Pet Evacuation Plan

[Taz]

Monday, January 19, 2004
Hopefully by the time you read this a change in the weather will have reduced the fire risk around Nelson, but as I write this the Kootenay valley looks like a London fog and there are specks of ash all over my car. Normally we feel pretty safe from natural disasters, nestled in our secluded little corner of the world, but the events of the last couple of weeks have brought home to us that what happened in Barriere and Blairmore could just as easily happen here. It's human nature to block out the possibility of traumatic events affecting us personally, but in times like these we should all have an evacuation plan in place. That plan should of course include our pets and any other animals we have -- if it's not safe for us to stay at home it's not safe for them either.
The most important part of your pet evacuation plan will be the research you do ahead of time and the paperwork you prepare. First ,find out where you would be able to board your pets within a reasonable distance, say 100 km.. Obviously friends or family are a good solution if you can get your pets to them , as they may already know your pets and the move will be less stressful. However you need several options in different directions in case of road closures. Red Cross shelters don't normally take pets, but they might be able to if they were in crates, so consider having a travel crate for each pet. Many motels don't take pets, so you need to make a list of several that do, again in different directions. You won't have time to phone around if you're being evacuated. The paperwork you gather should also include all your pets' vaccination records,details of any medical conditions and prescriptions they require,your veterinarian's name and phone number, and those of friends and family where messages can be left for you. Identification such as tags, tattoos or microchips are essential in recovering a pet if it goes missing in the confusion of a disaster-- these should all be recorded with the vaccine information, ideally together with photos of your pets.

The other essential part of your preparations should be an evacuation kit containing several days worth of food and water in airtight plastic containers, bowls, extra collars and leashes, perhaps a harness for your cat , towel, muzzles -- for injured or disoriented animals, and a First Aid kit. First Aid kits will be available from your veterinarian , or a human kit can be used, however you need to add self-adhesive bandage(eg "Vetrap") to the kit as tensor bandages aren't suitable for animal use.

Finally since you may not be home when an evacuation order comes down, try to find a neighbour who knows your pets and would be able and prepared to get them out of your house if necessary. Make sure they know where your evacuation kit is located and they have a key to your house. If it starts to look as though evacuation is a possibility, keep your pets indoors so they don't disappear at the last minute.

If you have horses or other large animals and you don't have a truck or trailer that could transport them, your first priority is to find one that you could borrow or rent in case of emergency, preferably from outside the area so that it won't already be in use . Failing this you may be able to find someone else with a large trailer who has enough extra space to transport some of your animals. Obviously you also need to find several different locations where you could board your animals if you needed to get them out of your area -- if boarding stables can't help they will usually know other landowners in their area who may have pasture available.

Hopefully you will never have to put your plan into effect, but if you do then having one should make the evacuation process faster and safer for your animals.

On a happier topic, the Nelson branch of the SPCA are holding a fundraising Dog Walkathon on Sunday September 7th .It will be held in Lakeside Park between 10am and 4 pm , and yes, city council has agreed to waive the no-dog bylaw for registered dogs for that day !Participants are requested to find sponsors who will pledge donations for the distance walked. So plan on coming out and helping the SPCA's dedicated volunteers find a warm bed and loving home for the homeless animals of this area.