NATCHEZ &045; Many people had to made the tough decision to leave pets at home before thye evacuated for Hurricane Katrina.

Those people will be glad to know that there are groups doing all they can to make sure those pets get a chance to once again chew up their owners furniture.

&uot;There’s a huge misconception that animals in the disaster area are not getting help. That’s not true,&uot; Atlanta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spokesperson P.J. Smith said. &uot;Anyone interested in finding out about a pet should contact the American Humane Society.&uot;

The AHA was in the coastal areas days after the disaster and is working to rescue and transport animals to shelters.

Those who have pets locked in their house can call the American Humane Association’s hotline at (303) 925-9484. With permission, they will break into the home of a stranded pet to rescue it.

Other groups are in the area conducting &045; in coordination with the AHA &045; similar operations, including the United Animal Nations, the Humane Society of the U.S., and the Louisiana, San Diego and American SPCA divisions.

Rescued animals are being taken to shelters in Gonzalez, La., Houston, and as far away east as Atlanta.

Getting rescued pets reunited with their owners is the objective of Pets911 and petfinder.com.

The two groups have put together a centralized database that allows people to enter information about either lost or found pets.

&uot;All the national groups are going to be working out of the same database, which is unprecedented,&uot; pets911.com Executive Director Stacey Candella said.

Rescue needed requests will also be processed through the database.

If your pet has been implanted with a microchip &045; something a lot of pet owners are sure to do with future pets &045; there are two groups to call, AVID and Home Again.