I look ready to take charge of anything here, but truth be told, I'd depend on my Parental Unit to help me evacuate our home in the event of a natural or other disaster. (Photo credit: Rachel Lauren Photography)
You've probably all heard by now about the terrible flash floods in Utah and horrific wildfires in California. A recent New York Times article focused on the many pets left behind as people fled their homes in the frantic effort to escape the raging California fires. "...many residents fled with only the clothes they were wearing. The suddenness of the fire's surge—half an hour from warning to life-threatening conflagration"—left little time for implementing an evacuation plan.
Unfortunately, many pets were left behind, and in the mostly rural areas, hundreds of horses, goats and sheep had to fend for themselves, too. Although the fires are still raging, rescue workers and veterinarians have begun returning to the area with food and water for the animals and attempting to reunite them with their families. Burned kittens were evacuated to a larger hospital at the University of California Davis, where students are helping with their treatment.
As the ASPCA and other animal and human organizations have urged, it's vital for each of us, no matter where we live, to have a disaster preparedness plan and supplies ready for all of our family members, including our pets. It's also probably smart to practice the plan several times, so everyone knows their part.
What say you? Do you have a disaster preparedness plan in place along with a pet emergency first aid and evacuation kit ready to go in the event of a disaster and/or evacuation? Let us know!
(Another great photo of me by Rachel Lauren Photography)
You've probably all heard by now about the terrible flash floods in Utah and horrific wildfires in California. A recent New York Times article focused on the many pets left behind as people fled their homes in the frantic effort to escape the raging California fires. "...many residents fled with only the clothes they were wearing. The suddenness of the fire's surge—half an hour from warning to life-threatening conflagration"—left little time for implementing an evacuation plan.
Unfortunately, many pets were left behind, and in the mostly rural areas, hundreds of horses, goats and sheep had to fend for themselves, too. Although the fires are still raging, rescue workers and veterinarians have begun returning to the area with food and water for the animals and attempting to reunite them with their families. Burned kittens were evacuated to a larger hospital at the University of California Davis, where students are helping with their treatment.
As the ASPCA and other animal and human organizations have urged, it's vital for each of us, no matter where we live, to have a disaster preparedness plan and supplies ready for all of our family members, including our pets. It's also probably smart to practice the plan several times, so everyone knows their part.
What say you? Do you have a disaster preparedness plan in place along with a pet emergency first aid and evacuation kit ready to go in the event of a disaster and/or evacuation? Let us know!
2 comments:
We need to address this issue. You just never know, do you.
Our hearts ache for these poor families and their pets.
We just received our very first disaster prep kit from ASPCA and it is pretty wonderful. Because we live in central Ohio and in an urban area, we've never been too concerned, but things are changing, and we had many flash flood warnings this spring and summer that were scary! It's no fun doing the planning work, but it's always best to be prepared!
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