“…have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
Since man walked out of the Garden of Eden, we have kept all kinds of animals as pets. I believe owning a pet, having dominion of it, gives you the responsibility to feed and care for it come rain or shine. In our preparedness walk Trudee found this link covering Disaster Preparedness for your pets. If you have pets I strongly suggest you read it, as I’ll only touch on a few points, and add some info I think is lacking. I want to make one special note, you can get free window decals from the ASPCA that you can use to list the number and type of pets in your home. This is a good idea just in case of fire when you’re not there.
Pet Food
We store two 35 pound bags of dog food in a 30 gallon metal garbage can. We have a plastic bin that we keep the food we’re feeding them with near the kitchen. When that runs out, I take the top bag and dump it in the plastic bin. When we get a new bag of food that goes to the bottom of the metal can. If you have big dogs you may think of keeping two metal cans.
Bugging out
I have said it before, staying home is the best option for the vast majority of events. But if you’re forced to bug out, please have a plan for your pets. When we went through CERT training, the emergency manager stated that they would allow pets in, however if they were not chipped, they would be on the spot. Keep in mind that not all shelters will allow pets, so finding a shelter, relative or a hotel that will allow animals is a good idea to do now, before it is needed.
We have a small BOB for each of the dogs attached to our BOB. It contains an extra collar and leash, collapsible bowl, some vacuum sealed food and toys.
We also have one of the larger metal cages that, in an emergency, we would stick in the back of our SUV, safely containing the dogs. Keeping them safe and out of the way would let us keep the doors open without worrying that one or all of them would take off, avoiding an even bigger problem.
Pet First Aid
If your pet is on medication, you should try to have a few extra weeks set aside, and be rotating it. There are several first aid classes available, just search for one in your area. I was also able to find this page online that covers some general steps in pet first aid.. There is also a smart phone app for $4.99. I have not used it but there is a seven minute long video that explains the app in more detail.
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