Your pet evacuation plan

Hurricane season is upon us once again. But you don't have to live on the Gulf coast to be prepared for evacuation. In fact, no matter where you live, it's smart to have a pet evacuation plan in place. Floods, fires and other disasters can strike at any time, so it pays to be ready. We have already written an article on disaster preparedness, but I was inspired to revisit the subject after reading this great post by Roxanne Hawn.

Roxanne goes over her personal canine evacuation plan, which she divides into a few helpful categories:

ID info

• rabies tags
• microchip info
• lost pet posters (printed ahead of time – GENIUS!)
• list of animal shelters in your area

Health info

• vaccination certificates
• current prescriptions and doses
• vet information
• pet insurance information (if applicable)

Grab list

This could be a huge time-saver in the event of an evacuation. Essentially it's a list of the everyday items that you'll need to grab, including food, leashes, toys and medicines. It will vary depending on what is "necessary" for your particular pet.

Other considerations

• Burn a CD with electronic copies of your lost pet poster, ID info and health info
• Make sure you have a portable container large enough to fit everything you need to bring with you
• Last, be certain you can fit everything you need to in the vehicle you plan on taking

Hopefully all of your careful planning will never be needed – but in the unlikely event that you do need to evacuate, you'll want to make sure you have everything you need to care for your dog or cat.