Protecting companion animals in disasters

[Michbelle]

Even though I love my dog and cat companions to death, I hadn’t ever thought how I would protect them in an emergency situation, I’m not alone here am I? I found a great feature at PETAAsiaPacific.com http://www.petaasiapacific.com/feature-B...=papaidpro about protecting animals in disasters. It gives you information such as preparing a list of animal friendly hotels, having a current photo of them for identification and having an animal emergency kit. I’m so glad to know this stuff now as I could never leave Ned or Muffin behind if I had to evacuate!

[Alex]

I've never really put to much information into pet emergency in regards to a natural disaster, makes me think ...

Although, i do always think about a house fire or something like that.

I do know that if there was a natural disaster all 9 of our pets would be in the car with us where ever we went.

[Michbelle]

(01-19-2010 12:44 AM)Alex Wrote:  I've never really put to much information into pet emergency in regards to a natural disaster, makes me think ...

Although, i do always think about a house fire or something like that.

I do know that if there was a natural disaster all 9 of our pets would be in the car with us where ever we went.

There may be a lot of people like you and I! love our companions, but had not thought what else may be involved with protecting them in the event of a disaster!

and 9 would be a lot to consider! good to hear yours would be in the car no matter..

[Alex]

Oh yea, no way we would ever leave them behind (6 dogs & 3 cats)

[LoveForAnimals]

If we were to have to travel, I'd do whatever I had to to get my animals with me. We have such a small car though, so we sure would be squished, but there is no way I would ever leave without them. THANKFULLY, up here in Wisconsin we don't have any bad disasters. We just get bad blizzards and sometimes a storm...in a rare while a tornado warning, but nothing we can't stay home as usual for!

[maryj1010]

Well, it is always important our animals have i.d.tags and they be microchipped in the event they get separated from us. Also, they have stickers you can put on your windows, indicating that a pet/pets are inside, in case of fire or other emergency.
I also like to have lots of water bottled in case of any type of emergency & a stash of food to last our dogs at least a couple of days.

[chofpar]

I have only prepared for house fires and tornados. Obviously horses are better off during a tornado if they are turned out. There isn't much I can do for them other than turn them loose. (We had a REALLY rough tornado season 2 years ago, and it never got to the point that I had to turn the horses out). As for dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, etc... here's what we have had to do thus far... In my basement are a full set of stacking bird cages (50 separate cages total) They are cheap cages, but as long as a person is with them we can supervise them. Every bird cage has a kennel under it for that particular bird. There are snake bags on the shelf next to the snake cages. The birds are kept in a both a separate building (our aviary) and there are some in the addition to the house. The main part of the house only has 3 birds in it. I volunteer at the local fire dept, and they have helped me make plans for a fire for ALL of our family. Anyway, 2 years ago we had to move everyone to the basement. It took us exactly 11 minutes to move everyone into the basement. My husband, son, and myself are all aware of who we have to grab and who is easy and who will put up a fight. Honestly, my best bet is to keep a VERY close eye on the weather. I usually start moving birds down stairs when we have a tornado warning. We have a generator for power outtages, and we just contiue to pray that we never have to face a disaster. We have several people in 3 diferent directions and about an hour away each way that are capable of taking in ALL of our animals for indefinate periods of time. We know exactly how to pack the van with kennels in order to get all of the birds and reptiles in one vehicle along with the dogs and cats. it is something you should definately consider... It helps if you have a plan when an emergency hits, you don't lose anytime debating; you are able to jump straight into action.

[Alex]

Being prepared can be the dfiference between life and death for you and your family. It doesn't take that long to come up with a good evacuation plan, so if you haven't come up with one already, nows the time.

We have extra crates and leashes nearby incase we have to be on the move.