With the videos from Hurricane Harvey and now the anxiety over Hurricane Irma; it would be an excellent time for all of us who love our pets to figure out a plan in case of disaster. (And you should have a plan for the humans as well)

You certainly do not have to be in the path of a hurricane in order to need to evacuate: tornadoes, fire, flood, earthquakes and even chemical spills could force you from your home with little notice.  If you are asked to evacuate; what will you do with your pets? Even if you think you will only be gone a few hours; your should always remove your pets as situations can change quickly and you could end up being away from home for weeks or even longer.

Don’t wait until the water is at your doorstep to figure out how you will save your pets during an emergency

Here are some ideas to help prepare you and your pets in the event of an emergency:

• Make sure your pets are microchipped and that all microchip information is up to date. Ensure you have emergency backup phone numbers on your chip information in case you are without cell phone service. If someone can’t reach you; they could perhaps reach another family member. Choose someone who does not live near you to up your chances someone you’re your contact list will be out of the danger zone. You should review your microchip information at least once a year to ensure everything is correct.
• Have enough crates or other forms of carriers to safely contain all of your pets. Cats, dogs, rabbits and even ferrets can generally be safely transported this way. Other small pocket pets may need different types of containers. Know what you need before you need it.
• Crates and carriers not only will keep your pets safe; they can also act as a home away from home once you reach safety. Collars and leashes can slip off animals; pets can quickly escape a vehicle if they are stressed. Having a pet safely contained in a crate is the best option for most animals.
• Condition your animal to enjoy being in his carrier BEFORE you ever need to evacuate with him. Five minutes before your home is flooded is not the time to be stuffing your terrified collie into a crate. Cats are also notorious about hiding when pet carriers come into view. Take time to teach your pets that crates are safe and fun. Even if you don’t use a crate for your dog on a regular basis, it is still a good idea to teach him to enjoy going into a crate on cue. For a free hand out on crate training, just shoot me an email at iclickdogs@gmail.com. For cats; take crates out periodically and feed cats high value treats in the crates while the doors are open. You want the cats to see the crates as something to check out for food rather than to run and hide at the sight of a carrier.
  

  Take time to teach cats that crates can be fun. Cats need a carrier large enough to hold a litter pan and allow them a space to sleep. 

   

• If your pet has never been in a vehicle; teach her that getting into a vehicle is fun.
• Ensure you always have enough medication on hand to safely see your pet through at least a week (and two weeks is even better).
• Keep a bag of food in a container such as a plastic tote. Add some jugs of water and some bowls in the tote as well. Have the tote in a location where you can quickly reach it in an emergency. Just make sure you rotate the food out of the container on a regular basis so it won’t become stale.
• Have a pet first aid kit. You can buy great kits at just about any pet store as well as at numerous online sites. If you have a special needs pet; talk to your veterinarian about what types of items you will need in the first aid kit. Rotate the medicines out on a regular basis as well to ensure they are not expired.
• Keep calming products such as ADAPTIL and Feliway in your emergency kit. You can use these products to help ease pet anxiety.
• Have a copy of your pet’s medical records in a watertight container or plastic bag. Some facilities may not wish to house your pet if it is not current on shots or if you cannot prove its vaccination record. A Rabies tag is rarely proof of vaccination. You need a veterinary record that describes each animal with the Rabies vaccination information.
• If you have multiple dogs; ensure that each dog has a readily accessible collar and leash. The collar should have updated contact information (even if your pet is mircochiped it is also recommended to have ID on a collar as well.). Cats should also have breakaway collars with ID tags.
  

  Have leashes and collars for all of your pets; even those that may not got on walks on a regular basis. 

   

• If your pet has special needs; either in terms of behavior or medical, write out clear information and attach it in a waterproof container to the pet’s crate or carrier. For example; if your dog is afraid of men or your cat hates dogs; make sure people have access to that information.
• Once you get to a safe location; do what you can to minimize stress for your pets. Use blankets, cots or other items to form visual barriers around your pets so they can have a break from seeing the chaos or being constantly stared at by other pets. This is not a social; do not let your pets mingle with other pets. Even pets current on vaccinations can easily become ill in stressful situations.
• Even the friendliest of pets may become stressed in an unfamiliar location surrounded by chaos. Keep him safe from being handled by lots of strangers.

It is better to be prepared and never need it; than to find yourself frantically trying to save your family and the family pets.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has an amazing free pamphlet called Saving the Whole Family, Disaster Preparedness. You can download it from the AVMA website at  https://ebusiness.avma.org/ProductCatalog/product.aspx?ID=140

The pamphlet covers everything from saving your fish to your pasture animals.