If you’re given an order to evacuate during an emergency like a hurricane or wildfire and you have pets, your evacuation plan will look a little different than those without. Planning and preparing ahead of time is essential to make evacuating as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Here’s what you need to know if you should ever need to evacuate and bring your animals with you.
⚠️ Do not leave pets behind if you evacuate! If it’s unsafe for you to stay or shelter in place, then it’s unsafe for your pets, too.
Create an emergency “grab bag” for your pet
This will be a pre-made emergency stash of all of your pet’s essentials to have ready at a moment’s notice. Make sure to include at least a week’s worth of food and water, any medications they need, comfort and sanitary items (e.g. blankets, pee pads, litter box, etc.), and a pet first aid kit.
Know where to go
Don’t wait until the last minute to plan where you’ll go during an evacuation. Call ahead to see if pets are welcome at nearby shelters or hotels, or if any pet policies would be waived in the event of an emergency.
Most of the Red Cross shelters, for example, don’t allow pets due to safety concerns — service animals are permitted, however. In other cases, some places may have a separate designated location outside of the shelter for pets to go until owners can pick them up.
In many cases, you can reach out to your local animal shelter or animal control office to get advice and information if you aren’t sure of next steps. Or, if there aren’t shelters near you, reach out to friends, family, and neighbors who’d be willing to take you in, or just your pets, until it’s safe to return home.
Keep pets up to date on vaccinations
Wherever you and your pets end up, it’s important they are updated on all vaccinations. Diseases like leptospirosis and kennel cough are easily found in crowded shelters and dirty environments after disasters pass.
Ensure pets are identifiable
Get your pets microchipped with your contact information, make sure they’re wearing collars with tags containing your contact information, and keep updated photos and descriptions of them with you so people know what to look for.
Having a pet tag like FidoAlert or TabbyAlert can make it quick and easy for you to alert that your pet is lost, and equally as simple for someone to scan their tag and contact you when they’ve found them.
Practice ahead of time
Emergency drills aren’t just beneficial for your two-legged family. Get your pets used to being handled by different people, getting in and going for rides in the car, and being put in their crates or carriers for easy and safe traveling.
Planning ahead is the best way to keep ourselves and our loved ones — both human and pet — safe if a disaster or emergency strikes. Don’t wait until something happens to have your evacuation plan in place, especially if you have four-legged family members with you.
