Pet Safety During Hurricane Irene
by Elisa Black-Taylor
(USA)
Readers in the Eastern U.S. in the path of Hurricane Irene need to read this article on pet safety during Hurricane Irene.
This article is going to be short and quick because people from N.C. and on up the Eastern Coast must prepare quickly and get out of harms way. Reports are calling this storm the worst to affect many areas of the upper East Coast in over half a century. It’s estimated 65 million people are going to be affected by it, whether by loss of electricity to loss of homes or their very lives.
I’ve been online searching for information on places to safely ride out the storm if evacuation from Hurricane Irene is necessary. There are several shelters in N.C. who are willing to house cats, dogs and other small pets in a separate area. That information can be found here.
Petswelcome.com has a state by state list of hotels that welcome pets and the information is in an easy to search format.
Call and confirm any reservations you make as things will get really crazy once Hurricane Irene makes landfall, especially in populated areas where leaving may become difficult. Make sure you have a copy of your pet’s medical records with you as well as the information on your vet and keep these in a waterproof container. A first aid kit may also come in handy just in case.
If you must stay at home and ride out the storm, please bring your pets inside. Make sure they have plenty of food in air tight containers and run your tub full of water in case your area is without water. Should you have to sterilize the water, add 2 drops of household bleach to a quart of water in an airtight container and let stand 30 minutes before drinking. Make sure any pet medication is in a waterproof container. And please make sure your pets are all wearing identification in case you are separated. For more complete information on this go to pet disasters.
Should you evacuate, your pets need to go with you. Pets lost during a natural disaster may become lost or injured. There’s no way of knowing how long you would be separated from your pet so don’t take chances. Depending on the damage, it could be weeks before you’re allowed to return home. And evacuate early before a mandatory order is given. Sometimes when mandatory evacuation is enforced people are told to leave their animals behind.
If anyone knows of safe shelters on the East Coast of the U.S. where a pet can stay with the family, please list it under the comment section of this article along with a phone number if there is one.
I hope this information will come in handy and I hope everyone will be safe as we ride out what could be the worst U.S. disaster in many years.
Elisa
