Disaster Preparedness and Your Pet

Now that the heart of hurricane season is here, pet owners are urged to review their hurricane preparedness plan to ensure the safety of their pets and family. We wish to remind animal owners to make plans that include their pets.

Take Your Pets With You

* If you evacuate your home, DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PETS BEHIND! Even if your pets do survive the storm alone, they could escape through broken doors or windows and become lost. Even a familiar neighborhood will change after a storm, making your pets disoriented and subject to a very dangerous environment.

Make Arrangements That Include Your Pets

* Public shelters offer very basic accommodations and DO NOT accept pets. If you need to evacuate, find out which motels or hotels close to home are pets-friendly and arrange to stay there; contact friends and relatives who might be willing to share their homes; or arrange for pet shelters care at the start of the hurricane season. While local veterinary clinics and boarding facilities can shelter some pets during a storm, there may not be sufficient space to shelter all of the pets that have to be evacuated when a hurricane approaches.

Provide Identification For Your Pet

* Your dog or cat should have a current rabies vaccination, a tag with you name and telephone number and a micro-chip. Make sure the rabies tag and any other identification tags are securely fastened to your pets collar. If your pet gets lost, his tag is his ticket home. If possible, attach the address and/or phone number of your evacuation site when you leave your pet with a friend or kennel.

Pack A Pet Survival Kit

* Now is the time, while the sun is still shining, to pack your"pet survival" kit which you can quickly take with you and your pet if a disaster strikes. Keep a copy of any documents that prove you own the animal, current rabies certificate (dogs, cats, and ferrets), and a picture of your pet to prove this is your pet should the two of you become separated.

Your pet`s survival kit should include:

* Pet Food * Bottled Water
* Veterinary Records * Rabies Certificate
* Mechanical Can Opener * Favorite Toy or Blanket
* Strong Leashes * Medications
* First Aid Kit * Food Dishes
* Cat Litter/Pan and Waste Disposal

Reduce Your Pet`s Anxiety

* Evacuations cause stress on our animals too, so take extra precautions to reduce the stress for them.

Make sure you transport your pet in a secure pet carrier, so that if he/she panics, he cannot escape.

Should a disaster become a threat to our area, our agency will cease normal operations and services to the public approximately 24 hours prior to warnings being issued in the area. This temporary suspension of service would be made to allow the department to make emergency preparations for the care of the animals that we have on a daily basis at any given time.

LEVY COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL 352-486-5138

MS

5/03