June is National Pet Preparedness Month and planning for your pets is an important part of emergency preparedness and responsible pet care.
Does your family have a plan of action in case of an emergency? If not, it’s critical to take a few moments to design an emergency plan and kit for your household and your pet. National Pet Preparedness Month reminds pet parents the importance of having a plan in place for an emergency or natural disaster. Below are some tips from Ready.gov:
- ID your pet. Make sure your pet’s tags are up-to-date and securely fastened to your pet’s collar. If possible, attach the address and/or phone number of your evacuation site. If your pet gets lost, his tag is his ticket home. Also consider microchipping your pets.
- Make sure you have a current photo of your pet for identification purposes.
- Make a pet emergency kit. Download Preparing Makes Sense for Pet Owners for a full list of items to include in your pets kit.
Check out this quick list:
- Pet food
- Bottled water
- Medications
- Veterinary records
- Cat litter/pan
- Manual can opener
- Food dishes
- First aid kit and other supplies
- Identify shelters. For public health reasons, many emergency shelters cannot accept pets. Find out which motels and hotels in the area you plan to evacuate to allow pets well in advance of needing them. There are also a number of guides that list hotels/motels that permit pets and could serve as a starting point. Include your local animal shelter’s number in your list of emergency numbers.
- Make sure you have a secure pet carrier, leash or harness for your pet so that if he panics, he can’t escape.
SOURCE Ready.gov