This late summer hurricane season has been absolutely devastating for Texas, Florida, Georgia, and various islands in Central America.

Over a million people have lost their homes, many have lost their lives. This severely impacted me emotionally because Houston is my hometown. To see the devastation and its toll on my best friends is awful.

I would text all three of them every day, "Hey, how's the flooding?", "Hey, is the water any higher?"

My best friend's grandparents had to be evacuated from their house, but thankfully everyone I know is safe. But regardless of one's personal impact, a storm like this is terrible and should not be taken lightly. One thing that most people don't think about is the number of animals that have been displaced because of the hurricanes.

Pets, strays, even livestock and farm animals have all been majorly affected. And for the most part, people have been more than accommodating for those fleeing the storm. Hotels and airlines allowing pets to be with their owners in the rooms or cabin, airlines waiving pet fees on flights, and I've seen many people step up to help in this time of need.

However, there has been debate online over whether people who left their pets behind were in the wrong, in the right, or if there has to be a situation taken into account before judgment is passed. There are state prosecutors ready to charge anyone who fled Hurricane Irma and left their animals tied to trees or poles for animal cruelty. I would never leave my pets behind. They are family. They depend on us for survival. I say, if you left your dog tied to a tree, you gave them no chance at survival. So yeah, you should be prosecuted. Leaving them behind is animal cruelty. Good on Florida's part for taking the initiative on this.

In Hurrican Katrina, an estimated 600,000 animals died or were displaced because of the storm. The shelters were not prepared, putting family pets and the adoptable animals both at major risk. The shelter's in Houston were preparing for the storms by sending the shelter animals to Austin and other surrounding areas, to be cared for by foster families. This was done so the shelters could prepare for the number of animals that would inevitably, fill their shelter. And that's exactly what happened. The shelters in Austin tried to send out food, kennels, and any other supplies they could think of. But it still wasn't enough, as overcrowding is still a pressing issue.

As of right now, no one really knows how many animals have been displaced. The number could be more than Katrina if you count Irma and Harvey in one sweep. I came across these photos of people being evacuated with their animals, and it honestly brought tears to my eyes. Pets are always family, and it's good to see that the majority of humanity agrees with that.

If you would like to help the displaced animals of Hurricane Harvey and Irma, here's how to do so:

1. https://bestfriends.org/hurricaneharvey

2. http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2017-09-13/anim...