So he waded through waters four feet deep and charged with live electrical wires. On his shoulders, he balanced two empty pet carriers.

Rescuing pets and their owners.

As a result, Cindy Ferguson had to do a double rescue that day. First, she deposited the man on dry ground, then canoed through his front door to retrieve two hungry and frightened cats perched on a bookcase.

"It made it clear to us that people are going to do very dangerous things," says Ferguson, who is a disaster consultant for the Humane Society of the United States. "He wouldn't be going back to get his TV or VCR or anything like that. I have never seen anybody going back to risk their lives for their property except their animals."

What you should do with your pet.

Time and time again, rescuers like Ferguson have seen that people are willing to ignore personal safety to rescue their pets in flood disasters. As much as 30 percent of owners go back to retrieve pets. But these same owners wouldn't have to risk lives- human or animal- if they hadn't left their pets behind in the first place.

During a flood, many people panic and forget their pets. Some decide to leave their pets and hope that they'll be OK. Others lock them in the basement, tie them to the porch or leave them in a car. "You want to believe that your home's invincible," said Laura Bevan, the Director of the Humane Society office in South East Florida. "Leaving them behind is part of that denial."

But often what really happens in a flood is much different than would be expected.

Finding lost pets.

As a result, Bevan, who has participated in animal rescue operations in the recent MidWest and Georgia floods, has learned to look at submerged areas with a different eye. Having seen pets tied up and unable to swim or seek higher ground, she has made a habit of checking for small movements as she floats down residential streets, never knowing when a small break in the surface could be a nose straining to stay above water. Of all natural disasters, floods upset her the most.

"Once you know how close you were to missing the pet, it just freaks you out forever," she said.

Another pet owner in Winnipeg, Canada put two of his dogs in his shed during last spring's floods. Before evacuating, he also tied up the larger dog, a great Dane. By the time emergency operators got to the shed, the water was three feet deep, too high for the animal that was tied down. Able to perch on its hind legs, the smaller dog was frightened and stiff from cold, but alive.

Animals have built-in survival instincts and a stronger chance of living through disasters on their own. One veterinarian made the mistake of blindfolding a horse to move it from one side of a flooding river to another. When the boat started to rock, the 1000 pound animal panicked and jumped in the water. Unable to see, it swam in circles until the vet himself jumped in the water to remove the blindfold. The outcome? The horse ended up swimming the vet to shore.

S o what should owners do with animals in floods? To Ferguson, the rule of thumb is simple: if you have to leave, so does the pet. If you can't bring your pet along (perhaps because the nearby human shelter won't admit them), they should be put in a safe place-- an animal shelter or a friend's house-- beyond the flood zone.

Doing so can keep your pet from the dangers associated with floods: malnutrition, electrocution, hypothermia, dehydration, poisoning from polluted flood waters, even stress from being separated from their owners.

Organize to survive.

Emergency rescuers across the country are now beginning to include pet safety in their operations. Shocked by the degree of animal devastation from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Florida now has 300 volunteers involved in a state-wide animal disaster plan, and other states are hurrying to put their own in place. Cindy Ferguson, for instance, recently finished training 50 volunteers to become the first trained animal response team in New England. And FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, now includes animal emergency plans in its information packages.

POP QUIZ What should you do in case of a flood? Why do some people leave pets behind? If you don't know the answers, click here to ask a question..... Rescue workers are waiting to answer your questions and concerns.