WASHINGTON — Who could forget the TV images of Hurricane Katrina victims being forced to choose between being rescued from their rooftops or saving their pets?

Several U.S. lawmakers couldn't.

The Senate passed late Thursday a bill that would require states and cities that get Federal Emergency Management Agency funding to submit a plan for how they will accommodate households with pets or service animals when a disaster strikes.

"This isn't just about pet safety — it will also save human lives," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., who sponsored the bill along with Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.

"During Hurricane Katrina, many residents remained in harm's way because they didn't want to leave beloved pets behind," Lautenberg said. "It only makes sense to plan for pets in the event of a disaster."

According to the Humane Society of the United States, which pushed for the bill, there are more than 358 million pets that live in 63 percent of U.S. households.

Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle said this bill would ensure that in the event of another disaster, no one will be "forced to make an impossibly difficult choice: leave their animal behind while they flee a disaster or take their chances by staying in a disaster-stricken area with their pet."

A similar version of the bill sponsored by Reps. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., and Chris Shays, R-Conn., passed the House 349-24 in May.

The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act now goes back to the House for final passage, or to a conference committee to work to reconcile differences between the House- and Senate-passed versions.