Samantha Daly
Prepping with Pets
Anything that is dangerous for you is dangerous for your four-legged family members too. However, pets
cannot fend for themselves, so it is important to know how to care for them when facing a survival crisis.
Pets can unfortunately become a burden in emergency scenarios, causing many people to abandon them.
Prepping with their survival in mind and training them so that they will not put you in danger can make
them assets rather than liabilities. While you are prepping for yourself, might as well make a pet emergency kit!
Here, we give responsible pet owners 6 tips to prep for your pet:
1. Identify pet friendly areas nearby. Keep phone numbers of vets, pet friendly hotels, and local
animal shelters easily accessible. Most disaster relief shelters will not allow pets inside for safety
reasons.
2. Ensure that your pets are up to date on vaccinations and that you have flea and tick medicines on
hand. Look into getting dog-friendly painkillers and antibiotics and stockpile any other
medications that are vital to your pet’s survival in a pet first aid kit.
3. Keep pet food in your emergency supplies. One good option for saving space is to choose things that both you and your pet would eat, such as canned food of beef or tuna. Canned dog food and Canned cat food will also take up less space in comparison to the big bags of dry food. Your pet will need water too. A safe estimate is half a gallon a day per pet, but this amount can be adjusted based on their size (It’s always better to overestimate on food and water!)
4. Pet food bowls, chew toys, leashes, collars, harnesses, and possibly warm clothes should also be in your kit. Paracord can be used to make leashes and collars in an emergency.
5. Keep up-to-date pictures of your pet in your survival kit so that people can help you look for them
if you get split up. Tags on collars should be updated and you should consider microchipping
your pets so that you can track them if needed.
6. Train your pets for emergencies. Make sure they know the commands for sit, stay, come, and be
quiet. Being around other people and animals, and exposure to situations with fire and flooding
will scare them, so it is important to practice these commands consistently so that they will be
obedient even when stressed. Large dogs can even be trained to pull carts and carry backpacks,
which can be of assistance in an emergency.
Since Hurricane Katrina, the laws regarding pet abandonment have changed. During a disaster, shelters
in the U.S. must accept pets, rescuers must take pets with them, and evacuation plans must include
provisions for pets. If you leave your animal behind, you can face severe punishments.
*Remember! If you have time to fill bowls with food/water for your dogs, you should be bringing them
with you.
Hopefully, by prepping for your pet, you will be able to keep them safe, regardless of the situation. Once
the dust settles, you will be thankful to have their company and grateful that you planned ahead so as to
not have to leave them behind. You never know when disaster strikes, so always go above and beyond in your preparations.
Have you survived a natural disaster with your pet? Share your story on the BattlBox Members Only Facebook Page.
Share on:
