From Katrina to Gustav: Are your pets disaster ready?

August 31, 10:21 AMSF Pet ExaminerSandy Lurins

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A dog swims toward her rescuer after Hurricane
Katrina. Courtesy Best Friends (www.bestfriends.org)

Three years ago this week in 1995, Hurricane Katrina blew through the Gulf states with disastrous results. This year, we sit and watch helplessly as the mayor of New Orleans mandates evacuation in the face of Hurricane Gustav’s increasing force.  

One big difference: this time, more of them are ready to safely evacuate their pets, and rescue workers are more prepared to deal with the special task of caring for animals who are either lost or left behind.

In 1995, hundreds of thousands of family companion animals were left behind and found themselves in a horrible crisis. More than 6,000 of those left behind made it to makeshift rescue. About 100 times as many – yes, more than 600,000 – died.  Oregon film maker Mike Shiley documented the rescue – and our society’s failure to adequately deal with the staggering task of saving those left behind – in his film Dark Water Rising.

Today, as Gustav gains force and heads for Louisiana, there is one thing you can surely do. Make sure you think about, document, and prepare your own disaster plan, and include your pets.

Californians must prepare for, and do encounter flooding and earthquakes. In the last three years winter storms have caused serious flooding throughout the Bay Area, so it’s not just the more easily disregarded “Big One” earthquake for which we need to prepare.

I am willing to guess that many of you don’t even have an adequate disaster kit for yourselves, much less your pets. (My own kit is a small box with a smattering of useful things: a hand-crank radio that I got as a premium for my last donation to KQED; some rations I got for going through a disaster training workshop; batteries; and dog food; I still have more work to do.)

To make sure your pets are ready, research and then put your plan into action. Start by collecting everything you need for your evacuation and first aid kits. San Francisco Animal Care & Control provides a useful guide that includes checklists for your pet’s first aid and other needs, as well as making sure your neighborhood has a plan to help animals if residents are not able to return home during a disaster.

If you really want to dig into this topic, the American Veterinary Medical Association has a comprehensive disaster preparedness and response guide on its site. By the way, while there I learned that California is one of about a dozen US states and territories that do not yet have a state disaster plan, so you might want to contact your favorite state legislator and find out why. Another great asset on the AVMA site is their Saving the While Family brochure (PDF).  

Well, off to the store now… need to stock up!