Currently on various news sources, images and videos of pets abandoned in the flooding aftermath of Hurricane Florence are circulating.

How?

How can anyone leave behind their pets to essentially die? I don't care what your circumstances are, you do not leave behind a family member.

YOU are all that your pet has. And you chose to abandon them.

They have no way to evacuate on their own. They have no way to get their food into their bowl. They have no way to find dry land on their own.

They are left to die.

When you bring a pet into your household, you are promising that pet a forever and always. You are promising that animal happiness, love, and safety from the cruel outside world.

When you choose to leave an animal behind, you are choosing to leave them to die.

I get that money is tight. I get that most Americans don't have an emergency savings set aside in catastrophic events such as these. But if your money is THAT tight that you can't bring your pet along with you, you probably shouldn't have gotten an animal in the first place.

With Hurricane Florence, there were free Animal Hospitals and Shelters opening their doors to temporarily house animals. There were companies such as AirBnB offering free housing (some options included pets).

If I were in those pet owner's shoes, my fur baby would be the FIRST thing I packed up when it came time to evacuate. I don't care what the circumstances were. I would sleep in my car for weeks before I left my animals to die.

If you evacuated, but left your pet to die, you are the absolute worst of the worst.