In Case of Emergency: Severe Weather Pet Safety Tips

Ready, Set, Storm: Pet Safety Emergency Essentials

While you have the advantage of time and good weather:

• Ensure you have collars and pet ID tags with up-to-date information. In fact, your dog and cat should be wearing them regardless of the weather.
• Get your pet microchipped (if it isn’t already) and registered with a pet registration service.
• Have a leash (for your dog) or travel carrier (for cats and small dogs) ready to go.
• If car travel is part of your emergency evacuation plan, make sure you have a proper travel carrier, harness or seatbelt.
• Create an emergency evacuation checklist that you can refer to often.

It’s also very important to prepare a pet emergency kit filled with essentials like 2 weeks’ worth of food, water and medicine, pet waste products, extra collars and leashes, first aid and wound care, life jackets and rain jackets, toys and grooming supplies.

T-Minus Nine Minutes: Tornadoes and Violent Storms

With a lead time of just nine minutes, you need to respond quickly if a tornado is coming your way.

Do your pet safety homework by:

• Designating a safe area in your home where you and your pets can seek shelter, i.e., a basement or the lowest level of your home. Go to a windowless area like bathroom, closet or inner hallway.
• Practicing going to your emergency location. This will help your pet get used to the space, so they don’t hide or run away from you in times of severe weather.
• Knowing where your pet likes to hide when they’re scared or stressed. Just as importantly, know how to catch them so you can leash or crate them.
• Deciding what to do with a larger aquarium or terrarium, e.g., put it under a table or desk, or cover it with a large, soft object.
• Always bring your pets inside at the first sign of extreme weather or when you hear a tornado warning siren. Once inside, secure your dog and cats with a leash or in a travel carrier.

• You should also know where to go if you get separated from your pet, e.g., animal control agency, humane society, etc.

T-Minus 36 Hours: Hurricanes and Floods

Thirty-six hours may seem like a long lead time—until the reality of a hurricane or flood is right in front of your face.

Before a storm hits land:

• Pre-determine a place where you and your pets can go if forced to evacuate. Find somewhere dogs, cats and other animals are allowed because many local shelters and evacuation centers won’t accept pets. Ask out-of-town friends and relatives if they’ll let you and your pets stay with them.
• Find out if there are boarding facilities, vet clinics, pet hotels or animal hospitals that’ll take care of your pets if you can’t return home for a while. Look for places along your evacuation routes.
• See if a neighbor could check on or even evacuate your pet if you’re not home during an emergency.
• Practice getting your pet in a travel carrier if they’re not used to being in one.
• Work something out with neighbors, family or friends if you know you won’t have a car or reliable transportation during an evacuation.
• Practice getting your pet in a travel carrier if they’re not used to being in one.
• Work something out with neighbors, family or friends if you know you won’t have a car or reliable transportation during an evacuation.

As with any emergency plan, make sure your pet is safely leashed or in a travel carrier. If you find yourself trapped in a flooded building, go to the highest level but do not go into a closed attic. If you’re sheltering from high winds, seek out a FEMA-safe room, ICC 500 storm shelter, or a small and windowless hallway or room on the lowest floor that isn’t flooded.

Uh-oh times call for uh-oh measures. Time is not on your side; however, you can buy time by taking care of all your pet safety plans and needs way before a tornado or hurricane blows your way.