Stay Safe This Summer
Dear Friends,
Today is National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day - wow, that’s a mouthful! I don’t even know what all of that means, but I do know that with so many scary storms, fires, flooding and earthquakes happening, it’s super important to have a plan to keep your precious doggos (and other fur friends!) safe.
Every year so many beloved fur babies go missing - or even worse - during natural disasters. So now is a good time to have everything ready to keep us safe. If know my mom, you know that she’s super (almost annoyingly) neurotic about my health and safety.
Here are some things Mom does to get ready for hurricane season:
Have an extra name tag in case something happens to my current tag, so she doesn’t have to stress out if a storm is coming and I don’t have a tag!
Copies of my medical records in case we have to stay in a hotel or shelter.
A supply of any meds I might be taking. I don’t get scared during storms, but if your doggo has anxiety make sure to have some happy pills from their doggy doc.
A bag packed with my favorite treats (unopened so they don’t go bad), a new chew bone and a stuffie to play with so I don’t get bored. Also travel food and water bowls - the ones that collapse are good for packing. And my travel mat and/or favorite pillow.
Make sure and have lots of cheese on hand - I added this part. But it’s a good idea if you has to go for a long car ride!
A seatbelt that hooks onto my harness (this is ALWAYS a requirement if I go anywhere in the car - so many precious pups get lost after car accidents cuz they gets scared and run away!).
If there’s a storm that has a chance of making land near us, Mom writes her phone number on my tummy with a sharpie. I know that sounds weird, but again, if there’s even a slight chance I might get separated from Mom and Dad, this will help them find me.
If you live in an area that has tornadoes (like we do sometimes during summer thunderstorms - and definitely during hurricanes) - Mom keeps a slip lead in the bedroom at night along with a treat. If the tornado alert goes off, she can quickly get me to our safe place! We’ve only had to do this once in the middle of the night, it was kinda scary when Mom and Dad’s phones started blaring and woke me up! Mom grabbed the slip lead, put it on me and took me to the safe place - she kept the lead on me so that I’d be close to her and I got my favorite white bone chew so that was a nice treat!
Along the same line as above - if there’s a bad storm anytime, Mom puts the slip lead on me so that I’m close and don’t bolt if I gets scared.
Mom double - and probably triples cuz she’s kinda nuts - checks all the outside gates before a storm to make sure they’re locked and secure. So many doggos get lost even during summer thunderstorms cuz their gates aren’t tightly shut.
My Mom and Dad try to never travel without me during hurricane season (cuz ya know, they’d freak out if they couldn’t get home to me!) - but if you’re going to be away during hurricane (or fire) season, have a designated person to evacuate with your fur babies.
I’m crossing paws that nobody has to go through any scary storms or fires, but it’s important to be ready cuz Mom says the weather is crazy lately. If you have a plan in advance it will be less stressful and one less thing to worry about.
I hope you’re finding time to relax and play with your BFFs (best fur friends) as the weather gets warmer. Remember, no matter what, us doggos love you so much and we’re here to remind you that there’s still lots of good in the world!
Peace, Light, Love ~ Hope