Hello, Peeps. Today’s Wednesday Woozles diary is Part 2 of my disaster preparedness series. Last week’s was on the preparation work. You can find the link here. Today’s is on getting through the disaster itself. But first,
You know how this works, but as always, a gentle reminder:
- No trolling the diary.
- If you hate pootie diaries, leave now. No harm, no foul.
- Share any and all pootie/woozle photos or issues that you would like .
- When it comes to problems, we may just have someone with experience who can help.
- Whatever happens in the outer blog STAYS in the outer blog. This is a place to relax and play; please treat it accordingly.
- There is no such thing as stealing a photo around here, but if you would like a pic from the comment threads, please ask the poster. He/she may have a copyright to those pics. Many thanks!
- It should not need to be said, but ANY/ALL photos that imply or encourage human violence against an animal will be considered verboten! Whether it is “comedic” or not, it will be frowned upon and considered out of bounds.
I will divide this into two parts: the first will be for what to do for shelter in place disasters such as tornadoes and winter storms. The second will be for evacuating with your pets. Learn about your area’s types of natural disasters beforehand.
Keep your pets close to home when bad weather is headed your way. Both dogs and cats often hide when they’re afraid. Never leave your pets outside in severe weather, even if they have a secure dog house. Metal chains and tethers are particularly vulnerable to lightning strikes. Play it safe and bring your pets inside.
With tornadoes, if you have larger animals such as horses you will probably want to let them take their chances out in their pasture rather than keep them confined to their stalls. You don’t want them to be crushed by the roof of a collapsing barn. If, however, there is a chance of flooding in your area and you can't evacuate them, move your larger animals to high ground.
For winter storms, be sure your large animals have shelter with plenty of clean, dry bedding. The bedding will keep their feet off the frigid ground. Also see to it they have plenty of food and water. Not every animal will eat snow when they are thirsty.
Climate change is, unfortunately, making wildfires more common. Make certain your barn has fireproof siding. If you are evacuating your horses it may be helpful to blindfold them. If you have time, wet their tails and manes. If you cannot evacuate your animals, let them out of the barn and close the doors. Horses have been known to run back into a burning barn when they are frightened.
If you have pet birds, keep in mind that they are highly susceptible to smoke. If you are forced to flee a wildfire bring along a misting bottle of water as well as a fabric cage cover. Your birds probably also need warm temperatures. This presents problems if you have a prolonged power outage during a winter storm. You can buy small heating pads from well stocked aquarium supply stores. These pads will stay warm for up to 72 hours after they are exposed to air. These in the bottom of your bird’s cage combined with your trusty cage cover can keep your bird(s) warm.
If, on the other hand, you are going to evacuate with your pets, call your shelter ahead of time so you can make sure they will let you bring your pet. A few motels waive their no pets policies during natural disasters. As mentioned in my last diary, shelters generally require proof of your pets’ vaccinations. Slip their vet records, along with a recent photo of them, into a waterproof container.
If you and your pets end up sheltering in a large public building, the agency in charge may not let you visit with your pets. They just have too many pets and too many owners for that. Your pets may end up spending most of their stay in their carriers. It probably won’t be much fun for them but then it probably won’t be any fun for you sleeping on a cot in a room with a bunch of strangers, either. Hard as it is, you will have to trust the animals’ caretakers.
For either situation, keep in mind that nervous pets often behave erratically. Stress can make normally happy dogs bite. It can also make them flee if they get the chance. Again, this is why IDs and photos are critical.
Whatever you do, please do not leave your house pets home alone during a disaster. If it’s not safe for you, it’s not safe for them. Some states are making it a crime. And please do not turn them loose thinking they can fend for themselves. Animal Control may have orders to treat all found animals as strays and euthanize them.
Next week will be my final segment on natural disasters called The Aftermath.
So what’s happening with your pets?