Hurricanes and Pet Safety

[dolmod]

Bumping up so our east coast members can be prepared

[DaisyDuke]

I live in MS and after Katrina I will never stay for another hurricaine, over a Cat 2. Waveland was ground zero and they were wiped off the map. When it got to us in the Hattiesburg area it was a Cat 3 and I did nothing but watch oak trees pull up and the roof fly, I was truly changed for life. I still can't think about it long. I had no dogs at the time. Thanks for bringing this to my attention I need to be prepared for my dogs. I do have Katrina grandbabies though, I guess with no electricity and curfews, oh well

[BluFanatic]

Hurricane season 2012

Good Morning! DOL has been so helpful for our family with bringing up things we may not have thought of as new Dane owners. I woke up to Tropical Storm Beryl coming at us in Hilton Head SC and it reminded me that Hurricane season is coming. Do the seasoned Dane owners know of any national hotel chains that accept giant breeds nationwide? I am looking for several options so I am not scrambling at the last minute. Thanks!!

[chelle]

Thank you for this helpful post. Being in the armpit of NJ (Trenton), we don't see hurricanes that often. However, we got pounded not once but twice last hurricane season (before getting Bruiser) and I worried the entire time. We had more issues with power than anything....and flooding to area roads thanks to the Delaware and the D&R Canal flooding. Bunches of fun when you have to travel on 3 major roads that ALL flooded - just to get to work. I was out of work for 3 days thanks to the flooding!!

I am going to bookmark the links that have been provided because with NJ, you never know what's going to happen. Plus it'll be nice to know where we can go for a vacation and bring our pups along!!!

[KDbeads]

Lets add to this a list of things I keep at the ready for fire evacuations (we lived in TX through all those fires a couple years ago) and storm evacuations. Having grown up in hurricane country and lived in fire prone areas I've learned to bug out in under 20 minutes with everything I need to survive at least a week.

Large tent for all of us. Seriously, it sleeps 8. You never know if you'll be turned away from a place due to your animals or due to lack of room. Or it's some place so nasty you would be afraid for your health if you stayed.

Camping equipment/supplies/foods, just in case you come back to a damaged house or no power. This includes a pop up shelter and folding camp chairs. All this is just inside the door of the shed next to the SUV parking spot. Easy to just reach in and toss it on the truck.

All crates are at the ready at all times in the garage with extra leashes/collars taped to each.

Several gallons of water stay in all vehicles at all times. Just in case.

Dog/cat food are in bins that can be easily strapped to the top of the SUV.

Several changes of clothing and toiletries are in duffel bags near the doors. In those bags are copies of all the important info for us and extra dogs, leashes, collars, etc. These are the very first things we grab on the way out no matter what the emergency is.

This year I have a trailer to pull with the SUV. I will be building a cattle panel cage for it that can be set up in less than 5 minutes to house the dogs for extended periods if needed. In addition it can hold all the crates and bags rather easy without much prep to fit everything in the truck itself. Thinking about possibly having the generator on there ready to go just in case this hurricane season.

[beckybeird]

Also, for hurricanes, some hotels that normally do not accept pets will accept them. Two years ago, when we evacuated, after checking online for hotels that accept pets, I called them all. They were all booked. I decided I was going to put Trixy in my bag and sneak her in. Don't judge! I had a purse dog at the time. I called to make my reservation at a non-pet friendly hotel. On a whim, I asked if they accepted dogs. They told me that normally they do not, but the make exceptions for emergency situations. Which is great because I'm not sure Zane would fit in my purse.

[dolmod]

bringing this up since Issac is on the way.

[dolmod]

Bumping this up for members along the east coast. Please stay safe. Starting my preparations tomorrow.

[Jehn]

Starting my preps tomorrow too. Hopefully MD won't get hit too hard. The weather guy I trust most says jersey and Long Island are gonna get hammered while DE, MD and northern VA will get 40MPH sustained winds. Still not very ideal. Boo!