National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day - and a Giveaway!

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Did you know that today is FEMA’s National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day?

No? Actually, neither did we until the nice folks at Urban Safety Kit contacted us. Thanks a woof! We can’t believe we almost missed something so very important.

Admittedly, it’s not exactly the most well known holiday out there. Hallmark doesn’t even have a card for it. I looked. Those people make cards for the weirdest stuff, but I guess this one was just a little too hard. I mean what would a card say?

I should totally work for the greeting card company.

As far as obscure holidays go, this one is pretty important though. We should all know when it is.

Did you know, that in an emergency, they suggest that your family be ready to survive the first 72 hours on your own?

Yeah, that’s like three whole days. If it happened tomorrow, would you have a plan? Would your pets be a part of that plan?

That is exactly what FEMA wants you to think about.

We are so lucky here in BC to have a fabulous organization called CDART. This dedicated group of volunteers disaster prep and the actual rescue of domestic animals in event of a disaster.

They have these amazing lists of everything you should have packed and ready to go, so that you are not only prepared to grab your pets in an emergency, but also to care for them during the days that follow.

The Mama can barely pack her purse when she goes our for the day and you should see the crap she packs when we go on vacation, so it should come to no surprise to you that there are things on these lists that NEVER would have occurred to here. We strongly encourage you to print out the “Grab ‘n’ Go” packing lists for your dogs. They even have special lists for cats, birds and horses.

The Mama was so lucky to attended a CDART lecture last Spring and she learned some great tips to make sure we’re prepared.

Does your dog have their copy? Everyone knows that it’s a good idea to have a copy of your pets vet and other records handy, but have you ever considered making a copy for your pet? Since many evacuation shelter will not let you bring in your pets, it’s a good idea to have a copy of your dog’s records that you can leave with your dog in the designed “pet” area. They recommend sealing all the documents in a heavy duty ziploc bag and taping it or zap strapping it to the roof of your pets kennel.
That’s right, I said kennel. If your pets aren`t kennel trained, the time to teach them is now. In an emergency, you may have to kennel them for periods of time for their own safety. They will be highly stressed and if they are not comfortable being kenneled it could be very traumatic for them. Do the kind thing and help them learn that the kennel is a safe place now. For bonus points, write your pet’s name on the kennel, so that shelter volunteers can call them by name.
ID, please. You never know when disaster might strike, so for their own protection, your pets should be wearing ID at all times. Make sure your emergency bag has a spare collar/harness and leash (or even more than one spare, just in case you find lost animals). Buy a spare ID tag and cover it with a regular office label. This way, you’ll be able to write your temporary contact information on it if you need to stay with friends or at a shelter.
Picture Perfect. You and your pet may get separated. Collars come loose. ID tags go missing. Life happens. Have a current picture of you and your pet together. Keep a copy with you and one in your pets kennel with all their medical info. You never know – that photographic proof might mean you get your pet back in your arms sooner.
I can’t underestimate the importance of a good pet first aid kit. We don’t have so much as a human band aid in our house, but our pet first aid kit is top if the line. You may not have access to veterinary care, so you need to be able to treat what you can yourself.
Food for thought. Since we are raw fed dogs here at Casa de Kolchak, planning our food needs in case of a disaster was harder for us than those of you who are kibble fed. In an emergency, you can’t rely on having a way to keep meat products cold or that there will even be raw meat available. We recommend buying dehydrated raw food for your emergency bag and serving that same food to your pets a few times a month, so that their system is used to it.

These Mayday Pet First Aid Kits from UrbanSafetyKit.com are perfect to grab and go.

You never know when disaster will strike.

Whether it be a natural disaster or a house fire, you may not be at home when the time comes. As much as the Mama would love to quit her job and stay home with us all day just in case (and so she can sleep in and wear her pajama pants all the time), that isn’t realistic for many of us. Make sure that emergency personal know that your home has animals inside.

These UV coated window stickers can be stuck to wood, metal or glass and they let emergency personal what kind of pets to expect in the home. Plus, at $2.95 for two (shipping inc.) They are a great deal.

Want a hot tip? Instead of a checkmark, write in how many of each pet are in your home.

Your pets should also be wearing collars in case they make a great escape when the emergency personnel arrive. Once someone finds them, it will help get them home that much sooner. Don’t take any chances!

Have a plan – and a back up plan and a just in case plan.

Our emergency plan includes a whole lot of family members and a few neighbors. We’ve all agreed that in case of emergency, we’ll step in and make sure as many neighborhood pets as possible get out safely. We have designated meeting spots, a contact who lives out of area that we are to check in with and report whose pets are with who and back up plans for our back up plans. Work together with your neighborhood folks! Unless an emergency comes in the middle of the night, chances are you wont all be home.

And hey – while you’re at it – why not make a plan for your human family too.

The local government here has put together a great plan, showing you how you can do one little thing a week to prepare for a disaster. Even if you aren’t from BC, I’m sure they won’t mind you using it ;0)

So tell us, do you have a disaster plan? Do you know where the nearest designated emergency shelters are in your area? Are they pet friendly?

The time to prepare is definitely now and we are so glad that Urban Safety Kit shared this important! reminder with us.

Are you prepared? Urban Safety Kit wants to make sure that your pets are protected in case disaster strikes. They’re sending 25 lucky winners their UV coated Pet Alert Stickers, so that you can make sure emergency personnel know that pets live here. We want to help too! Kol’s Notes has a skinny Mayday Pet First Aid Kit for one of our fantastic readers! Enter now

If you have any trouble with the Rafflecopter, please do not hesitate to email your rntried to kolchakpuggle (at) gmail.com and I will ensure they are added manually.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Full Disclosure: Kol’s Notes did not recieve any compensation for this post. Urban Saftey Kit graciously provided 25 sets of the pet alert stickers for our winners, as well as one set to stick up here at Casa de Kolchak. First Aid Kit is sponsored by our blog. All opinions expressed are our 100% true opinion of the products.

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