Emergency Prep for Pets

You may have prepared your household for an emergency, stocking vital essentials like water and food, along with extra medication. But have you considered that your pets will also need care in the case of an emergency?

It’s true—if a natural disaster or other emergency were to occur, your pets will need special care just like you and your family members do. So a little advanced prep work is required to ensure you’ll have what they need on hand.

Fortunately, national organizations such as the Department of Homeland Security and the ASPCA offer guidelines to help you prepare. Read on as we take a look.

Do the Legwork Now

In the case of an emergency that impacts your home, such as a fire or natural disaster, you want to ensure that all members of your family are rescued, including your furry friends.

The best way to make sure that happens is to place a rescue alert sticker on or near the front door of your home. The purpose of this sticker is to alert rescue crews that there are pets in your home. When and if you evacuate your home safely with your pets, try to remember to put a note over the sticker that the pets are no longer there.

Identify Pet-friendly Shelters

If and when you do need to evacuate your home, you’ll want to have a safe space that allows animals. Depending on the nature of the disaster or emergency, this may include emergency shelters or hotels.

This is tricky, because many public shelters can’t accept pets for public health reasons, so be sure to plan ahead here and know where to go.

Keep in mind that if it’s a personal or family-specific emergency causing you to vacate your home, you may be able to board your pet at Animal America until you can safely return home.

Build a Pet Emergency Kit

Just like you’ve stocked away items you might need in an emergency, do the same for your pet. An emergency kit for your pet should contain many of the same items as for one for humans—include food, water, medication, medical records and a first-aid kit.

You’ll also want to tuck in items like a crate or pet carrier, sanitation items like a litter box, and objects that would be soothing to your pet.