Gov. Linda Lingle and Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, director of state Civil Defense, yesterday toured a pet-friendly emergency shelter and a shelter for people with special health needs at Stevenson Middle School, one of 55 emergency centers around the Islands capable of housing pets — and one of 158 shelters for people with extra medical needs.

Both the shelters for pets and for people with extra health needs are in separate rooms or buildings at schools that also have emergency shelters for the general population.

Lingle said shelters for those with special needs are upgraded with generators, running water and other facilities. The governor, a cat owner, said the pet shelters would help animals vulnerable in an emergency.

"The fact is most people who love their animals would no sooner think of abandoning a pet than they would any other member of their family," she said.

The pet shelters will accept pets in carriers designed for pet use. The pets would be cared for by shelter managers trained by the Humane Society.

The pets' owners would then stay in the general population shelter.

People who use the 158 special-needs shelters would have to be accompanied by a caregiver.

Everyone using an emergency shelter must bring their own food, water and other supplies, including supplies for their pets. State officials recommend that supplies last each person and pet at least two days.

At home, people are urged to keep a weeks' worth of emergency supplies in case of a disaster.

A list of statewide public shelters and other disaster preparedness information is available at www.scd.hawaii.gov.