Preparedness With Pets – Rogue’s 31 Days To Readiness [Day 20]

Pets are often forgotten about before and certainly during emergencies and disasters. It’s a sad sight to see the videos and photos of abandoned horses, dogs, cats and more. There are some amazing humans who rescue some of these animals, but there are many that are left to fend for themselves.

Would you leave your children to fend for themselves? Your mother? An elderly neighbor?

Your pets are part of your family, think about them and their needs before, during and after an emergency or disaster.

Here’s how to prepare your pets for emergencies and disasters:

1. Make them an emergency bag – They need their own emergency bag. For dogs, if they’re capable of carrying a doggy backpack, consider getting them some saddle bags. In their emergency bag, whether they carry it or not, you’d include:
   • food
   • any medications they may need (my dog takes glucosamine)
   • maybe a favorite toy
   • first aid (specific to dogs or cats or your other animals)
   • treats
   • collapsible bowls
   • booties (optional)
   • If there’s anything else you think they might need, like maybe a sweater for the colder months, be sure to include that in there. You may even want to include a lightweight blanket for them.
2. Include them in your plans – Bugging in and bugging out, they need to be included in your emergency disaster plans. If you realize you can’t take them to your bug out location for whatever reason, make plans now where you might be able to take them. Can you take them to a friends or relatives house? Can you take them to a kennel or veterinary clinic? These plans need to be made well in advance, not the day of the emergency.
3. Understand their needs – If you can’t let your pets out to go to the bathroom, how will they go to the bathroom? If you have a pet that needs extra medical attention, have you planned for that? Pets require specific needs. Take a close look at your pets and see if you’d be able to continue to accommodate their needs during and after a disaster.
4. Make them secure and safe – Consider having a carrier or travel kennel for your vehicle to keep them safe and secure while traveling. Also, be sure to keep them on their regular schedule. Pets are very consistent and rely on schedules. If you can at least keep them on the same feeding schedule, that’ll be a huge stress relief for them.
5. Train them – A well trained animal will be an asset everyday and especially during an emergency or disaster. When your pets listen to you, that takes one bit of stress off of you. If you’re not able to train them, please seek some training, at the very least for the most basic commands of ‘sit, lay, stay, come’. And yes, even cats can be trained.

You know your pets best and their needs. Take a look at a ‘day in the life’ of your pet and plan accordingly. Just as you need your basic needs taken care of, so do they. We’re responsible for their care everyday and that certainly extends to an emergency or disaster.

Lastly, make sure you have appropriate transportation for them. What I mean by this is, if you have horses, do you have a horse trailer to move them if needed? How would you move your chickens if you had to? If you don’t have the appropriate transportation for them then arrange proper transportation well ahead of time for ‘just in case’ purposes. Talk to neighbors, friends, relatives, whoever may be able to assist you.

See you in day 21!