Emotional survival.

That about sums it up for me and my wife. We were deeply affected by the Katrina, and the predicament faced by the pets left behind. We talked it over and decided we could live without everything BUT our pets. They're our kids and our family.

My coat is always draped over the couch by the door, ready to pull on at a moment's notice. It contains my keys and an Inova XO3.

Having the coat out all the time can get on my wife's nerves, so we compromised. When we have company and all that, the coat gets hung up. At night, before we turn in, the coat comes out in READY position.

Other than that, we try to keep the cars gassed up. I have a set of clothes to jump into.

The rule is, my wife and I grab each other, and then we grab all three pets. The dog, the cat, and the box turtle. The fact that the dog and cat hate each other would make for an interesting evacuation, but as long as they're alive and well and in the car with us, we can live with it! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

-- Craig