Include your pet in your family disaster plan – you’re responsible
for the care of your pet!

Evacuate (with your pet) outside the expected storm area.
Resources in these areas will be limited, and an emergency temporary shelter should be a last resort.

Have a cage/carrier for each pet – a means of containment will be needed anywhere you go.

Many counties are planning temporary emergency animal shelter facilities but not all are in place.

The following are the best options for potential refuge sites: Boarding facilities, veterinary clinics, pet-friendly hotels, stables, homes of friends and relatives. Maintain a list of these and share locations and phone numbers with family and neighbors.

If you must leave your pet at home, provide access to someone in advance so they can check in.

Choose and use an ID method for each animal. This is extremely important if your animals become lost. Examples: micro-chipping, ID tags on collar, photos of you with your animal.

Keep your animals’ immunizations - especially rabies – current and maintain proof of same.

Maintain a disaster ‘go kit’ for each pet in a quickly accessible site: cage/carrier large enough to stand and turn around in, leash, harness, bowls, 3-days’ water and food, medications, health records/care instructions, microchip numbers, litter box/litter, clean-up supplies.

Contact your county emergency manager if they need to be aware of special needs you may have, such as assistance with evacuation if you possess a guide dog or other service animal. Service animals are allowed on all means of public transportation and in all human shelters.

In the immediate post-landfall period there may be areas of extreme damage from winds or flooding. The immediate focus for emergency workers during this time will be human safety.

When circumstances allow, there will be personnel trained in animal emergencies integrated into the local incident management structure to assist emergency workers and citizens with animal needs. These may include “rescue” (capture and transport to safety) of displaced animals, ID, treatment, temporary shelter and care, and reunification with owners.

Be on the lookout - public information about options for assistance with animals will be provided as soon as possible from SCEMD by way of news briefings and telephone hotlines.

When you return home, check your yard for downed power lines, debris, and displaced wildlife.

lIf your pet is lost, contact your veterinarian, animal care/control organization, and/or county and state emergency managers who can help you search lists and databases of animals that have been found and sheltered during the event.