
California Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) was compelled to draft the proposed law after seeing a video of Casey Colvin reuniting with his dog Oreo after it ran off and was missing for five days during the Palisades fire.
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"Casey had to go through a lot of difficult activities in order to get back into the evacuation zone to find his pet," Zbur told KNX News' Karen Adams. "The recent fires in Southern California have shown us that our cities and towns have not adequately prepared for the need for the people to find their pets during these natural disasters."
Zbur said the law he introduced Monday would not only protect pets but their families as well, "Because we know that people do consider pets as part of their families and they'll go to great lengths to rescue them if they're trapped and they're in danger."
The Friends of Oreo Uniting During Disasters (FOUND) Act would require cities and counties to update their emergency plans to include a system for rescuing pets stuck in a mandatory evacuation zone. The act also involves creating straightforward online resources on pet evacuation and reunification services, including a list of pets that have been rescued and extending the holding period for rescued pets.
Colvin says a law like this is needed.
"Please understand, days and days and days after the fires were out, we were not allowed to go in there," Colvin said. "We need legislation and something in place so that good citizens just trying to save their dogs and cats and horses have a way to get in there."
Colvin lost his home in the fire, but he says all that matters is having Oreo and his other dog, Tika Tika, by his side.
He says he'll be testifying in Sacramento when the time comes to push for the law's passage.
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