Pet owners, rejoice: The Transit Authority is drafting changes to its pet policy on subways and buses to allow people to transport their pets - uncaged - in case of an emergency. The Office of Emergency Management made the request, after seeing how many people were reluctant to leave their pets during Hurricane Katrina. Of course, only legal pets are allowed (no tigers or even ferrets!) as long as they are "leashed and muzzled," according to the Daily News, though transit workers could kick out mean pets. Here are some more rules the Daily News mentions off the draft it saw:
- Owners need to have documentation showing dogs are licensed and their shots are up-to-date.
- The leashes can't be more than 6 feet long and must be in the hands of adults.
- Owners on board should stand so as to exert control over their pets.
- Pets should be taken to the back of buses, and on trains they should be ushered away from doors, the proposal states.
We think those dog carrier/purses count as cages, since the MTA just requests that the pets are in a closed container (like drinks!). And given that flooding would make subway travel an issue, we hope the Staten Island Ferry will relook at its rules for pets as well.
Do you have a plan for your pet in case of an emergency? And we'll talk about human preparedness for emergencies later.
Twiggy on the Subway by Michael Brandon
