TAY O R L E AV E W I T H Y O U R P E T S

Lear n the dri ll, be prepared

By CJ Ander son

Let’s sa y you just got word that your community has been placed on pre-evacuation You may get as much as five hour s notice to evacuate (Cedar Creek Wildfire, 5 communities, 20,000 people White Mountains, Arizona, June 2016)

Your mind star ts to reel “How am I getting outta here? Gas, I gotta get gas! (Except, by the time you make it to the station, they ’re out of fuel ) What about my medications? I’m about out and need to call for a refill. And what about Buddy, my dog? He’s scheduled for a cancer treatment tomorrow ”

You see your neighbor work ing in hi s yard “Aren’ t you getting ready to evacuate?" you ask “Naw, Arizona i s not a mandator y evacuation state so I plan to stay here,” he answer s “Oh thank heavens, I wi ll do the same!” Could that have been your response?

You would not be reading thi s ar tic l e you didn’ t care abo your pets Pl ease tak few minutes to think about what you would do if you need to leave home with your pets for whatever reason––fire, chemical, flood or other Where you would go? How would you get there? What would you take?

Join us for a webinar on Fr iday, November 25 , 3 PM, (MST), to learn to under stand and plan for the possibility that you might suddenly have to leave with your pets, and learn the consequences if you choose to stay In thi s session we will look at where you are, danger s of staying in your area, and what k inds of problems you might expect from your pet(s)

Perhaps what you didn’ t know i s that your veterinarian has already evacuated; the gas stations fur ther up the road are already dr y; the pharmacy would have to contact your physic ian to renew your prescription

When law enforcement knocks on your door, you and your pet will have about three minutes to leave your home If you go with law enforcement, you can take a bag and your contained/leashed pet

If you choose to stay, you must stay on your proper ty or ri sk being arrested If you leave your proper ty, you might not get back in Pets are proper ty So if you leave them, law enforcement does not have to go get them

You can go online to t he link ht tp://www empty bowlpetfo odpant r y org/animal -di saster s html to s ign up for t hes e no-co s t co ur ses and to get planning info rmation r ight away

You can par t ic ipate fro m y our co mputer o r phone any w here Remember, these seminar s are on Mountai n Standar d Time!

In the nex t i ssue of THE WAG, we’ll look at Building Resilience in Your Pet

CJ Ander son has 40 year s of experience in di saster s–from single family home fires to community-wide di saster s (think Hurricane Hugo, where she experienced the plight of pets) She’s Director of the Arizona State Animal Medical Response Cor p (MRC) a 501(c)(3) that works to build relationships and join coalitions to help empower neighborhoods, as well as a member of Gov Ducey s Arizona State Citizen Cor p Counc il