But Reps. Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County and Charlie Norwood of Augusta voted Monday against a bill requiring that the rescue of dogs, cats and other domestic pets be considered in disaster preparation.

A poignant picture of a child losing his dog during Hurricane Katrina rescue operations was the catalyst for the bill, said its sponsor, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.).

"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."

Estimates are that 600,000 animals either died or were left without shelter as a result of Hurricane Katrina, and advocates say some people, unwilling to leave their animals in evacuations, stayed behind and put themselves in peril.

Passage of the bill, said Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle, would ensure "that Americans will never again be forced to leave their best friends behind to face imminent danger."

But not everybody felt the tug on their heartstrings. Aides to Westmoreland and Norwood, both Republicans, said that as warm and fuzzy as the legislation sounds, it would impose unfunded federal mandates on states and sap funding and resources from other emergency planning.

"This is not a federal responsibility, it's a federal infringement on state authority," said Westmoreland spokesman Brian Robinson. "And it just seems silly on top of it."

John Stone, a spokesman for Norwood, said his boss believed the federal government still had a ways to go to ensure it was capable of saving people in the face of a natural disaster, let alone pets.

"He had a concern about whether we're getting human lifesaving plans diluted because we're going in too many different directions," said Stone.

Westmoreland, too, expressed concern about the lives lost to Katrina because of the government's laggardly response, Robinson said.

But at a time when Congress is already at its lowest level of popularity in many years, the two lawmakers want to make it clear they're pro-critter.

Westmoreland has a dog named Barely --- a name it got because the Westmorelands found it abandoned and barely alive. Robinson said Barely was now doing fine.

Norwood is a supporter of Humane Society animal rescue missions, although his bulldog, Herschel, has passed on.

The Associated Press contributed material about statements by Rep. Tom Lantos and Wayne Pacelle.