On Sunday, severe and "explosive" storms went through much of the Midwest. Last I heard, the National Weather Service had confirmed 25 tornadoes touched down in Indiana alone. It was scary stuff.
We were scheduled to attend a family gathering that day, minus the dogs. When I called my mom that morning to confirm it was still on, she insisted everyone come.
Prior to leaving our house, we set up crates in the basement, and left the dogs there. I also made arrangements with our awesome neighbors, so that they could use our basement with their dogs while we were gone if the need arose, as their house does not have a basement.
Getting the dogs down the stairs was a chore, as the basement stairs are open, and all three were fearful of falling through. Fortunately, our immediate area had only thunderstorms and high winds (in November?!?!), and we were unscathed. Once the "all-clear" was issued, we brought the dogs up from the basement, which was even more difficult than getting them down there.
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| After the storms rolled through. |
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Ignore my scary basement. It's an old house.
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Bruce proved to be the most difficult, with it taking us an hour and a half to convince him to come up the stairs. Bribes included cheese, meat, and squeaky toys.
About one year ago, a home exploded on the south side of Indianapolis, less than five miles from our current house. I remember hearing the boom, and my house actually shook.
A few homes were completely destroyed, and several damaged beyond repair, as this occurred in a subdivision. Hundreds of people and their pets were evacuated.
This event initially prompted me to come up with an emergency plan for my dogs, and this past weekend's storms only reinforced it.
The
ASPCA and
Redrover.org have some nice lists, and some of my ideas are the same as theirs.
Identification
At the very least, I believe all animals should have a well fitting collar or harness with clear ID tags that include a cell-phone number. My dogs are all microchipped, but I know some feel microchipping is "dangerous" and unnecessary. If the unthinkable occurs, and you are separated from your pets, these are the most successful ways that they are returned to their owners.
A Way to Let Rescuers Know You Have Pets
Window stickers are widely available that allow people to indicate how many of and what species of animals are present in the home.
Containment in the Event of Evacuation
After the home explosion last year, I thought long and hard on what would happen if we were to be evacuated from our homes. Short (6 feet or less), non-retractable leashes must be immediately available for all dogs. Neeko and Faolan, while stressed, would probably be ok with all the chaos. Bruce would not be. My dogs are all to large to put into a crate and carry. Because of Bruce's issues, I purchased a
basket muzzle 
for him, and desensitized him to it. It is my job to protect my dogs, and if protecting them means preventing them from harming a person or another dog, that is what I will do.
If one has small dogs or cats, plastic sided or soft, portable
kennels
that are easily carried are widely found.
If a Tornado is Eminent
Go to your basement, or most interior, windowless room. We set up ahead of time, and now know that this is probably not something we could do in seconds, given how much difficulty each dog gave us. Involve your neighbors. Have a plan, and contact your friends and family to ensure everyone and all pets are accounted for and safe.
A Place to Stay if Your Home is Uninhabitable
This could be with family or friends. But keep in mind that friends and family who say you are welcome do not always necessarily mean your large or multiple pets are welcome as well. So clarify. Many hotels are pet friendly, but require dogs be crated, which is another good reason to invest in crates. It is good to call around and see if there are limits on the number of pets, or size limits.
In the event one cannot afford a hotel, it is important to have worked out details with friends and family if you and/or your pets can stay with them. I have several people who are willing to temporarily take on Neeko or Faolan in the event of an emergency, but not so much Bruce, which is understandable. Bruce and myself could temporarily stay with my parents, and crates and gates would be used to keep him from harming their two much smaller dogs because of his stress and anxiety.
If Your Home is Safe, but You have No Power, No Water, No way to Get Out.
I'm not going to lie. Watching
American Blackout on Nat Geo scared the crap out of me. It also made me realize we are unprepared. While I am not advocating or encouraging anyone to be an extreme/doomsday prepper, having a little backup of some basic supplies is a good idea.
I feed raw, and typically have at least three weeks worth of food on hand. A power outage in the winter time wouldn't affect this, but in the summer, the meat would start to go bad after a few days. While dogs can eat "off" meat, I would not feel comfortable feeding them something super funky. For this reason, I have purchased a couple of large bags of high quality kibble. When the expiration date approaches, I will donate these, and buy more.
Water is vital. Having ample water for each living thing is crucial. Keep a few cases, or gallons of water as backup. I have actually purchased
LifeStraws
for the humans.
Does anyone have any other suggestions or ideas/hints for me or others on being prepared for our pets in the event of an emergency or disaster?
dog biscuits. Approximate retail value $7.40. We received a product from this company in our May BarkBox, and it was well received. Based on the ingredients, I want to eat these! Barley flour, cheese, turkey bacon, and truffle oil. That's it! Wonderful quality, simple ingredient treats that I am happy to offer my dogs. I am sure these will go over well.
Approximate retail value $12.52. A large toy, with a wooly covering. It has three "legs" coming from either end. When compressed, it squeaks, but the inside also provides some resistance, and bounces back. It is a cute, fun toy, but I do not think it is safe to give to my particular dogs, as I know of their play habits with toys. I feel the "arms" would quickly come off, and if ingested pose an obstruction risk. This is going in to the bag for the shelter pups.
Approximate retail value $7.52. A doggy dental chew, along the lines of Greenies
or Zuke's Z-Bones
. These are wheat and corn free, but do contain soy. As a rule, I try to avoid treats with soy. These smell pretty good, a nice vanilla-mint scent. I offered all three one each, and all were eaten. Faolan did an obligatory 5 minute scent-roll on his prior to eating it. These lasted longer than either a large Greenie or Z-bone, even for Bruce. I didn't think to smell their breath afterwards, but none of my dogs have "dog breath" to begin with.
We have received Yumzies products in the past, most recently in our May Spoiled Rotten Box.
The ingredients in these are okay, and they are grain and yeast-free. Bruce and Neeko ate these excitedly when offered, while Faolan rolled on his and then walked away from it. These are good sized treats, but designed to be peeled/broken into smaller pieces, which I like. 
