BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Exotic Pets Disasters, natural and manmade and pet emergencies

I covered this topic in this very forum on 10/06/04. The topic still exists. Though, I believe this is truer today than even back then, disasters and what to do with your pets during disasters and emergencies.

Please add your thoughts and ideas to help people cope during these emergencies. What do you do with your pets? If separated how you do go about being reunited with your pet? I am sure there are a lot of great ideas out there.

FEMA has a great page for pet owners
FEMA

This is a part of my posting from 2004 noting has changed but there seems to be many more natural and manmade disasters now.

Pets will most likely survive a disaster but all too many times families and pets are separated forever. There is a way to determine which pet belongs to what family. Make sure your pet has a microchip. This includes birds also. The bird's leg band should be recorded, along with a picture and stored in a safe place. It doesn't hurt to make a complete file on all your pets, medical information, pictures, identification numbers and a written description of unique markings. Have two copies of this, keep one in a safe place and give another to a family member in another city or state.

Always be ready for a fire or any other disaster that can occur. Have crates ready to use. Not stuffed three feet under the junk in the garage. Ready to go NOW! Each mature member of the family should have a pre-assigned chore incase of fire. REHEARSE this plan time and time again. When the young children are safe the people in charge of the pets should crate them and get them out. If you can't get them out, crate them and put wet blankets over the crates. Get a sign to hang outside of your house (Now, not during fire). Small animals inside. Or CAGED animals inside. Those caged animals stand little chance of survival. ABOVE all else have a smoke alarm with fresh batteries. Make sure you plug those batteries back in after you burn your toast in the morning!

You might want to consider a harness and a light leash for the bird. When you travel have him in a proper carrier. Use one of the high-impact crates and secure a perch toward the bottom of it. The instructions for creating this crate in next paragraph. Not all airlines allow birds, but many will let them travel in a carrier right under your seat. Keep the carrier darkened to prevent LOUD screeches! These birds love to show off to strangers!

Buy yourself a regular dog/cat pet carrier. The carrier to use is the hard impact plastic with vents on the side and the metal grid door in the front. Fasten a perch near the base of the carrier. Place two screws through the carrier wall into the perch to firmly attach the perch. A perch isn't needed if you�re just going to a vet. But if you have an emergency like fire, earthquake, tornado, floods, or hurricane you will need a perched carrier. Prepare this carrier before an emergency arise and keep it in a handy and easy to get at location

Thanks Diana, I hate it when animals get killed or hurt due to mankind not being PREPARED for a possible disaster.

Another thing that irks me is someone having carriers for their pets for emergencies except for the carriers are buried under mounds of junk. What good does it do?

I have been in three floods, one earthquake (many earthquakes having been a CA girl) but only one serious - oops make that two. The floods I lost most everything, except my children and pets. Most of my photos were gone. Thankfully documents were in the bank. One flood I had gotten out of the hospital when my kids were real young. They were staying at their Grandmother's in one town, I was in another and there was a big flood with a potential dam break in between us. I listened to the emergency broadcast system all day. No way to reach them. You just never know when something can happen and how suddenly.