Disaster planning for pets

[bmccasland]

Take your vet records, food, water, meds, litter boxes, toys, and the furry beasts and RUN!

Know in advance which hotel chains allow pets as a matter of policy. Better yet, have a place to go already set up. But take your pets.

And try to stay calm. Animals and small children will pick up on your anxiety levels.

[Blueberry]

A good resource for finding a place to stay with pets is petswelcome.com. We've used them traveling (but thankfully never for an evacuation).

I think the quote I heard on the hurricane predictions for this year was "it's gonna be a hell of a year." Not good with the giant oil slick, but all the more reason to be prepared.

[PamNY]

Beth, that's a great idea about photographing the whole house. I never thought of that. I've used petswelcome.com with good results.

A few thoughts based on evacuating after 9/11:

Get your pet microchipped; in an unexpected event, like a flash flood or car bomb, you could lose them.
If you don't have a car, plan how you will transport pets.
Keep a stash of cash in case ATMs don't work.

Finally, let's all hope we never need to use any of this planning.

[sundial]

I would also suggest that you make a copy of the vaccination record, medications, a picture of your pet, etc. and send it to a friend who lives in another state. Update the information yearly. Should a major disaster occur in your area, your friend will have have the information you need.