The ASPCA’s disaster work has changed from responding to emergencies involving working horses to helping communities evacuate, shelter, treat and reunite pets. Founded in New York City in 1866, the organization now describes its deployments as partnerships with local animal-welfare groups and emergency-management agencies. Its history also shows why pet owners should decide in advance where they will go and how they will bring their animals with them.
How the ASPCA’s disaster role began
The ASPCA traces its disaster-response history to the Great Epizootic, an equine influenza outbreak that began in 1872. In its retrospective, the organization says it advocated rest for affected horses, helped establish field hospitals, inspected rail lines and dispatched a horse ambulance. The response addressed an emergency that affected animals as well as the transportation systems people relied on.
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In 1917, the ASPCA says it supplied horse ambulances and emergency equipment to Allied veterinary services in France. During World War II, it organized volunteer foster care for pets and opened emergency animal shelters amid wartime shortages and fears of air raids. These episodes mark a widening focus: from caring for animals essential to public life to protecting companion animals when households and communities face danger. The ASPCA’s 2026 retrospective recounts these milestones.
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What the ASPCA says it did during later emergencies
After the September 11 attacks
For the September 11 attacks, the ASPCA says it established two mobile veterinary units near Ground Zero, opened a hotline, helped people retrieve pets and treated animals recovered from the disaster zone. The organization’s retrospective reports that by early October it had rescued 200 stranded pets and provided medical care to 300 animals recovered from apartments in the zone. Those are figures reported by the ASPCA in 2026 about its earlier response.
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After Hurricane Katrina
The ASPCA identifies the period after Hurricane Katrina as an inflection point for animal-inclusive disaster policy. It says that in 2006 it provided $13 million in grants to shelters affected by the storm and helped pass federal laws incorporating pets into disaster planning. The organization’s retrospective also lists state and federal policy milestones from 2014 through 2025.
In 2026, the ASPCA said it applauded the introduction of the PETSAFE Act, proposed legislation intended to encourage state, local and tribal governments to strengthen animal emergency preparedness. The retrospective describes the measure as introduced; it does not establish that it became law. The ASPCA’s history page provides further organizational context.
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How a present-day disaster deployment works
The ASPCA says National Field & Disaster Response specialists and volunteer responders work alongside local animal-welfare organizations and emergency-management agencies. The work depends on what a particular emergency requires; not every deployment includes every activity.
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- Moving shelter animals out of harm’s way before a storm.
- Searching for pets displaced or separated from their families.
- Delivering pet food and other supplies.
- Setting up temporary shelter and providing daily or medical care.
- Helping reunite animals with their families.
Two examples in the ASPCA’s September 2026 retrospective show the range of this work. After the Aspen Acres wildfires in Colorado, the organization says it assisted the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region in Pueblo and helped care for 256 pets at two temporary locations in July 2026. In April 2026, at the request of the Guam Department of Agriculture, the ASPCA deployed to the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands after Typhoon Sinlaku. It reports assisting more than 7,000 animals, primarily by distributing pet food and supplies. These totals are the ASPCA’s own reported figures, not independently verified counts.
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Why pet owners need a plan before an emergency
Disaster responders may be managing urgent needs across an entire community, and shelters can face capacity and resource constraints. Susan Anderson of the ASPCA National Field & Disaster Response team puts the owner’s role plainly: “It’s critical to be your pet’s first line of defense.” The ASPCA advises households to identify a safe haven for their pets and be prepared to evacuate with them.
Start with the ASPCA’s disaster-preparedness guidance and checklist, then adapt your arrangements to your animal’s needs. A go-bag or evacuation kit can help keep supplies together; choose items for portability, suitability for your pet and consistency with the checklist rather than assuming one kit fits every animal. The ASPCA also describes its broader disaster-relief work and the kinds of deployments it undertakes.
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