Emergency Evacuation and Pets: How To be Prepared During Weather Emergencies

Depending on where you live, emergency evacuation and pets can become a regular part of your life. From the Florida hurricane season to the violent tornadoes of Kansas, bad weather can create some serious stress and difficulties in providing for the safety and security of your pets.

We were living in West Palm Beach, Florida during 2004's terrible hurricane season and learned pretty quickly how to cope with emergency evacuation and pets.

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Hurricane Jeanne hit first, packing winds of over 100 miles per hour. For our safety, we were under a mandatory evacuation order and had to make accomodations for our pets.

we were immediately faced with what to do with two cats and two dogs...

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It gets pretty scary in Florida during a hurricane, especially when you live directly on the water like we did. The one thing I do know for sure...there really is no room for fooling around when a deadly hurricane or weather emergency is on the way.

Thanks to some preparation ,a cool head (and a great boyfriend)we all made it out safely and quite easily. We had a plan and we knew where we were going, what we needed to take and the best way to get there.

How To Prepare: Emergency Evacuation and Pets

1. Prepare a survival kit that can be accessed quickly when needed

A good survival kit should contain not only non- perishable food and the basics, but also any documentation relating to medicine or special veterinary needs of animals. Additionally, survival kits should be capable of providing enough dry food for 3 to 4 days away from home for both you and your pets.

These are the essential items that should be included:

Enough bottled water to provide each animal with one gallon per day

Dry food (both dog and cat) for 3 to 4 days

Two or three favorite toys that pets will be familiar with and recognize

Any critical medicines or pills pets are currently taking

Phone numbers for veterinary clinic and emergency animal hospital in the area

Clean blankets and towels

Stainless steel bowls for feeding (one per animal)plus one large for water

A roll of paper towels and a can opener

2. Familiarize yourself ahead of time with which hotel chains are pet-friendly and which are not.

Click here to see how some pet friendly hotels rated

Believe it or not, there are many decent hotels and accomodations that are pet-friendly. Many require deposits, but will allow larger animals to stay at no additional cost.

This step in emergency evacuation and pets is critical as it saves valuable time if you're evacuation route is planned accordingly.

3. Provide a friend or family member living out of town with specific details on any medical issues or special care your pets may need

Informing someone else of any irregular circumstances is a good way to ensure critical information can be found in the event that your regular vet records can not be accesssed.

4. Treat your pets to regular car rides to reduce stress and eliminate anxiety in the event a prolonged car ride is neccessary.

I know this is just a start, but if you follow these guidelines...you will be better prepared in the event that you must endure an emergency evacuation and pets will be happier too!

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