Evacuating Animals

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

As the hurricane approaches I can't help but think of you all who live along the East Coast tonight.  

Did you know that the most common reason residents refuse to leave their homes are pets!  FEMA encourages you to evacuate and take your pets with you.   Do not leave them behind. 

Most shelters or many will NOT not take pets!   Find out in your area Red Cross Pet Shelters who do or make other arrangements.   But do NOT leave them. 

Estimates for Katrina vary but it is believed that a  quarter of a million pets were left behind and out of those about 15,000 were rescued.  

Don't say " This won't happen to you."   We live with a false sense of security so often we are not prepared.

Tonight take just a few moments to Pack in a Water Proof Container:

• 3 days of food in a waterproof
  
• 3 days of water
  
•  medicine
  
• a copy of all medical records
• collars, identity tags, and rabies should all be on the collar.
  
• dog first aid kit 
• anything that you need for sanitary issues--Poop bags, cat litter, and bleach for clean-ups.  You may also be able to purify water with bleach. 
  

Place these items in crate for Grab and Go

If all else head to OHIO and we will all go to the dog park and play to wait out the storm!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Joanne, thanks for the reminder. It is not only good for those who are in the hurricane areas, but also for those of us who aren't. It makes us aware that we might be needed to help.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Great advice even though I live on the West Coast. We had quite a few Katrina dogs sent here because of the over flow of homeless dogs found. A good friend of mine helped find homes for them. Personally, it is a no brainer for me...I would leave but you had better believe that my Gracie Doodle would be right there with me!!! Hope it all doesn't come to this for any of you.

[BG and Gavin]

Great post Joanne. Yes we are certainly thinking or our friends on the East Coast of both USA and Canada. Be safe people and doodles!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Thank you for thinking of us. Only the southern coastal part of NJ will really be affected. But your suggestions are important for us all to keep in mind. You could be in emergency management : )

[Diana Erhart]

I live in an area where we receive hurricane evacuees from the Texas Gulf Coast when needed. After Katrina and Rita hit, our area worked with the Red Cross and local officials to have areas for pets available for evacuees. Sometimes these are the actual shelters where people are and some are local rescues and fosters. But the evacuees are told to bring their pets with them and they will be taken care of when they get here. I don't know if other communities that are official shelters in Texas or other parts of the country do this, but I am proud to say that we did the last time an evacuation took place here.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Thank you and your community Diana. We learned our lesson from Katrina and hopefully are moving forward to include pets as part of the family.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Are you saying Joanne, that about 235,000 pets died in Katrina?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Lessons Learned:
Because of Katrina and the findings that many did not evacuate because of pets, too many died both human and animals, and the enormous burdens placed on communities in these situations new programs have begun in communities all of the U.S. and Canada.

In my area the name is C.A.R.E .See if there is a new program in your area and book mark the page. Here is the link I have for my area but it has a lot of good information ( quick read ) for things to do.

http://columbus.redcross.org/services_disaster_preparedness_pets.asp

[F, Calla & Luca]

Just printed the list and bookmarked the page. TY

[sandy b]

In 2004 we had to evacuate due to Charley. We were fortunate to have friends off island where we could stay with our pets but a lot of people weren't so fortunate as shelters at that time would not allow pets. That has now changed and most shelters in our county and surrounding counties now allow pets. It's unfortunate that it always takes disasters for change to take place.
For all of you on the east coast stay safe.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Funny how those who came in here to read live in States where GOOD plans are in place for bad things that happen :)\ California, Florida, and Texas--you all are awesome.
No false sense of security for you guys! Hopefully we can talk others into having a ' little plan' and stash it away for a
" Very Rainy Day "

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Sandy, glad your area has made positive changes. I'm hoping that those who are not in the area today take a look at their own areas and find out what the policies are for pets. Those along recent disaster areas have made changes but those areas who have not experience these situations are slow to change.