LOS ANGELES — A California lawmaker this week introduced legislation inspired by the viral reunion of Oreo the dog and his owner during the Los Angeles-area fires that aims to help save pets left behind during natural disasters.
The proposed law, which has been filed in the State Assembly but is not yet publicly available for viewing, is called the FOUND (Friends of Oreo Uniting During Disasters) Act.
"The FOUND Act is something that embraces what we all understand, how important our pets are and that they are parts of our family," Assemblymember Rick Zbur, who authored the bill and represents parts of Los Angeles, said in an interview.
"This grew out of the circumstances that so many people faced trying to reunite themselves with their pets when they were evacuated throughout Southern California because of the recent wildfires," Zbur said. "One of the things that we realized is that, you know, cities and towns don’t really have procedures to help people reunite with their pets."
The measure, AB 478, calls for local jurisdictions to include a process in their emergency plans to retrieve animals left behind during mandatory evacuations. It also seeks to have cities establish an emergency rescue hotline to help evacuees get assistance.
Zbur said that individual counties or cities would determine specifics and that they could include allowing pet owners to be escorted into evacuated areas by emergency service personnel or designated groups like a humane society or a nonprofit organization.
"We don’t want people to basically be skirting the roadblocks," Zbur said. "So if we want to protect human health and safety, we need to provide ways of people reuniting with their pet."
Zbur said the law is directly inspired by Casey Colvin and his beloved Pomeranian, Oreo, whose emotional reunion, captured by NBC News during the Palisades Fire, struck a chord with millions. The viral video revealed the heartbreaking reality for many fire victims separated from their pets during evacuations.
"I don’t want there to be another person sobbing on the side of the road, begging the police to let them get to their dog," said Colvin, who added that he hopes to testify at the state Capitol next month.
"I just want to use this moment, because, you know, 15 minutes is fleeting, that while you have the spotlight to just try to help other people," he said.
The bill will now work through the legislative process; if the Assembly approves it, it will move to the Senate. If it is approved there, it would go to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk to be signed into law.
Judie Mancuso, CEO and president of Social Compassion in Legislation, the animal rights advocacy group sponsoring the FOUND Act, said that the law would be the first of its kind in the country and that the hope is it could be replicated nationwide to save animals during not only fires but also other natural disasters like hurricanes.
"The hope is that other states will follow," Mancuso said. "We have a lot of animal-loving people across the United States who consider their dogs and cats their family."