In the wake of the horrible disaster that befell the folks of the Southern Gulf states with hurricane Katrina, I'd like to urge people to take stock of their own circumstances and maybe do some disaster preparation ahead of time *now*, while we're all safe and dry.

Hundreds of people died in that disaster, and likely thousands of pets. And many could have been saved with better planning by their owners. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Stock a "bug-out" kit for your dog in the event that you'd need to evacayute immediately, and keep it in an easy to remember location.
Pack a few bowls and several days of dry kibble in ziplock bags. Pack a month's worth of any medication that your pet may be on. Stuff it all in an old gym bag and you're set.
Got a spare portable crate? Maybe it should be carried in your car trunk if you have the room.

The time to plan for disasters is *before* they happen. We all have taken responsibility for caring for a living being, and they deserve the best from us. Let's be worthy of the love and devotion that they give us.

Indeed, Will. I keep a 90-day supply of food, water and other "supplies" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> stored at the house for two people and two dogs. Plus, a 96-hour bug-out kit for two people and two dogs.

Nowadays, you NEVER know when/if you're going to have to evac, be it due to a terrorist action or natural disaster, as in this case.

BE PREPARED!!!

Very well put Will, some of the reports we have gotten of folks that are breeders or had kennels and had to leave animals behind brings tears to my eyes.....keep these folks in your prayers people...........

Our plan is to basically get a uhaul, my friend and I load up all the dogs and crates and leave. If worse came to worse and didn't have time, then take all the seats out of the mini-van, put 2 500's, 1 400, let a dog lay free, one passenger and driver. One dog goes with hubby, or crates get strapped into the back of the truck. I don't care if I had to sleep at an interstate rest stop, they all come with us!

I think this is a VERY important post.We should all take Will's advice here.A few years ago I would have thought the Idea of a "bugout" bag was rediculous for me..much less my dog.The world we live in today is (or seems to be ) much more unstable.The possibility of us having to "bugout" is real.I know that most of us would risk our own lives for our pets so lets all be ready.

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Our plan is to basically get a uhaul, my friend and I load up all the dogs and crates and leave. If worse came to worse and didn't have time, then take all the seats out of the mini-van, put 2 500's, 1 400, let a dog lay free, one passenger and driver. One dog goes with hubby, or crates get strapped into the back of the truck. I don't care if I had to sleep at an interstate rest stop, they all come with us!

Tnat sounds like a great plan, and I hope should you ever have to face the catastrophic fury Mother Nature has to dole out you are not faced with the same decisions these people had to face because I can't imagine the heart ache of it, and they are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Being in that situation first hand last year (three times), I know exactly what Will is on about. Not only did I have my working dog, but many other pets as well. After one hurricane we were out of power and services for over two weeks. Be prepared, it makes a bad situation a little more bearable.

Howard

Great post Will!
In my disaster/evac pile (stashed in my bedroom closet) are two cases of chunky soup (with pull-tab tops), water, batteries, pushlights, papertowels, a bible, and walkie talkies (just the little motorola ones).

I figure the dogs and I can all survive on the Chunky Soup, so it keeps things simple. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Guess I should check on all that stuff though, as it's been up in my closet since right after 9-11.
T

I also reccomend buying an external hard drive (<$150 these days) and using some type of backup software to make daily backups (I have mine automated using a LinkSys Network Storage Link at 1.30am every night, it lets me backup files from all the computers in the house onto 1 HD without physically moving anything around) of all your documents and doggy photos/videos. This way if worse comes to worst, you grab your external HD, throw it in a bag and don't have to worry about bringing your whole PC with you. This also protects you in the event of a power surge or some other freak occurance that'll screw up your hard drive. I have had many laptop HD's fail on me for inexplicable reasons so even if you have a laptop you can take with you - it's still a good idea. I have a whole pile of failed laptop HD's sitting on my desk!

The products I personally use are below:
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=316808&pfp=SEARCH

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=314464&pfp=SEARCH

Sorry for straying from the subject of dogs and/or training (perhaps train your dog to carry the HD to the truck? hehe) - but I know how depressing it is to lose all your personal photos (wether it be family photos or of your precious puppy or work documents etc).

Good luck to anyone on this board that may be in a hurricane zone!

Having been a closet member of the survivalist movement of the 1980's ( boy.....did I meet some kooks back then! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ), I have a large library of survival-type titles on my shelves. Most of them are just for entertainment, but some authors really make you think and just putting a few of their suggestions into action would greatly increase the chance of you coming out of a disaster in much better shape.

For anyone who's interested, here's a few books that I'd suggest on this topic from Paladin Press ( the "Leerburg" of action book world ):
http://www.paladin-press.com/detail.aspx?ID=1031
http://www.paladin-press.com/detail.aspx?ID=485
http://www.paladin-press.com/detail.aspx?ID=559
http://www.paladin-press.com/detail.aspx?ID=913

There's lot's more. And being prepared will end up a handy habit, if you apply yourself.