Have a Plan for Emergency

[Teresa Ford]

I just read a thread about animals dieing in a flood. The business had a policy against employees taking animals home. I am shocked that the business did not do an emergency evacuation. I don't understand why they did not have an emergency protocol in place and if they did, why innocent animals died. I think if enough people write that business and show concern they will change, amend, or create a emergency protocol. That made me start thinking about what we can do to protect our own pets.Living in Fl. where we have hurricanes, many of us have disaster supplies packed in water tight tubs. And know which shelters allow pets. We can not foresee every situation, but it is good to be prepared as much as we can. I know some of you will have excellent advice and good ideas to share.

[SWHouston]

Teresa,

I wen to Facebook, and you would NOT believe the number of Posts of people who were just livid about PetCo's actions (or lack of). I fully expect that we will hear of Law Suits coming from this. What would have been the harm in just opening the cages, and turning them loose. At least they would have had some chance of survival. Even if they had just run off somewhere, at least they would be living and gone.

The event of an Emergency, is taken very seriously in my Community as well. Living on the Gulf Coast sometimes is a challenge.

I KNOW there are several Posts/Threads which address Emergency/Disaster Preparedness/Procedures, and attempted to do a search. The Search Engine on this Site is... "wanting", but I came up with these. IF you/someone finds any others that need be listed, please do.

Emergency Preparedness

Disaster Preparedness - Are You Ready ?


then there's
ANIMAL SAFETY – Home/Vehicle/Anywhere

[Foster Mom]

If I worked there I would have taken as many as I could have no matter what the boss said....if they wanted to fire me for it well then ot would have been more than worth it to save some lives. It makes me sick to my stomach.

[SWHouston]

Foster Mom,

YEA, me too, I just imagined me kicking in the door, and using every single Leash, Collar, Harness and Crate they had on the Shelves, just out of spite !!!

[gracielove]

It sounds like murder to me. They should be arrested for cruelty to animals.
Also I read that only crated animals were allowed into shelters. People with more than one animal need to have carriers or crates available for all of their pets in case of emergency.

[SWHouston]

Those guys had a chance to be Heroes instead of Villains !

From what water level I saw/herd of, all they had to do was rent a U-Haul 6 Wheeler Truck, pack all the little guys up, and just sit there until the water went down, or drive it up on a dryer spot and let their customers come get their loved ones.

But now, I'm pretty sure they're going suffer badly for it !

[yorkiemini]

A friend of mine just pointed out an emergency situation I will share. The other evening her dog fell and it was clear that the pup had broken his leg. She had to go to the phone book to get the address for the Emergency Vet Hospital that is open 24/7, then she got lost getting there and was in such a panic.

So now, I have gone to the GPS in my car and programed in the Emergency Center because if anything happened to Cali I would probably be an absolute mess and the thought of getting lost and delaying her care would put me over the edge.

[SWHouston]

yorkemini,

YES, that's a great Idea ! But for those who don't have the GPS, one can use an Envelope (I have mine on top of the Refrigerator) which contains a Map, Addresses, Proof of Ownership, Ph#s and some cash.
Sort of a "grab it and go" package.

This and some other very good ideas by various of us here, have been discussed in the Threads, which I linked to in my Post #2 of this Thread.

Thank you for your suggestion, and it doesn't matter if someone happens to think of something, that someone else has mentioned before. EVERY time we discuss anything which will help our little guys in ANY way, is icing on the cake, and worth repeating a million times.

Please extend our regret about the injury to your Friend, and we all hope her Dog recovers quickly.

[Lovetodream88]

With all this weird and bad weather we are having I finally decided to buy a carrier. Even though Callie is a teapot at 16 pound she is still small enough to put in a carrier and that way I am prepared if we ever have to evacuate. I was reading how some shelters would let you bring your animal if it was in a crate or carrier, also if having to evacuate it would be easier to put her in her bag (a safe place) and get out.

[SWHouston]

Though I am not an advocate of Crating, I must admit, I have one

It's a whopper, and I can get both of my little guys in it easily.
Admittedly, IF something happens, both of mine would probably be inside my SUV, not in the Crate, but, I'd take the Crate anyway.

Primarily, I'd use it for their Suitcase, it could hold...
Papers (proof of Ownership/Pictures)
Bowls, both Water and Food
Bags of Food
Blankets/Pads
Poop Paper and Bags
Leash, Harness, Collars, Reels
Long Rope Leash's (20/30 ft for restraint in a Camping/Rest Area)
Water Containers (their supply)

Just anything/everything they would need for several days.
Then (as a lost resort) a place for them, should I be in an area
where restrictions were enforced.