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Being prepared for an emergency means
thinking about the needs of all the

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members of your family – including pets.

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Take a few minutes to check out the
information on Ready.gov specifically

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addressing tips and tools for pet
owners.

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As you put together supplies for your
family’s emergency kit, be sure to

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think about the well-being of your pets.

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Include food, water, and medicine to
sustain your pets for at least

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three days.

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Visit Ready.gov for a complete list of
suggested items, along with

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recommendations for how to prepare an
emergency plan that includes your pets.

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Remember that pet food and medicines
can spoil, so check your kit regularly

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to make sure everything in it is still
fresh.

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In the case of an emergency, you may be
able to stay in your home or you may

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have to evacuate. It’s important to
have a plan for either situation.

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If your family and pets have to wait
out a storm or other disaster at home,

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identify a safe area of your home where
you can all stay together.

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Put your emergency supplies in that
room ahead of time –including your

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pet’s crate and supplies.

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The single most important
thing you can do to keep your pet safe

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is to take them with you if you have to
evacuate during a disaster.

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Oftentimes people will think their pets
will be more comfortable or somehow

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safer at home. This is not the case.
We’ve seen so many situations where

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people think they’re going to be gone
for a couple of hours, and then you are

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not allowed to go back to your home for
days or sometimes even weeks.

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What’s going to happen to your pet if
you leave them behind?

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Consider checking with your local
animal shelter or emergency management

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office to determine if a pet friendly
emergency shelter will be set up near

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your location.

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Many emergency shelters only allow
service animals, so advanced

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planning is key.

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Make a list of boarding facilities and
Veterinary offices that might be able

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to shelter animals in disaster
emergencies. Include 24-hour telephone

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numbers.

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Another way pet owners can be prepared
is by developing a buddy system.

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With a buddy system,
what you’re doing is you’re making

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arrangements with your neighbors and
friends to – in case of a disaster that

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you’ll take care of each other’s pets.

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So if you’re not available to get your
pet from your house, one of your

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buddies will be able to go into the
house and get your pet.

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A “Pet Inside” sticker is an effective
tool for alerting first responders that

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there are pets inside your home.

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Your pet should be wearing up-to-date
identification at all times.

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It’s extremely
important that your pets are

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identifiable. So you want to make sure
that all your pets have collars. And on

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those collars you want to have tags
that have your name, your address. Your

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cell phone number’s extremely important…

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It may also be helpful,
to put the phone number of an out of

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town relative on there. Just in case
you’re not able to be reached in the

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event of a disaster.

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Microchipping is a particularly
effective way to identify pets

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separated from their owners in an
emergency.

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Getting your pet micro
chipped is really crucial to keeping

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them safe in a disaster situation. A
microchip is a small device that can be

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implanted painlessly under your pet’s
skin. And it can be very inexpensive as

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well.

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If you’re separated from your pet in a
disaster situation, they might lose

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their collar and they might be taken to
a shelter that’s far away from where

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you live.

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At one of these temporary shelters it
would be very easy to swipe a scanner

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over your pet’s microchip and all of
your contact information will pop up,

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making it much more likely for you to
reunite with your pet.

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There are many things to consider when
preparing your family for an emergency.

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By taking the time to also consider the
needs of your pets, you can have the

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peace of mind knowing that even the
smallest members of your family will be

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ready.

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After seeing many sad
situations where people left their

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animals behind, it’s really wonderful
to see people making pets an integral

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part of their disaster planning process.

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With a little bit
of planning, you can make a big

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difference and you can keep everybody,
including your pets, safe.

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Check out the information for pet
owners on Ready.gov and get started

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preparing today!

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