Preparing for a natural disaster probably was not at the top of your to-do list today but it is something that you should urgently consider if you do not already have a disaster plan in place. Here in the Bay Area, scientists predict a 99% chance of having a major earthquake in the next 30 years, as soon as tomorrow! Every geographic area has it’s own risks and threats.

The American Humane Association reported that during Hurricane Sandy, 30 million pets were killed or greatly impacted by the natural disaster. The ASPCA and Humane Society do an amazing part to rescue pets from all forms of emergency. But you as a pet care provider have your role to play as well. Pet parents entrust their furry loved ones to you because they know that you care about their pets’ well beings. A part of being entrusted with pet care is taking precautions for events that you can’t control.

This article will tell you what you can control. When you are prepared you will feel more equipped to focus on leading and executing your action plans, as well as making good judgments along the way to get both employees and animals to safety.

The Precautionary Plan that you can work on now should include the following:

Liability waivers

Customers can digitally sign a waiver that entrusts their dog to your care in the event of a natural disaster, which you can store in their Pet Health Record on your kennel management software. Since the software is cloud-based, you will not have to worry about saving hard copies or importing the waivers onto a USB. Everything will be readily available for you to return the pets back to their owners.

Emergency response animal shelters

Know where your nearest shelters are. List them by location and ease of transportation. Also check to see how many other pet businesses, especially boarding and daycare facilities, are in the area. Use your best judgment in prioritizing shelters that other pet businesses are likely to occupy first. Prepare several routes to get to the shelters in case roads are blocked by fallen trees.

Disaster Preparedness Courses

Studies have shown that animals can detect infrasonic sound pulses that are precursors to storms and earthquakes, which can cause them to panic. This could make it difficult to transport dogs, especially those in the large, active playgroups. Take a proactive step alongside your staff to learn how to anticipate pets’ strange behaviours and handle these stressful situations. Arrange a training session for employees that are not trained in first aid and CPR if you haven’t already.

Prepared Emergency Kits

You should have several kits in mind. There is of course the First Aid Kit and the (dry) Pet Food & Water Kit. But also consider other pet essentials, especially when you will be transporting and caring for dozens of dogs at a time. You will need harnesses to separate aggressive pets, garbage bags for pet waste, and dog bowls for water. Your emergency response animal shelter should have all of these items, but it is always best to have your own at hand! Shelters can easily get crowded and resources can be exhausted. Plan to be harbored in these shelters for 5 days.

Complete Pet Health Record

When the natural disaster is over, you will still have all your Pet Health Records stored on easily accessible dog trainer software. Encourage your customers to upload photos of their dogs, to note distinguishable markings on their pet profiles, and to fill out their Emergency Contacts. PawLoyalty will store and backup your data frequently, and be a reliable, disaster-tolerant source for information should you need it.

Take it a Few Steps Further...

Write out a Step-by-Step Action Plan

Take into consideration the average amount of dogs you have daily and make several plans of action to accommodate different circumstances. Drill these plans into your employees to make sure they are in control during the actual event and comfortable in their supporting roles.

Here are steps that you should include in your Action Plan:

Assign your employees roles and duties so that each action step is covered.