Earthquake Safety Tips For Pets
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Do you know of some good earthquake safety tips for pets? The recent earthquakes and tsunami’s in Japan have me thinking about whether or not we (that includes me and my three dogs) are prepared for our next disaster.
You may remember a few years back we had some horrific fires here in Southern California which prompted me to put together an article on Pet Evacuation Safety Tips. This time another natural disaster(s), earthquakes and tsunami’s have me worried and now researching the best ways to take care of myself and my dogs if and when our next disaster hits.
Earthquake Safety Tips For Pets
If you are a resident of southern California like me then you probably have experienced some minor and perhaps some major earthquakes. I was in Arizona when the Northridge quake hit, but I was right on top of the epicenter when we had the earthquake in Big Bear about 19 years ago and boy that was scary. After the first initial jolt there were aftershocks for hours and each aftershock had us worried that it would be next big one. The Big Bear quake was only a 6.5 the earthquake in Japan was an astonshing 8.9!!! I can’t imagine what that earthquake felt like!
We put together a list on our previous article on Pet Evacuation Safety Tips, but we wanted to add a little more so we researched the web and came across a few other great articles on Disaster Preparedness from the ASPCA, Pet Safety from the ASPCA, and Pet Safety Tips.
Here are a few earthquake safety tips for your pets:
- Make sure you are prepared for any kind of disaster
- Get a rescue alert sticker. My parents have one, but I don’t have one at the house. This will alert any rescuers to all the pets in your home.
- Find a place you can take your pets in case of disaster. Not all Red Crosses accept pets. Check to see if local hotels accept pets. Check with friends and family. Talk to your local veterinarian about boarding and kennels in the area.
- We work with our Guide Dog puppies in training and try to introduce them to people in uniform like firefighters and police officers. If you have the opportunity to introduce your pet to a person in uniform it could be helpful when a real emergency arises.
- Make sure all your pets have collars and tags
- Microchip your pets
- Find a trusted neighbor who might be able to look out for your pets just in case you’re not home
- If you evacuate make sure your pets are secure at all times. They may act strange or frightened during an evacuation.
- Make sure you have an earthquake preparedness kit for your pet – see below.
Earthquake Preparedness Kit For Your Pet
Here are some things we recommend you pack in your Earthquake Preparedness Kit For Your Pet.
- In watertight containers, pack at least three days of food and water for each pet.
- Include medicine and veterinary records
- Pet First Aid Kit
- Collars with ID tags
- Harness or leash
- Crate or a Pet carrier
- Sanitation supplies such as plastic bags
- Disinfectants and paper towels.
- Portable water and food bowls
- Pet Toys
- Photo of your pet in case he gets lost
- Blankets
- Flashlight
- Bottled water
- Pet Emergency Travel Guide (affiliate link)
Depending on your pet whether it be cat, dog, bird, etc. you may need extra or different supplies then the things mentioned above. Think about your pet and what you would need to take him on the road for a few days.
Lucky for me I have most of this stuff assembled in Dublin’s outing bag. However, now that I write this list I’m realizing even though I have one of these earthquake preparedness kits together (basically Dublin’s outing bag) I need to prepare something for Stetson and Linus too. That’s something I think I’ll do this weekend! By the way, carrying stuff around for three dogs might be a bit difficult so I’m going to keep my eye out for a nice easy to carry bag in case of emergency.
If you’re like me hopefully the Japan earthquakes and tsunami’s have got you off your butt, forced you to take action, and prepare your home and pets for the next possible disaster.
Do you have a disaster plan for your pets? Have you put together an Disaster/Earthquake Preparedness Kit? What other pet safety tips can you share with us? Please share with us in the comments section below.
Also if you’re looking for more information on pet evacuation or additional earthquake safety tips for pets then make sure you check out our Pet Evacuation Safety tips article.
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@Ellen that’s terrible! I don’t think I could get rid of any of my three dogs. Evacuating would be very tough for me and my three dogs I would hope that a shelter would be okay with my family (me and my 3 dogs).
@Coreena I agree the earthquakes spurred me to put together this post and has focused us on not only an emergency preparedness kit for our pets, but for ourselves as well.
I really feel for the pets in both Japan and Christchurch.
They are the last thing rescuers think about in a crisis.
One woman in Christchurch was turned away from the shelter because she wouldn’t get rid of her dog.
People can be so cruel.
The recent earthquakes have really made it evident that we need to prepare for disasters as well. We don’t have the major earthquakes here like So. Cal but there is a threat and there’s always flooding, power outages, etc. that make it important to have an emergency kit handy. I just wrote up a list of things we need to stock in the house to prepare and then we’ll work on our 72 hour bags in case we have to leave our house. You listed things I hadn’t thought of for our pets, I’ll have to go add them!