Always be ready ….. 12 important tips how to be prepared for natural disasters and similar emergency situations with your dog

-Make sure your dog is microchipped AND the chip is registered with one of the databases like HomeAgain and such (yes, it’s a subscription but it’s well worth it)
-Have a well fitting collar on your dog with proper identification
-Have plenty of dog food in airtight/waterproof containers
-Have plenty of water for your dog (tap water is fine, just fill up any container you can find)
-Have digital copies of his/her current vaccination records on your phone
-Make sure your dog is crate trained (sometimes rescuers require you to put your dog in a crate before they can evacuate you with your pet or shelter in place locations require you to crate your dog)
-Make sure you can transport all your pets in your vehicle and it matches the number of pets you have in case you want to self evacuate
-Have a safe spot where they can go to the bathroom like a tarp or kiddie pool with sod pieces in your garage during the worst part of the weather event in case you decide to shelter in place at home
-Have enough of your dog’s medication on hand in case needed
-Have enough leashes for all of your pets
-Have plenty of cleaning supplies like wipes on hand because floodwaters are filled with bacteria which can be brought inside your home on your dog’s paws
-Make sure your stranger danger dog(s) are muzzle trained in case having to be handled by strangers or being close a to stranger is unavoidable