Being prepared for trouble: Guidelines for pet owners

from the World Society for the Protection of Animals

How to plan ahead

1. Keep a steel or fiberglass pet carrier or crate for each pet. Carriers should be large enough for the pet to stand up in and turn around. Familiarize your pet with the carrier.

2. Be sure your pet’s vaccinations and medical records are with you and are up-to-date. Most boarding facilities require proof of current rabies and distemper vaccinations. Also, have documentation of any medicines with dosing instructions and the name and phone number of the veterinarian who dispensed the drugs.

3. Be sure your pet wears a properly fitted collar with a current license, a rabies tag, and an identification tag with your name, the animal’s name, and your address and phone number. Have another tag with the name, address, and phone number of a relative or friend in a different area who can be contacted if you cannot. You can also get permanent identification for your pet with a national registry by using either a tattoo or a microchip implant.

4.  Keep a leash on hand to maintain control of your pet.

5.  Survey your home and decide where the best place is to place your pet during an emergency. If possible, the area should be away from windows, in a utility room, bathroom, kitchen, or other tiled area that can be easily cleaned.

6.  Decide where you can take your pet if it becomes necessary during an emergency to evacuate your home. Places you can contact are:

• Boarding kennels

• Veterinary hospitals with boarding facilities

• Friends or relatives

• Motels that will take pets

7.  Get non-spill water and food bowls.

8.  Consult your veterinarian on what to do if your pet is on a special diet or needs medication for motion sickness or other conditions.

9.  Keep a supply of pet food and cat litter. Food should be kept dry.

10. Stock up on newspapers, plastic bags, cleanser, and disinfectants to handle pet wastes properly.

When disaster hits

1.  Listen to the emergency broadcasting station on your portable radio for information about how to locate pet care providers offering services during the disaster.

2.  If for some reason you must evacuate your home and leave your pet behind:

• Bring your pet indoors; do not leave your pet tied up outside.

• Prepare and clean the selected area for your pet in the house.

• Leave only dry foods. Use sturdy food containers.

• Do not leave any treat-type vitamins or mineral supplements. Eating too many of these may cause illness or even poisoning.

• Leave water for pets in a bathtub or other sturdy, spill-proof containers. Leave toilet seats up, and flush toilets before leaving.

• Never leave a cat with a dog, even if they are normally friendly.

• Keep small pets, such as birds and hamsters, away from dogs and cats.

• Put difficult or dangerous animals in large, sturdy crates or cages to reduce the possibility of their getting loose.

3.  Take your pet’s immunizations and health records with you; records kept at home may be damaged during the disaster.

4.  If you must evacuate your home and plan to take your pet to a boarding facility, motel, or to a relative or friend’s house, take all of the items you have acquired before the disaster, including food, non-spill food and water containers, medications, and your pet’s vaccination and health records.

In the aftermath

1.  The behavior of pets may change dramatically after an earthquake. Normally quiet and friendly cats and dogs may become vicious. Monitor animals closely. Leash dogs and, if possible, place them in a fenced yard.

2.  Pets may not be allowed into an emergency shelter for health and space reasons. Prepare an emergency pen for pets in the home that includes a three-day supply of dry food and a large container of fresh water. Make sure all pets have a current identification tag and license.

3.  Be careful when allowing your pet outdoors after the disaster. Familiar scents and landmarks may be altered, and your pet could easily be confused and become lost. Downed power lines as well as raccoons, skunks, or other wild animals may have entered the area and could present real dangers to your pet.

4.  If your pet is lost during the disaster, contact veterinary hospitals, boarding kennels, animal control facilities, and humane societies in your area. Also call the National Lost Pet Hotline at 1-900-535-1515 (this is a charge call) to report your loss.

5.  If you find a pet, contact your local humane society, any phone numbers that may have been set up during the disaster to report lost and found animals or the National Found Pet Hotline at 1-800-755-8111.