Miami Pet Hurricane Preparedness: 2025 Guide

Hurricane season runs from June 1 – November 30, and this year we’re feeling the wind and weather acutely! We’re here to help our fellow pet parents be fully prepared, so you and your pets are safe should we have to deal with a hurricane or intense tropical storm. Read our blog to take the guesswork out of how to prepare for a hurricane in Miami with these essential pet hurricane preparedness tips learned over a decade of pet-sitting experience that include links to important hurricane prep websites, pet first aid kits, and how to find pet-friendly hotels and evacuation centers in Miami!

First, Bookmark these Essential Links for Pet Hurricane Preparedness in Miami:

• Miami-Dade County 2025 Hurricane Readiness Guide.
• Check if you’re in an evacuation zone.
• Learn about mandatory evacuation orders here.
• Establish a safe place in your home with this information.
• Stay updated with Miami-Dade Emergency.
• Locate open evacuation centers.
• Report power outages to FPL.
• Download the Ready MDC app for iOS and Android.
• Find pet-friendly hotels on Bring Fido and Pets Welcome.

How to Ready Your Pets before a Hurricane Hits

Preparing for a hurricane is crucial for the safety of your pets, and should be done well before we hear of a hurricane making landfall. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Vaccinations & Microchips: Ensure your pets are microchipped and up-to-date on all vaccines and their rabies tag. Verify their information on the microchip company’s database. You can look up your microchip registry here.
2. Stock Up: Order your three to four-week supply of food, water, and medication now. This includes essential medications, anxiety medications, nausea medications, and any special food that you typically order online. These can take time to arrive, so it’s best to always have a small surplus on hand if you can.
3. Crate Training: Train your pets to use a crate/carrier and acclimate them to it before an emergency. Your dog or cat might need to be in their carrier for long stretches of time. Training them to enjoy their crate time is humane and helpful.
4. Emergency Contacts: Establish relationships with boarding facilities. If they have no room, take your pets with you. Never leave them alone at home!
5. During the Storm: Always keep their collars with IDs and rabies tags on them. Keep them leashed during potty breaks when there is a lull in the storm. If you know your pet won’t go potty in the rain, have potty pads or a piece of sod in a kiddie pool ready for them.

Your Pet-Friendly Disaster Kit Supply List

This is what you’ll need to have prepared before a hurricane hits our shores. It’s easy to leave things for the last minute with how busy we all are, but this should take an afternoon to get together and is well worth it. Keep all records handy in waterproof containers. Include the following in your pet-friendly disaster kit:

• Pet ID Forms: Include photos of you and your pets.
• Collars, Leashes, ID Tags, Harnesses, Muzzles: Some pet owners write their phone numbers directly on their pets’ bellies with a skin-safe marker.
• Vaccination Records and Rabies Tags: A three-week medication supply in water-tight containers.
• Food and Water: A three- to four-week food supply. Pets typically need 1 oz. per pound of body weight, but we like to do a minimum of one gallon of water per pet daily.
• Care Instructions: Printed instructions on their feeding schedule, medication schedule, daily routine, and veterinarian’s information.
• Pet Medications: Heartworm pills, flea and tick treatments, regular medications, and sedatives if needed
• First Aid Kit: Include bandaging material, antiseptic ointment, alcohol, gloves, tweezers, muzzle, and gauze.
• Crates or Carriers: Make sure they fit your pets’ size and that your pets are used to them.
• Disposable Litter Boxes, Scoops, Extra Cat Litter.
• Cleaning Supplies: Paper towels, disinfectants, poop bags, plastic bags, newspapers, potty pads.
• Comfort Items: Toys, treats, extra blankets, towels, and grooming items.
• Flashlight and Batteries.

Evacuating, Sheltering in Place, and Safety with Pets during a Hurricane

Always take your pets with you. It is a felony to abandon or improperly restrain pets during emergencies, thanks to Trooper’s Law. 

1. If You’re Sheltering in Place: Bring all of your pets indoors as soon as you hear of an impending storm, especially if you have outdoor kitties. Prepare indoor potty areas with potty pads or a piece of sod in a kiddie pool. Confine skittish animals to prevent them from hiding in unreachable spots. Always keep dogs leashed when going potty during a storm!
2. Boarding Preparation: If you’re boarding your pets, make sure they’ve boarded there before so they are comfortable. The facility should be outside flood zones and have backup generators. For cats, we recommend A Country Cat House. SOMI Pet Resort is great for dogs.
3. If You’re Evacuating: Always take your pets with you! There are pet evacuation centers in Miami, and many pet-friendly hotels. Use resources like Bring Fido and Pets Welcome to find pet-friendly hotels. You can also read our blog on finding pet-friendly hotels.
4. Service Animals: Service animals are allowed in General Population and Red Cross Shelters and all Pet-Friendly Evacuation Centers in Miami.

Pet-Friendly Evacuation Centers in Miami

Pet-friendly evacuation centers are available for residents in evacuation areas, unsafe structures, or mobile homes. Locations will be announced before the storm’s arrival.

• Requirements: You must show proof of residency, bring your pets’ updated medical records, and supplies for pets. 
  • The maximum allowed is four pets per household. 
  • A family member must stay with the pets at all times. 
  • For special accommodations, contact ADA Coordinator Luis Salgado at salgado@miamidade.gov or 305-418-7162.
• Accepted Pets: Dogs, cats, birds, ferrets, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats, and small rabbits (under 10 pounds).

How to Communicate during a Hurricane

Heavy storms can disrupt phone lines. Have backup plans for meeting locations and consider investing in walkie-talkies. For Equipaws clients, call our business line and leave a message as well as email us. We will stay in touch before and after the storm as soon as our team is safe.

Useful Links

• Miami-Dade County 2025 Hurricane Readiness Guide
• Ready.gov Hurricanes
• Miami-Dade Emergency

Hurricane Visits for Equipaws Pet Services Clients

This section pertains to our dog walking and pet sitting clients. There will be times when our services coincide with a hurricane’s landfall. We are always monitoring the weather and have plans in place for emergency care just for this purpose. We’ll be in contact with our clients directly regarding care before, during, and after hurricanes.

• Daily Dog Walking Clients: Inform us if you’re going out of town or if you will be home and do not need visits. We will resume the regular walking schedule once it is safe. We will also update you after the storm passes.
• Pet Sitting Clients: The safety of our team and your pets is our priority. We will contact clients who can’t return in private messages to continue organizing your pets’ care and safety.

Best of luck to all of you riding out any natural disaster. Your team of Equipaws pet sitters and dog walkers will be here for you!

Equipaws Pet Services