Pet Emergency Preparedness

Natural disasters and emergencies are both difficult to comprehend and more frequently on our minds. Having a plan for an emergency can help you feel more confident and ensure that you and your pet can weather the storm.

Pet Emergency Preparedness

    • Identify all pets with an ID tag and microchip and ensure your contact info is up to date on the microchip website. Check your pet’s particular microchip website account or verify here: https://www.petlink.net/microchip-search/
    • Create a first aid kit and keep it accessible in your home, car, or hiking pack. Keep on top of expiration dates and replace items as needed.
    • Know what natural disasters are a risk in your area and plan accordingly. Floods, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.
    • Create a family disaster/evacuation plan that includes your animals and ensure everyone in the household is aware. If you have multiple pets, assign each family member responsibility for an individual animal. If you need to evacuate your home, where can your family meet in nearby?
      • Display a pet rescue sticker on your home for first responders
      • Keep your pet carrier handy – keeping them out for the pet to access helps with carrier training too!
      • Carry proof of your residential address in your wallet so that you can get home if first level roadblocks are in force. Most of us will have that with our driver’s license.
      • Get children involved in disaster preparedness plans. The book Ready or Not, Here it Comes! by RedRover Responders Team Leader, Howard Edelstein, discusses how to prepare for all types of disasters to safeguard families and the animals in their care.

  • Create An Animal Disaster Kit

      • One-week supply of food and water plus bowls bowls (Be sure to refresh this regularly to ensure the food is not expired and water has not become contaminated)
      • Medications (Be sure to refresh this regularly to ensure that medications are unexpired)
      • Copies of vaccination records
      • A leash or cat carrier for each pet
      • Additional slip leads
      • Pet first aid kit
      • Cat litter with litter tray
      • Photos of each animal with family members to prove ownership if they are lost and photos of the pet by themself in case they are lost
      • Temporary ID tags. If you’ve evacuated, use this to record your temporary contact information and/or the phone number of an unaffected friend or relative.
      • Add items as you see fit, such as: can opener, toys and a bed, bags for pet waste, cleaning supplies, etc
  • Pet Disaster Preparedness from Red Rover
    • RedRover Earthquake Safety Tips for Pets
      • If you are home – gather your pets and stay inside. Seek shelter under a sturdy table away from windows and glass doors. Your pets will most likely find their own place to hide in the house and that is okay; wait until the shaking is over to find them and approach them carefully.
      • If you and your pet are outdoors – go to an open area away from trees, buildings, walls and power lines and drop to the ground until the shaking passes.
      • If driving with your pet – be sure to pull over to the side of the road and stop. Avoid parking near overpasses and power lines.  Do not exit your car until the shaking is over.
      • Create a plan for when you are not home – have a trusted neighbor (who is familiar with your pets) take them and meet you at a designated location.  Make sure to give them a key to your home and show them likely hiding places where they may find your pets, as well as where their emergency kit is kept.
    • RedRover Fire Safety Tips for Pets
      • Prevent! Blow out candles when leaving the room, regularly check smoke and CO2 detectors, have a fire extinguisher on hand
      • Display a pet rescue sticker
      • Keep your pet carrier handy – keeping them out for the pet to access helps with carrier training too!
    • RedRover Flood Disaster Tips
      • Bring your pets when you evacuate
      • Identify a place ahead of time to evacuate with pets
        • A database of pet-friendly accommodations is available at petswelcome.com
  • Helping Animals During a Disaster from Veterinary Partner (VIN)

  • Hiking Safety Tips

    • Carry a pet first aid kit, ideally with a pet evacuation sling
    • Bring enough water and spare poop bags
    • Notify someone where you are going and when you expect to be back
    • Know the nearest emergency clinic to your hiking area
    • Keep your pet on monthly flea and tick preventatives year round. Washington State doesn’t get cold enough during the winter months so fleas and ticks don’t die off
    • From Fear Free Happy Homes: “For long hikes, be prepared for possible limb injuries and bleeding paws. If you don’t have a first aid kit, include these items in your backpack: bubble wrap, popsicle sticks or emery boards and spare shoelaces or a bandana for limb injuries; a spare white sock and spare shoelace to use on a bloody paw; a spare six-foot nylon leash as a makeshift muzzle restraint to prevent your dog in pain from biting you; and if available, an inexpensive blue plastic Ikea shopping bag to serve as a gurney to transport your large dog back to your vehicle en route to the veterinary clinic.”
  • How to Make a Pet First Aid Kit from the ASPCA
    • What the kit should contain:
      • Phone number, clinic name, address of your veterinarian as well as local veterinary emergency clinics.
      • ASPCA Poison Control Hotline phone number: (888) 426-4435
      • Absorbent gauze pads
      • Adhesive tape
      • Cotton balls or swabs
      • Fresh 3% hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting (always check with veterinarian or animal poison control expert before giving to your pet)
      • Ice pack
      • Disposable gloves
      • Scissors with blunt end
      • Tweezers
      • Antibiotic ointment
      • Oral syringe or turkey baster
      • Liquid dishwashing detergent (for bathing)
      • Towels
      • Small flashlight
        • Back up batteries
      • Alcohol wipes
      • Styptic powder
      • Saline eye solution
      • Artificial tear gel
      • Carrier harnesses/evacuation kits if needed
      • Oral antihistamine
        • From Fear Free Happy Homes: “Bees are busy pollinating flowers right now. Some dogs may be allergic to bee venom and risk going into anaphylactic shock if stung, especially in the muzzle or mouth. Keep over-the-counter antihistamines in gel cap form in your vehicle and your home. Tape a safety pin on the outside of the package so you can quickly and easily puncture the gel cap and drip the diphenhydramine into your dog’s mouth if it starts to swell.” Please keep in mind that facial swelling should always be addressed by a veterinarian in case your pet’s breathing is impaired. Contact your regular or emergency veterianian as soon as possible to improve successful outcomes.

How to Keep Your Dog Safe in the Great Outdoors from Fear Free Happy Homes