Disasters occur in all countries of the world and strike whether we are prepared for them or not. Over the last decade preparation, mitigation, and response to disasters has become a major priority for governments around the globe but in most cases little attention is paid to animals in these situations. As recent disasters have shown animals play a strong role in our society both as a source of livelihood and as family members causing many people to put themselves in danger in order to assist their animals during a disaster. Oftentimes decisions by human focused rescuers leave people having to choose between leaving their animals behind or staying and risking their lives to remain with them. Being prepared as a community is essential to ensuring you can act quickly to help animals if a situation arises. Drawing from real life disaster responses this session will discuss how we as animal advocates can encourage and work with local governments to consider animals before, during and after disasters as well as discuss what we can do to prepare to respond to such an event. We will also discuss best practices for responding to assist animals during a disaster and to ensure we are doing so responsibly.