National Preparedness Month

​Did you know that June is National Pet Preparedness month?
Most of us have a plan for our family and ourselves in case of an emergency or disaster. Do you have your pets included in this plan? What would happen to your pets if you were in a car accident and couldn’t speak to let someone know about them? How about a natural disaster; flood, tornado, or wildfire?
Here are some tips to help you with your pet’s preparedness
Should you need to evacuate your home, what would you do with your pet? Take them with you? Take them to a shelter? Take them to a family or friend’s home? Reach out to family, friends, or neighbors to see who would be willing and able to evacuate or care for your pet if you cannot do it yourself.  Have an idea of a safe place for them to go when things go awry.  
Make sure you keep your address and contact information up to date, especially with your pet’s microchip information. If they are not microchipped, we offer that service here at the clinic and would be happy to do that for you, just call the office and make an appointment.
While it is important to keep your pet up to date on their vaccinations, it is also important to keep a copy of their vaccinations at home. Some veterinary clinics offer apps or websites where you can check your pet’s records online as well, but hard copies are always a good idea. Along with your vaccine records, a recent picture of you with your pet would help prove ownership as well as help others identify your pet, should you become separated. The contact information for your local shelters and animal control office is something you should include in your pet’s emergency paperwork.
You can go to your local emergency service offices, fire station, police station or animal shelter for stickers for your doors/windows that indicate how many pets are in the home and what their names are. These are helpful for those in uniform or their volunteers to identify and rescue your pet. You can get cards for your purse or wallet to let others know about your pets at home as well.
Things to include in your emergency kit for your pet

• Food and water. A week’s worth of each. Food should be kept in an airtight container. A bowl for the water
• Any medications your pet is on, especially any prescriptions, with appropriate labels.
• First aid kit
• Spare collar with I.D. tag and leash
• Kennel or travel carrier for each pet
• Litter, litter box, trash bags, puppy pads. Etc
• Bedding, treats, or toys to help keep stress to a minimum.

For your livestock or horses make sure they have a way to be identified; ear tags, your brand, paper collars, write your information on something to be braided into their mane, shave your phone number into their hair, write your phone number on their hooves. Have recent pictures of them as well.
Have your cell phone enrolled in an emergency broadcast system’s messaging system so you can receive updates of weather warnings and emergency notifications.  Do your best to stay informed and for more information you can go to the FEMA website or their app.