Sacramento (April 16) -- With the summer hurricane, tornado and wildfire season fast approaching, the Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) is launching the first annual Animal Disaster Preparedness Day on May 15.

The goal of this nationwide event is to remind people that disasters pose a life-threatening danger for animals, too, and that the family cat, dog, bird, horse or any other animals being cared for need to be included in family disaster planning. The theme of Animal Disaster Preparedness Day is, "Don’t Leave Home Without Them: Make Animals Part of Your Disaster Plan."

EARS Director Terri Crisp, who has helped rescue and care for animals in more than 45 major disasters, says many thousands of animals are injured or killed during disasters every year simply because no one thought about their welfare when planning for a disaster and there was no time to do so when disaster struck.

"We’ve seen too many animals left behind -- dogs tied in a backyard during a hurricane or cats abandoned in a house with rising waters -- who’ve become the unfortunate victims of disaster," said Crisp, who leads a nationwide team of 2,400 EARS volunteers who have been trained to help rescue and care for animals during disasters. "The companion animals we care for depend on their families for safety, and we need to make sure they are out of harm’s way when disaster strikes. They should not be left behind."

In recognition of Animal Disaster Preparedness Day, EARS is distributing disaster preparedness kits to animal caregivers. The kits include a general disaster preparedness tip sheet as well as disaster "shopping lists" for cats, dogs, birds and horses with specific information on the supplies and resources needed to care for these animals during disasters. EARS volunteers also will be hosting tabling events to distribute preparedness information in several cities including Sacramento and St. Louis.