As some of us are getting ready for the end of the school year or are getting ready for your summer vacation the last thing on your mind is disaster preparedness.  The only good time to think about it is before it happens.  You may live in an area that doesn’t have hurricanes, tornadoes or floods but there are other disasters you can plan for.  If a gas line breaks in your neighborhood, you may need to evacuate for days or weeks.  If there is a chemical spill you will need to evacuate.  Heaven forbid something happens to your house and you need to leave for a few days or longer.  Unfortunately, thighs happen you can be caught wondering what to do and not being able to get it done.  In some disasters the first responders may say  you have 10 minutes to get everything you need and leave.  10 minutes to collect your life is not a lot of time.  

Would if you have a pet, that adds a lot more time to get things together.  In this blog we are going to focus on pets to get you started on your plan.  To start, get all the information for your pet in a single sheet and put it in a waterproof holder such as a zip lock bag.  You want the name of your pet, breed, age, sex, whether spayed or neutered, tags number from your town or county, microchip number,your address, phone number, In case of emergency person’s information, veterinarian, any medical needs they may have, rabies/vaccination information, if they are good around adult, children and other pets, then attached a picture to the paper.  You should keep a copy in your papers.  You will want to be able to attach the information to a crate and have it easily accessible.  Also, make sure that your pets tags are secure or that their names are on their tanks/enclosures.

The next thing you need to do is to have a set up where you can bring your pets food and water with you. During an emergency is not the time for your pet to change diets since they will be upset already.  One thing you can do is fill a plastic container with your pet’s food and use it last. This will help to remind you to get more food and it will be easy to grab in a hurry.  If you can keep an empty water jug by the food you can quickly get water from the tap for your pet. 

Keep a bag near the food and water jug that also has a pet first aid kit.  You may want to put in an extra blanket, a couple of toys, chewy items (no raw hide, dogs can choke on them), anything that will make your pet more comfortable. If you have time grab a t-shirt from the laundry so your pet will have your scent.  Keep in mind this is extra but if you plan well you can do the extras. 

One thing people do often is put the pet carrier away in an out of the way place that is not convenient.  Keep the carriers around so your pet stays acclimated to it.  For cats you can turn it into a bed, which can help when it’s time to take them to the vet.  Have the carrier in an easy to get to spot.  Even shaving off a minute can help so much when you don’t have much time.

If you are heading to a shelter they may have a pet shelter set up next to it.  All this information that you gathered is useful to be able to bring your pet to the shelter.   Some shelters may require rabies or other vaccinations since it will be close quarters.  You may want to add to your pet information copies of veterinary records that prove vaccinations.  

We really hope that you never have to go through any disaster but having a plan is always a good idea.   Below is a link to download an Emergency Planning Guide for Pet Parents from the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters.  It has more information than what’s in this blog.

Emergency Planning Guide: https://petsitters.org/page/NAPPSEmergencyPlanningGuide?&hhsearchterms=%22emergency+and+planning+and+guide+and+pet+and+parents%22