Viral Dog Reunion from Palisades Fire Leads to New Law Protecting Pets in Disasters
When the Palisades Fire struck Los Angeles back in January 2025, a Pomeranian named Oreo made the news. He was trapped in the disaster area, separated from his human, Casey Colvin, who couldn’t get back home to save him. NBC News correspondent Liz Kreutz encountered Colvin at the time and eventually helped reunite the pair. The video of their happy reunion went viral around the globe. Now, new legislation has just been signed into law in California by Govenor Newsom on October 13th that hopes to improve disaster responsiveness regarding pets during emergencies so no other pet families have to go through what Oreo and Colvin did.
The FOUND (Friends of Oreo Uniting During Disasters) Act is a California bill (AB 478) that aims to improve pet rescue during natural disasters. It comes into law after months of hard work after it was introduced by California Assemblymember Rick Zbur.
“The FOUND Act is something that embraces what we all understand, how important our pets are and that they are parts of our family,” Zbur said. The bill was inspired by Oreo and the chaos many Californian pet owners experienced during wildfire evacuations when they struggled to reunite with their animals. Zbur noted that most cities and towns still lack formal procedures for helping residents locate and recover pets separated in emergencies. The act requires cities to update their emergency plans to include pet rescue procedures, create a centralized database for lost and found pets, establish a dedicated hotline, and extend the adoption period for rescued animals.
There should also be approved rescue procedures that allow residents, their designated representatives, or qualified rescue groups to safely retrieve animals under the supervision of emergency authorities. “We don’t want people to basically be skirting the roadblocks,” Zbur explained. “So if we want to protect human health and safety, we need to provide ways of people reuniting with their pet.”
Additionally, to protect families, rescued pets must be tracked and safeguarded for at least 30 days, shielded from adoption, transfer, or euthanasia, except in cases of irremediable suffering or owner surrender. During this period, local agencies may place animals with in-state shelters or fosters, but records must be kept to reunite them with their families.
“Time and again, we have seen animals left behind in disasters, and families devastated because they couldn’t get help,” said Judie Mancuso, Founder and President of Social Compassion in Legislation, who brought forth the bill in response to the lack of authority and planning during the devastating wildfires at the beginning of the year. “AB 478 gives local jurisdictions and the Office of Emergency Services a mandate to be ready when disaster strikes, so that animals are treated with the urgency and care they deserve.”
“I was on the front lines of animal rescue in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. I couldn’t imagine back then that we would be in the same place 20 years later,” Mancuso added. “We are grateful to Governor Newsom for understanding the importance of this landmark bill by signing it into law, and to Assembly member Zbur for carrying the bill, his staff for all their hard work, and to the entire legislature which voted for it unanimously!”
“When the evacuation orders came down in the Palisades, I was away while my two beloved dogs were trapped at home. I was lucky enough to get the heroic assistance of Chief Brent Pascua, and Jane Garrison along with the Social Compassion rescue team to help me save my dogs, but so many were not as lucky as me,” said Colvin. “I hope that nobody ever has to go through a disaster like we did, but unfortunately we know some will. With the passage of AB 478, cities and counties will be prepared to help those residents who need to rescue their furry family members.”