Washington ? The next time a disaster like Hurricane Katrina strikes, rescuers may have to take pets in as well as humans.

The Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act from Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., passed the House on Monday. It requires state and local preparedness offices take into account pet owners, household pets and service animals when drawing up evacuation plans. Offices that fail to do so would not qualify for grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Humane Society of the United States cited a recent Zogby International poll that found that 49 percent of adults say they would refuse to evacuate if they couldn’t take their pets with them.

Sens. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., have introduced similar legislation in the Senate.

A television shot of a little boy losing his dog during Katrina rescue operations was the catalyst for the bill, Lantos said.

“The dog was taken away from this little boy, and to watch his face was a singularly revealing and tragic experience,” Lantos said. “This legislation was born at that moment.”