People from across Virginia are meeting in the Valley to test their hurricane evacuation plans. Specifically, they're looking at how well prepared the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is to shelter your pets and animals in an emergency, such as a hurricane hitting the Commonwealth.

Role players acted as unruly pet owners at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds.

Such "pet owners" are just one thing these emergency responders will deal with if disaster strikes.

"We expect that there are going to be some problems that will be identified, and we'll have to resolve those problems. So, what we're trying to do is be as good as we can be at the time the event occurs," says Don Butts, emergency services manager for VDACS.

Pets and their owners get identification bands to keep track of who belongs to whom. People would be sheltered at James Madison University while pets would stay at the fairgrounds.

Organizers divided the fair grounds into a space for cats, a space for dogs, and a space for livestock and exotic pets.

"Since Hurricane Katrina, we've learned that a lot of people will not evacuate if they can't take their pets with them," says Samuel Tate, director of the state's animal response team.

The national non-profit group Noah's Wish helps states shelter pets during emergencies. Jo Ellen Cimmino, the director of animal health services and education for Noah's Wish, trains volunteers across the country.

"Cats can scratch. Dogs can bite. Cats can bite. You never know what they might do to try and defend themselves because they're afraid," says Cimmino.

Sometimes pet owners are afraid too. However, Cimmino says it still matters.

She says, "Disaster can happen at any time."

One issue organizers ran into Monday was establishing a computer connection between the fairgrounds and JMU, where people would be sheltered.

Organizers want to make sure that when pets get registered, they're able to easily return them to the right owner.