If you’re old enough to remember the trauma surrounding Hurricane Katrina, you most likely remember the heart-wrenching scene of a young boy clutching his small, white dog, Snowball, only to have the dog forcibly pulled from his arms by a police officer.
The boy and his family were boarding a bus that would take them to a safer location, only to discover that dogs were not allowed.
“Snowball! Snowball!” The boy’s cries echoed across the nation and alerted millions to the desperate plight of pets left behind in the aftermath of a natural disaster and the need to include them in disaster planning. Ultimately, Snowball was reunited with his young owner, and millions of pet lovers from coast to coast breathed a sigh of relief.
As a pet owner, you can take steps now to avoid the heartache of leaving a pet behind or making the potentially dangerous decision to remain with them in the face of a flood, wildfire, or other disaster.
Create a Pet Evacuation Kit
To get started on assembling a pet emergency kit, find a container with multiple pockets and pouches. Everything may fit in a backpack or other container you already have, and Amazon sells the Baghler brand of a pet travel bag perfect for this use.You may be surprised by how many supplies you add to your kit!
Some must-haves are a pet first aid kit, any medications or supplements your pet takes, and supplies such as a leash, muzzle, poop bags, a slip lead or two, and collapsible bowls for food and water. Add to the kit a small item, such as a t-shirt, to help comfort your pet with the scent of home and family.
Pet treats and two weeks’ worth of food will be one less thing to acquire in the middle of an emergency. A simple way to store pet food without it spilling or becoming spoiled is to seal a day’s serving of food in a vacuum-sealed bag. These sealed food pouches can be stored in the pet’s kit and are perfect for an evacuation or spending time at a shelter.
Disposable litter boxes and a small box of litter are ideal for cats and kittens. Add a small litter scoop and small poop bags.
Finally, a small blanket stored in a vacuum-sealed bag will take up little room but will, again, be something familiar and comforting to your pet.
Is your pet a reptile, rabbit, hamster, or something else? Go through the same steps to assemble food, comfort items, supplies for feeding and watering, and a sturdy container for transportation.
Include Important Documents
Perhaps the most important document for your pet is its ID tag with its name and your phone number. It’s so important that the animal itself carries identification, even if it’s written on their belly or inside their ear with a Sharpie!Many shelters will require pets to be up-to-date with their vaccinations. Ask your veterinarian for a copy of these records, and store one of them in your pet’s evacuation kit. Scan the records and either store them on a flash drive you keep in your own go-bag or attach them to an email and send them to yourself so you’ll always have a digital copy.
Along with those vaccination records, include written instructions for your pet’s care, such as how often they are fed, which type of food, and how much per meal. Add a written physical description, a photo, and an additional photo of you with your pet for identification to show ownership.
If you have pet medical insurance, having that information in the emergency kit and a copy with your own documents is vital. Again, a scanned, digital version can be a lifesaver if, in the panic of an emergency, a paper copy can’t be found. Microchip numbers and contact information for your veterinarian
As you’re assembling these supplies and while your pet’s needs are top of mind, make sure the phone number associated with their microchip is up-to-date.
Your smartphone can store a lot of this information, downloaded and saved. Include important contact information and the names and addresses of shelters near you and/or along your evacuation route.
Download the free Pet First Aid app from the American Red Cross and consider taking their online Pet First Aid class to be even more prepared to care for your pet in a crisis.
Plan Now for an Emergency Evacuation
With a few more pieces in place, you’ll be ready to evacuate your home in minutes and know that your beloved pets won’t be left behind.Before pulling out of the driveway, though, knowing exactly where you’re going is important. In the chaos of a mass evacuation, hotels and shelters fill up quickly, and highways can become impossibly crowded.
Think about the different routes you can take to reach safety, and then research pet-friendly hotels, shelters, kennels, and other boarding facilities along the way.
LaQuinta hotels are always pet-friendly, and as we discovered two years ago when our flooded home was being repaired, most hotels will waive pet fees and no-pets policies in an emergency.
Depending on the scenario, you may have no choice but to spend time at a shelter run by the American Red Cross, your county, or another agency. Some of these allow pets to stay with their owners, while others will house pets in the shelter but in a separate location, and some do not allow pets at all.
Search online for the name of your county and/or town with the phrase “emergency shelters” for more details. Here’s one example from Harris County, Texas.
With your pet emergency kit packed, your documents in place, and a list of possible emergency destinations, it’s time to put it all together and practice the event.
Practice With Your Pet
Imagine for a moment the chaos following your realization that you and your family must suddenly evacuate your home. Our pets feed off our energy and will instantly pick up on fear and panic. This is why preparing for and practicing an emergency evacuation is important.First, delegate the task of crating and packing the pets into a vehicle. This person must be someone the animals trust and can follow instructions, and this is one of the very first steps to take. Once you know your animals are in a secure location and ready to go, you’ll be able to focus on finishing your evacuation preparations. Also, you won’t be dealing with a scared, runaway animal at the worst possible moment.
If your dog or cat tends to panic, there are pheromone treatments on the market to help calm them down. Feliway for cats and Adaptil for dogs are easy to use and effective. One way to apply them is to lightly spray a blanket, towel, or piece of clothing, wrap the animal with it, and then place him or her inside their crate. Dogs and cats are den animals, and they recognize a crate as a safe place to be.
Walk your dog in various locations to help desensitize them to noises, movements, people, and other animals. Leave their crates out at home so they can explore them and learn that being crated isn’t a punishment.
Any animal, even the most mild-tempered, can become agitated and aggressive at a time like this, so along with leash and crate training, occasionally muzzle your dog for a few minutes at a time. It’s no easy task to apply a muzzle to a dog in panic mode, so every now and then, muzzle, praise, and then give them a treat when the muzzle comes off.
If your pet is an escape artist, purchase a collar with lights so you can always find him or her, even in the dark, and if you want even more security, add an Apple Air Tag to their collar.
Our pets love us unconditionally and depend on us for their care and safety. Snowball and his owner were reunited once Hurricane Katrina passed, but how much heartache could have been spared with some planning and preparation? Assemble your pet’s emergency kit, collect relevant documents, consider evacuation routes and destinations, and then relax, knowing you’ve taken important steps to ensure your pet’s safety even in a crisis.
