I have family that live near San Diego, and when the devastating wildfires happened in late October, I was worried about them. Fortunately, they were well, but they had to help out friends of theirs who were evacuated and needed a place to stay. Furthermore, I read several e-mails from classmates of mine from veterinary school who are living in and around San Diego about how they had to evacuate, as well as evacuate hundreds of horses to protected shelters. Now an emergency evacuation in Ashburn isn’t likely, but you never know. What if your house catches on fire? Or a tornado comes through? If you ever have to deal with an emergency, it’s always best to have a plan, and that includes having a plan for your pet.

When you need to react to an environmental emergency, focus on your family and yourself first, then plan on saving your three “P’s” – papers (important ones like your will, insurance info,…), pictures (which are usually irreplaceable), and your pets. Your pets will be quite scared, so remaining as calm as possible will help them cope. Talk to them in a soothing voice, and make sure to put your dog on a leash, and your cat or other smaller pets in a carrier or box of some sort. Bring them as quickly as possible to an area of shelter, which could even include your car, while you deal with the other things you may need to carry.

Speaking of other things, think about having an emergency kit. Kits for people are sold at places like Home Depot, but you may have to customize a kit for Smokey or Spot (though you can purchase one at www.kits4disastersurvival.com). Think about including any medication your pet is on long term, phone numbers of your veterinarian, and any information you have about your pet like a photo and any ID numbers in case they get lost(microchips are great!). Put a few cans of food in the kit, as well as one of those cool collapsible bowls you can get.

I hope you never have to face an emergency, but if you do, then a little “disaster preparedness” goes a really long way!

Till next time, Dr. Steve , Ashburn Village Animal Hospital, www.ashburnanimals.com

p.s. Remember to be thankful for your pets!

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