Sally Bedow, Treasurer (2007 Fall Newsletter)

My job at the Port of Victoria is heavily into disaster preparedness so consequently I try to keep a plan formalized for our household and our dogs as well. Perhaps we all have a disaster preparedness plan in place whether we are faced with hurricanes, blizzards, forest fires or tornadoes. Things we should have:

  • A create for every dog
  • Water and food dishes for every crate
  • A two day supply of water
  • A two day supply of food
  • Copies of current vet records for every dog including rabies certificates
  • Registration papers for each dog in a safe container
  • First aid kit for dogs
  • Medicine for any dogs that need it daily
  • A vehicle that will transport all the dogs at one time, or a couple of vehicles so that all the dogs can be loaded and off the premises as quickly as possible
  • X-pens you can set up for temporary use at a road side or at a motel if necessary
  • A product such as Trifectant pre-mixed for spraying on vegetation such as grass to deter canine infectious disease, parvo as a for instance, spreading to your dogs
  • A cell phone with a different area code, preferably one from at least 200 miles away

Does your family have a designated meeting place in case you are not all able to leave at the same time?

Have you designated a friend or family member who lives elsewhere who can be the central information source for your family if others are in need of contacting you and so that others can check on your safety through that person in case your cell phone service is out.

A safe box with household important papers: insurance, medical, titles, birth certificates, etc.

If you are in a storm prone area: keep your vehicles full of fuel, keep a reasonable amount of cash on hand for emergency evacuation needs, have a small box of high energy/vitamin/calories foods and plenty of water, have a week’s supply of your medicines and copies of your prescriptions.

Our families and dogs depend on us so be prepared!

More Reading:

https://www.cdc.gov/healthypets/emergencies/index.html