I published this information in Tail Talk in June, 2008 after a particularly severe flood, and after seeing all of the grief and suffering in Haiti I thought it was a good time to remind people that there is no time like the present to make sure you are prepared to care for your animals during an emergency. If you are not prepared, they will suffer. There is no time like today to pull everything together to prevent a lot of grief if the occasion ever presents itself. From AmericanHumane.org I found the following:
When disaster strikes a community, essential services like water are often unavailable. So what can you do to ensure your pet is cared for during and, especially after, a disaster?
Preparation for pets
- Have a plan.
- Keep your pets’ vaccinations up-to-date.
- Know where your pets can go whether it’s a friend or family member, pet-friendly hotel, animal shelter, or boarding facility.
- Place your contact information, including the name of an out-of-state contact on your pets’ ID tags, microchip registrations, and licenses.
- Prepare an emergency kit of leashes, collars, extra ID tags, water, food, medications, health records, and photos to prove ownership.
- Have on hand portable carriers large enough for your pets to stand and turn around in.
- Prepare a first-aid kit, including your vet contact information and an authorization to treat your pets.
- Gather any relief plans developed by your local Red Cross chapter; emergency management office; or police, fire, health, wildlife and agriculture departments so you know where to turn for specific resources.
Preparation for livestock
- Post emergency contact numbers at your barn or on your pasture fence.
- Have sufficient transportation available for all your livestock or know where to obtain it. Train your livestock how to board the vehicles.
- Create a list of neighbors within a 100-mile radius of your home who would be willing to board your livestock if you are forced to evacuate.
- Form agreements with neighboring ranches and farms to help each other with disaster preparation and evacuations.
- Know organizations in your area that are prepared to rescue and house displaced livestock.
- Involve your family and neighbors in establishing an evacuation plan for animals in barns and outlying buildings.
- Have a supply of feed at a separate location, which could be air-dropped if the animals become stranded.
- Make up a kit with leads, halters, equine and bovine first aid kits, quieting hoods for easy transport, and water.
- Keep photos and a copy of your ownership papers or brands with you at all times in case you are separated from your livestock.
I was especially glad to see the information for livestock because it provided a lot of valuable information to think about. I don’t think we’ll ever be fully prepared for surviving a major disaster, but the more preparation we maintain the better we’ll be at not only surviving, but triumphing, over whatever is put in front of us. And if nothing ever happens, we can count our blessings and be grateful in the knowledge we were ready.
And never forget, it is only through you that the Randolph County Humane Society continues to save lives, one by one.
