Pet Hurricane Preparedness: 2024 Guide
Have you noticed how windy and rainy Miami has been lately? Yes, we’re officially in hurricane season (June 1 – November 30). Now’s the time to prepare everything so you and your pets are safe should we have to deal with a hurricane or intense tropical storm. We’re here to help you take the guessing out of how to prepare with these essential pet hurricane preparedness tips learned over a decade of pet-sitting experience.
Essential Links for Pet Hurricane Preparedness in Miami
- Download and Print the Miami-Dade County 2024 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 for a Hurricane
Preparing for a hurricane is crucial for the safety of your pets. Here’s what you need to do:
- 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.
- Stock Up: Have a three to four-week supply of food, water, and medication. This includes essential medications, anxiety medications, nausea medications, and any special food that you typically order online.
- Crate Training: Train your pets to use a crate/carrier and acclimate them to it before an emergency.
- Emergency Contacts: Establish relationships with boarding facilities. If they have no room, take your pets with you. Never leave them alone at home.
- 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.
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 lat 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 Identification Forms: With photos of you and your pets.
- Vaccination Records and Rabies Tags: A three-week medication supply in water-tight containers.
- Care Instructions: Printed instructions on their feeding schedule, medication schedule, daily routine, and veterinarian’s information.
- Medications: Heartworm pills, flea and tick treatments, regular medications, and sedatives.
- First Aid Kit: Include bandaging material, antiseptic ointment, alcohol, gloves, tweezers, muzzle, and gauze.
- Collars, Leashes, ID Tags, Harnesses, Muzzles: Some pet owners write their phone numbers directly on their pets’ bellies with a marker.
- 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.
- Crates or Carriers: Ensure they are suitable for your pets’ size and that 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 during a Hurricane
- Sheltering in Place: Bring pets inside 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!
- Boarding Preparation: If you’re boarding your pets, ensure they’ve boarded there before a storm to help them acclimate. Make sure the facility is outside flood zones and has backup generators. For cats, we recommend A Country Cat House. SOMI Pet Resort is great for dogs.
- Evacuation: 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.
- 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: Proof of residency, medical records, and supplies for pets. The maximum allowed is four pets per household. A family member must stay with the pets. Pets will be examined by a veterinarian for safety risks. 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).
Communication
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
Equipaws Pet Services
Hurricane Visits for Equipaws Pet Services Clients
- 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 will be here for you.
