Would you be prepared to make a quick evacuation from your home with your family of pets?  I remember waking up from a nap on the grass at a rest stop just over the border into NC one morning. It was a beautiful morning. I had two leashes clipped to my belt loop and the dogs were lazing around me. I only had two at the time.  The Red Cross was serving breakfast. We had been evacuated. There was a major hurricane headed for … someone. All of Florida had been evacuated and came north. Then all of Georgia evacuated to the West or North. Then all of coastal South Carolina evacuated to where I was.  We were told that there was not a motel room available in all of North Carolina.  The Red Cross kept on dishing out breakfast and coffee and dog biscuits. Most of the people seemed to have at least one dog.  “Pet people” historically have never planned to take advantage of local shelters since animals were not allowed.  We chatted with a couple pulling a horse trailer with a pony, a goat and a dog as well as a caged parrot.

The dogs seemed to think they were at some sort of Doggie Woodstock. There were many dog park’s worth of dogs and they were all dying to sniff each other. Unlike dog park life, dogs in an evacuation need to be leashed all the time. Some dogs may not like storms but let me tell you this, they love evacuations!  Anyone will tell you that dogs like routine and it’s true on a day to day basis but most friendly well adjusted dogs also like adventure. Show them something entirely new and they are pulling at the leash to check it out.  That’s how it was this day for hundreds of dogs and their travel weary humans.

That trip is a very fond memory for me because as usual people pulled together and helped each other out. I love the humans who survive disasters or avert them together. Still, it is tiring. That trip wore us out.  Before it was over, the weather changed. We were escaping a major hurricane and not by much. We did find a place to stay but not very comfortably and we only did as well as we did out of luck.  We all, humans and animals, came out of it just fine and went home to undamaged property which was a blessing.  Then I made my “better” evacuation plan.

I currently have 5 little poodles, Deva, a medium sized American Eskimo Dog (35 pounds) and three cats.  An evacuation plan that works for all of us is not as easy as hooking two dogs to my belt loop. My evacuation “kit” contains a 9 x 12 screen tent big enough to accommodate fold-down wire crates for all, my lawn chair and our supplies. On any given weekend we would be asked to move  – if not arrested – for setting up camp on the side of the road but in an evacuation situation things change.  I can maintain us indefinitely in this environment, perhaps not comfortably but tolerably.

All families should have evacuation plans. Even if you live in an area that doesn’t get hurricanes, floods or other problems that periodically require evacuation you never know when a fluke will strike, a gas leak, a fire. The less conventional your family (i.e., the more animals and the more exotic the animals) the more you need a creative plan.  You also need to realize that animals in unusual circumstances don’t always act as they are accustomed to acting in normal circumstances, no matter how well trained they are. In fact the worst stories I have heard have usually been about the most well behaved dogs who acted abnormally. For example, a poodle who startled by a firecracker ran into the road rather than away from it and was struck by a car.  On any trip dogs need to be on leash at all times. Cats who are not leash trained need to be crated and any other animals need to be contained in a safe and appropriate way.  Beware of new harnesses. I have had dogs escape harnesses that seemed perfectly snug just by twisting in an unexpected way. Twice we could have had major disasters as a result and only luck saved us.

Be sure you have a leash for each animal you plan to walk and/or tandem couplings for your leashes, if your animals are already used to walking that way.  Make sure you have plenty of poop bags. Have extras for the people who aren’t so well prepared. You’ll be glad you did. Make sure the dogs have plenty of water. Traveling animals won’t always eat so if they snub supper you might want to offer it again later in the evening when they’ve had some time to settle down. Some dogs won’t want to eliminate on a different surface than they are used to and sometimes all you can do is wait.  Baji won’t poop away from home until the second day and is always reluctant to do it at the end of a leash (she’s used to using the back yard).

Make your plan on paper or mentally ahead of time and have any items you’ll need on hand so that if the need arises you’ll be ready to get your pack to safety.

Good luck and happy travels.