MOBILE, Ala. — With September designated National Preparedness Month and hurricane season still running, the Mobile County Health Department has a reminder for households along the coast: emergency readiness includes every member of the family, and that includes the ones with four legs.
Whether the threat is a hurricane, flash flooding, a prolonged power outage or another emergency, residents should make arrangements for their animals before an evacuation or shelter-in-place order is issued — not after.
“Pets depend on us for their safety,” said Brittany Edmondson, Emergency Preparedness Administrator for MCHD. “A disaster plan is not complete until it includes arrangements for the animals in your care. Taking a few simple steps now can prevent a stressful and potentially dangerous situation later.”
FEMA’s Ready Campaign takes the same position: pets are members of the family and belong in a household’s emergency plan, emergency supply kit and evacuation preparations.
Plan Before the Order Comes
When local officials direct residents to evacuate, families should take their pets with them whenever possible. Leaving animals behind exposes them to injury, illness, separation or worse.
The planning has to happen in advance, because the options narrow dramatically once a storm is in the Gulf. Pet owners should identify safe destinations well before an emergency: pet-friendly hotels, boarding facilities, veterinary clinics, relatives, friends or other trusted locations outside the anticipated impact area.
One assumption in particular causes problems. Many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets. Residents should not assume that a shelter or lodging location will accommodate an animal.
Before an emergency, contact prospective locations and verify:
- The pet policy
- Required vaccination records
- Available space
- Breed or size restrictions
- Any required fees
And identify more than one option. Preferred destinations fill quickly during a regional evacuation, and a family with a single plan has no plan at all if that one falls through.
Two Kits, Not One
FEMA recommends maintaining two pet supply kits: a larger kit for sheltering at home, and a lightweight, portable kit for evacuation.
The distinction matters. A shelter-in-place kit can be bulky, because it never has to move. An evacuation kit has to fit in a vehicle already loaded with human supplies, which means it needs to be compact and grab-and-go.
Pet owners should review supplies regularly to keep food, water and medications current. A kit assembled two years ago and never opened may contain expired medication and stale food.
What Belongs in a Pet Emergency Kit
- Food: several days’ supply in an airtight, waterproof container
- Water: a supply of clean water and a portable water bowl
- Medications: any the pet needs, stored safely in a waterproof container
- Medical supplies: veterinary guidance or a pet first-aid kit, as appropriate
- Restraint: a backup leash, collar, harness and current identification tags
- Records: copies of pet registration, vaccination and veterinary records in a waterproof container, with electronic copies available when possible
- Transport: a crate, carrier or sturdy travel container for each pet
- Sanitation: waste bags, paper towels, plastic bags, litter and a litter box when appropriate
- Proof of ownership: a current photograph of the pet owner with the pet
- Comfort items: a favorite toy, blanket, bedding or treats, which can reduce anxiety during a stressful event
The vaccination records item is more practical than it sounds. Boarding facilities and many pet-friendly hotels require proof of current vaccinations before accepting an animal, and a family arriving with a dog and no paperwork can be turned away at the door.
Identification That Survives a Separation
A collar and tag are important, but they can come off. A microchip provides an additional route back.
Pet owners should ensure their animal is microchipped and — the step people most often skip — that the registration information associated with the chip is current. A microchip registered to a phone number from three addresses ago does not help anyone.
FEMA also recommends including an emergency contact outside the immediate area. During a widespread event, local phone service and local contacts may both be unavailable, while someone several states away can be reached and can relay information.
The Photograph
The recommendation to take a current photograph of yourself with each pet, stored with emergency documents and in your phone photos, addresses a specific problem that arises after large evacuations: establishing ownership.
When animals are recovered by shelters and rescue organizations after a disaster, reuniting them with their families can come down to documentation. A photograph showing the owner together with the animal is stronger evidence than a photograph of the animal alone, and it is something that takes thirty seconds to produce in advance and is impossible to produce afterward.
Why This Reminder Comes in September
September is National Preparedness Month, and it also sits at the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. For coastal Alabama, the two coincide by design — the month when preparedness messaging is loudest is also the month when the risk is highest.
Mobile County’s geography compounds that. The county fronts Mobile Bay and the Mississippi Sound, includes Dauphin Island, and contains extensive low-lying areas subject to storm surge and flooding. Evacuation orders here are not hypothetical, and households that have lived in the county for any length of time have likely executed one.
The Lesson Disasters Keep Teaching
The emphasis on pets in emergency planning is not sentimental policy. It is a lesson learned from evacuations in which people refused to leave without their animals, or returned into dangerous conditions to retrieve them.
Federal law now requires state and local emergency plans to account for household pets and service animals in evacuation and sheltering, precisely because the alternative put both animals and people at risk. Planning for the pet, in other words, is also planning for the person who will not leave without it.
Prepared families protect their pets, too. By planning ahead, Mobile County residents can help ensure that no member of the household is left behind.