Inside the ASPCA’s 160-Year Commitment to Disaster Response for Animals

Throughout 2026, the ASPCA is sharing highlights from our organization’s rich and sometimes unexpected 160-year history. September is National Preparedness Month.

In July 2026, the ASPCA assisted the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region in Pueblo, Colorado, providing shelter for pets whose owners were displaced by the Aspen Acres wildfires. Our team of highly trained disaster response professionals helped care for 256 pets — primarily dogs and cats — at two temporary locations.

Answering the call in times of crisis is part of our work. When disasters strike, our crew of ASPCA specialists and dedicated volunteer responders deploy alongside local animal welfare organizations and emergency management agencies, working together to bring critical support to animals and the communities that care for them.

The Colorado deployment is just one episode in our long history of helping animals and people navigate uncertainty and recovery. We go there for animals, providing critical support during hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and other emergencies. This enduring commitment to preparing for crises and championing protections for animals — ensuring they have an advocate — traces back to our earliest days.

A Horse Flu Immobilizes America

The ASPCA played a major role in responding to the Great Epizootic — also called America’s first energy crisis — a year-long wave of equine influenza that began in fall 1872 and sickened nearly every horse and mule in North America. Arriving in New York City from Toronto by rail and canal, the disease stopped streetcars, fire engines, ambulances, milk and ice deliveries, garbage pickup and even funeral processions, exposing how deeply the nation depended on equines. It also slowed coal shipments, shuttered industry, furloughed workers and left harbor goods stranded.

The ASPCA called for “perfect rest” for affected equines and helped establish open-air field hospitals and care for horses. We also inspected and closed rail lines and dispatched a state-of-the-art horse ambulance to carry the worst cases to veterinary hospitals. Each outbreak ran its course over several weeks, and within a year the disease had reached California and stretched as far south as Nicaragua.

Protecting Animals in Wartime

In 1917, during WWI, the ASPCA lectured at military forts and camps on the care of horses in warfare and provided custom-made horse ambulances and emergency supplies to the Allied veterinary corps in France, including a rescue sling and lifting device invented by ASPCA founder Henry Bergh.

In 1942, as fears of bombing spread, the ASPCA urged Americans not to euthanize their pets, as many had done in England at the start of WWII. Instead, we assembled a network of hundreds of volunteer foster caregivers ready to shelter dogs and cats until displaced owners could return for them.

The ASPCA's wartime approach combined preparedness, training, community engagement and lessons learned from other countries to help protect animals during disasters. More than 80 years later, our core message remains the same: plan ahead. Today, we continue to encourage simple preparedness steps to ensure pets' needs are accounted for before disaster strikes.

Response to 9/11

What began as an ordinary Tuesday morning became a day the world would never forget. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the ASPCA moved quickly to help animals displaced, injured or left behind by the terrorist attacks in our hometown. We established two mobile veterinary units near Ground Zero and launched a pet rescue hotline to report lost or stranded animals.

Our Humane Law Enforcement officers escorted evacuees back to their homes to retrieve pets, while animals whose owners were missing were safely removed. By early October, the ASPCA had rescued 200 stranded pets and provided medical care to 300 animals recovered from apartments in the disaster zone.

The public’s response was extraordinary. Monthly volunteer applications, which typically numbered 60-80, surged to 5,000. More than 100 shelters, rescue groups and retailers offered staff, supplies, food and mobile veterinary units. Fundraisers supported the ASPCA Animal Disaster Relief Fund, and therapy animal teams were deployed to comfort relief workers.

In Animal Watch, our member magazine, ASPCA president Dr. Larry Hawk reflected on the loss of his sister Kathy, a flight attendant aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to strike the World Trade Center. “Kathy had a very soft spot in her heart for animals,” he wrote, urging readers to honor her spirit through small acts of compassion. “Help us reach one more person with our humane messages. Hug your pet, or the person next to you … ask family, friends and neighbors to adopt a homeless pet. The way we respond is up to each of us.”

Beyond Rescue: Turning Tragedy Into Protection

Over the past 25 years, manmade and weather-related disasters have not just kept ASPCA responders busy, but many have led to policies, laws and responses elevating the issue of animal safety to its rightful place among disaster priorities.

The PETSAFE Act

In 2026, we applauded the introduction of the PETSAFE Act, federal legislation designed to help protect people and pets during disasters. The legislation has bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.

Americans consider their pets to be a part of the family, and many won’t evacuate during an emergency without them, putting animals, families and first responders at risk. The PETSAFE Act would incentivize state, local and tribal governments to strengthen emergency preparedness for animals.

Building Resilience Through Preparation

Given the increasing intensity and frequency of natural disasters, more companion animals will be affected by extreme weather events. In just the past two years, the ASPCA has responded to flooding in North Texas, West Virginia and Indiana; hurricanes in Georgia, Louisiana, Florida and North Carolina; and wildfires in California and Colorado.

In April 2026, following the devastation caused by Typhoon Sinlaku, we deployed to the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands at the request of the Guam Department of Agriculture. Our team helped assess damage and urgent needs, deliver essential care and supplies for displaced and injured animals, support at-risk animals with medical needs and reunite pets with their families. More than 7,000 animals were assisted — the majority through pet food and supply distribution.

Deployments like this show why disaster preparedness must start well before animals and people are in harm’s way — especially when more than 80% of pet owners in the U.S. live in communities affected by disasters.

“It’s critical to be your pet’s first line of defense,” says Susan Anderson of the ASPCA National Field & Disaster Response team. “Animal welfare organizations and shelters continue to face capacity and resource challenges, and hurricanes, floods and other storms can develop with little or no warning. Ensuring families have a preparedness plan in place — especially one that includes their companion animals — is imperative.”

Related stories in this ASPCA 160 series:

160 Years On, Our Founder’s Mission Still Stands Strong

Championing Spay/Neuter Helped Define ASPCA in the 20th Century and Beyond

Then and Now: How the ASPCA Protects Pets from Toxic Dangers

The Law That Launched a Movement for Animals

The ASPCA Turns 160: Celebrating Our History

Horses Are at the Heart of Our History

Nine Lives, One Calling: How the ASPCA Has Shaped Care for Cats

How the ASPCA Helped Change the Response to Dogfighting

How the ASPCA Is Expanding Access to Affordable Veterinary Care