Help Starts At Home

Prepare yourself first before you help others. Make a disaster “go kit” for yourself, for your family, and for your animals. Only when you have taken care of them can you dedicate yourself to helping other the animals. Check out the information in our Plain Talk on Pets and Plain Talk on Livestock brochures for animal disaster preparedness measures. If you are a veterinarian in a practice, don’t forget to prepare your business for disasters. Consult this link for recommendations: www.nj.gov/agriculture/pdf/VeterinaryHospitalschklst.pdf

Interested in helping animals when disaster strikes? Join your county/state animal response team and make a difference. Consult this link for more information: http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/divisions/ah/prog/cartsart.html

Emergency Planning for Your Pet
Your emergency and evacuation plans must include provisions for your pets. "Pets and Disaster: Be Prepared,” a document created by the American Red Cross and the Humane Society of the United States, offers advice on the following topics:

• Have a safe place to take your pets , especially in case an evacuation is ordered.
• Remember: During an evacuation, American Red Cross disaster shelters cannot accept pets. Service animals who assist people with disabilities are the only animals allowed in Red Cross shelters.
• Plan NOW, before an emergency, to find out whether friends, relatives or pet-friendly hotels can shelter your animals in the event of a disaster. Keep a list of pet-friendly places, including phone numbers, with your other disaster supplies.
• This directory of Pet-Friendly Hotels and Motels may help. Important: DO NOT ASSUME any hotel listed here will allow pets until you have called and spoken with someone at that hotel!
• Assemble a pet disaster supply kit
• Know what to do when a disaster approaches.