It’s tornado/hurricane season as most of us who live here know all too well. For those that know me, know my other important position is one of your Federal and State Disaster Canine Search Specialists. I want to share some of the things that can help you and your family survive unexpected disaster events in our area. So, with that said, I want all of you to be prepared in advance of an event for you and your furry family members. The following links are to Ready.gov information. This is our Federal Disaster Preparedness public website. I’ll also summarize what I think is important as well below.
Planning ahead for pets pre-disaster: http://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/pets_brochure.pdf
Planning a kit make sure appropriate for all in household: http://www.ready.gov/basic-disaster-supplies-kit
If you have to stay put, I believe some of the most important things in sheltering in place in a disaster for our pets, is safe containment. Make sure that you don’t have to move kennels, shift storage, gather family and scurry to make sure all the pets are in and stay in. Holy cow! Guess what, we already blew away in that precious time. Practice and time yourself to get to safe shelter and see how long it really takes you. Rude awakening right?
So here’s the plan…
1) Containment/kennels in place ahead of time with prepared kits (see links) in place.
Kennels should be safe places to be, not something I’m crammed into once every other year. Train! Training reduces stress.
2) Get family involved. Assign duties to 2 legged people, kids can help!
Have everyone train obedience and control of dogs and cats. Yes cats can too!
3) Practice and be familiar with the equipment, time available, behavior of pets under stress.
Not all of our furry friends will get along in stressful environments. Be prepared to muzzle if necessary and have pets familiar with that equipment before ever actually needing it. It can be fun if we train in advance.
4) Call me at The Vet House if you ever have any questions (972) 690-8741. I’d love to help anyone who is interested in being prepared.
Talk to you soon and be safe,
Brian
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