Opinion: Fire Lines: Three barks for Poway

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One of the most dispiriting sights of Hurricane Katrina and its rescue efforts was how little was done for people’s pets. People had scrambled to rooftops and cartops and treacherous little islands with their beloved animals -- and then were often told that if they wanted to be rescued, the pets -- sometimes the only thing they had left -- had to be abandoned, left behind.

ABC News reported earlier this year that at least one owner in St. Bernard Parish was forced at gunpoint by law enforcement to abandon her pet. Compounding grief with cruelty, another said a sheriff’s deputy was overheard saying that once the people had left, ‘we’re gonna have target practice tonight.’’ A New Orleans grand jury indicted two deputies on felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals; a Pulitzer Prize-winning Dallas Morning News photographer videotaped dogs being shot by law enforcement.

What does this have to do with California cities like Poway now being ravaged by the fires? Because Poway has made arrangements for small pets to join their people in emergency shelters -- and for the boarding of large ones, like horses.

People who don’t love animals can’t understand why it matters, and people who do love animals can’t imagine thinking any other way. As massive fires swept Greece over the summer, two elderly people -- brother and sister -- insisted on looking out after their beloved donkey. All three died.

As for firefighters and rescuers and evacuation shelters, the formula is simple: helping to save the little lives will help save the big lives, too.