Here in central Florida we are bracing for our first hurricane or tropical storm of the season. It’s still not definite that we will be hit and even if we are we don’t yet know how severe a storm it will be, but it brings a very important subject to my mind. That subject is making sure that your pets are ready to evacuate if it becomes necessary. Not everyone has to deal with hurricanes, but no matter where you live, disaster situations can happen. Whether it’s a hurricane, fire, flood, or even a chemical spill you could have to leave your home and either stay with friends or family or go to a shelter. In any case, if you have pets, they will need to leave too, and they will need some things to take with them just like you do.

Since my office is a municipal shelter, we provide shelter for the pets of people who are staying in the human shelters. We have done this for over ten years, and it never ceases to amaze me how ill prepared some people are. This is particularly true since with a hurricane situation there is plenty of advanced notice. When we know that we have a storm approaching our Emergency Management team even posts preparedness tips for both people and pets on their web site. Their office and ours also provide this same information to any citizens who call us, but still most of the pets we take in are completely unprepared. For that reason, I am once again going to give my readers some ideas of how to prepare pets for emergencies. If you have friends or family with pets, please consider sharing this information them, too!

One of the most important things you can do to prepare your pets is to make sure they are up to date on their vaccinations. Many shelters and boarding kennels will not allow unvaccinated animals. Despite what some people may think, this is not just a ploy to get money out of you! There are several deadly diseases that basic vaccines protect against, and even the ones that aren’t deadly can make your pet very ill. When animals are highly concentrated, like in shelters and boarding facilities, disease can spread more easily, so requiring vaccines is both for the safety of your pets and for the safety of all the others. Furthermore, rabies, which is not only fatal, is also contagious to people as well as pets. For that reason, every state in this country requires rabies vaccination by law!

Our shelter does allow pets into the emergency shelter that have not been previously vaccinated, but we do require them to get vaccinated by us when they arrive. And yes, we do charge for that service! Although this is better than not being vaccinated at all, it takes several days after vaccination before full immunity is reached (and for some diseases a booster after 2-3 weeks is necessary to reach full immunity). That means that your pet is still vulnerable, especially when being boarded with other unvaccinated pets! Besides making sure that your pet is fully vaccinated, you will also need to be able to provide records of this. It is my recommendation that for every pet you make up a folder that contains copies of all their medical records including vaccination history. Keep these folders where they are readily accessible in case you need them (you should do this for your own medical records, too!).

Besides vaccination records, you should make sure that you take along at least two weeks worth of any medications that your pet may need. It is your responsibility to provide meds. Shelters and boarding kennels cannot and will not do this! This is especially important if your pet has a chronic condition that requires daily meds (I.e. thyroid disease, seizures, heart disease, etc). As well as meds, it is best if you can provide your pet’s own food. If your pet eats a prescription diet, like medicine, boarding facilities can’t provide that for you. Even if your pet doesn’t eat prescription food providing his/her regular food can minimize stomach upset and diarrhea and can be comforting to your pet. Similarly, if your pet has its own crate you should see if the shelter wants you to bring it along. Especially in emergencies, most facilities have limited numbers of cages. Bringing your own can allow them to house more animals and can be a source of comfort to your pet. Similarly, some facilities allow you to bring your pet’s own bed or blanket. If that is allowed, don’t take one that you would be upset to loose. Even though these shelters work hard to keep track of pets belongings, things can get lost! The same applies to any collars, leashes, or clothing you choose to take.

I truly hope that none of you ever need to use this information, but I hope that you find it helpful. I recommend that you get yourself and your pets prepared. It will help to reduce at least some of the stress in an already stressful situation!