More than half of all seniors own pets, which is understandable since animals can provide companionship and comfort to folks who may need both. But pets also pose a special challenge to their owners: keeping them safe in a world where disasters have become more frequent and more destructive. 

Obviously, pets have always been at risk in disasters. They can become trapped in flames or swept away by floodwaters. Hot embers can scorch furry paws and wildfire smoke can harm pet lungs just as they harm human lungs. Cold-blooded creatures, who need heat to endure, can perish when a storm knocks out power and heating systems fail. 

Hurricane Katrina put pet safety into the headlines as nothing had before. An estimated 50,000 pets died in Katrina and hundreds of humans died because they would not evacuate and leave their pets behind. The demands of keeping pets safe can prove especially burdensome to seniors. That is first because of the high level of pet ownership among seniors. But there is also the reality that seniors often have physical limitations that make it challenging for them to escape disaster, let alone keep their pets safe during one. 

Fortunately, there’s a growing amount of pet safety advice available, with more coming all the time. This column focuses on how to make the most of resources available from the American Red Cross, including an online course in animal first aid.  

Beyond that, the Red Cross has created a “pet liaison” structure to develop, refine and apply pet safety advice. For specific advice on pet safety, we turn to Deborah Dunn who leads the effort in the Red Cross Northwest Region (Washington and Northern Idaho). 

If asked to sum up her advice, it would be this: Make certain all the planning you do to keep your family safe in a disaster includes planning to keep your animals safe. 

Dunn got involved in pet safety when she helped rescue a neighbor’s horses from wildfire. 

The first step, whether you own pets or not, is to make certain you are signed up to be notified if you ever need to be evacuated because of approaching danger. Check with your police and fire departments, county sheriff and your county’s department of emergency management. Who will call you in a disaster and where are you likely to go if evacuated? 

When skies are blue, agencies such as the Red Cross sign contracts with schools, churches and the like to serve as emergency shelters when needed. Make sure you know where to go for shelter in a disaster, how to get there and to know what you will need to bring with you. 

Go-bags for pets  

Dunn said shelters run by the Red Cross will usually have cages to house animals and emergency supplies of pet food to feed them. But demands for cages and food can quickly exceed supply in a disaster, so be prepared to bring both with you if you must evacuate. Always keep some extra food on hand and keep an extra supply of your animal’s favorite treats just in case. Have separate cages for each animal you own rather than trying to fit two panicked animals in one crate. 

You have been advised time and again to prepare an emergency go-bag filled with the essentials you would need if you had to seek shelter in an emergency. Dunn suggests adding necessary pet supplies to your go-bag or preparing a separate bag for your pets. 

Here is what the Red Cross advises for each pet go-bag: 

• Leashes and harnesses to control the pets in an emergency.
• Food, drinking water, feeding bowls, cat litter and a pan to hold it .
• Medications and up-to-date copies of all medical records are stored in a waterproof container. Save records showing the pet is up to date on all shots.
• Pet bed and toys.
• A first aid kit to treat minor injuries such as burns and cuts. 
• Current photos of you with your pet in case the animal gets lost in the turmoil of a forced evacuation. 
• Information on pet feeding schedule, current medical conditions, behavior problems, plus the name and phone number of your vet. 

In addition, you want any special equipment needed for the well-being of the pet. For example, if your pet is a reptile or other cold-blooded animal, do you have a backup heater to be used in a shelter? 

If you are already diligent in your disaster preparedness and planning, you may periodically run escape drills aimed at helping you escape from a house fire or a fast-spreading wildfire. Your drills would involve finding more than one route to escape from each room in your home in a disaster. Dunn said to include your pets in those escape drills. That means gathering up your pets and getting them to safety as you do with your human family.

Panicky pets

Be prepared for the way pets react to disaster. I dealt with hundreds of pets in my years as a Red Cross disaster responder in New York City. I found that dogs tend to panic and run in a disaster while cats find inaccessible places to hide. You will want a collar and leash to control animals who are spooked by a disaster in the night. 

I once saw a woman badly scratched trying to hold a panicked dog in her arms after escaping a home fire. A pit bull bowled me over trying to leap into my arms for safety. I once had to dismantle a home clothes dryer to free a cat who had climbed inside during a fire. 

You will want your pet safely caged when you flee your home in a disaster. Dunn said not to expect your pet to enter the cage willingly; it takes training. Dunn said she trained her animals to enter cages by teaching them a code word. The idea is that upon hearing the word, the pet enters the cage and is rewarded with what Dunn calls a high value treat. “When I say the word, they know they must run to the cage for safety,” she said. 

Those lessons will further pay off in getting the pet to live in the cage, as it must do while in the shelter. “You have to train the animal to feel comfortable living in a cage,” she said.

Smoky air

A special problem for both humans and animals these days is living with the toxic smoke generated by wildfires. Wildfires have become more frequent and more widespread and the smoke from wildfires is filled with highly abrasive particles. Both you and your pets need to play safe when wildfire smoke is in the air. Keep the house sealed from the outside as much as possible on smoky days. Most air conditioners recycle house air but close off anything that draws outside air into the house. Invest in a purifier that will filter the air in your house. 

Limit the pets’ outdoor activities on smoky days. Keep walks short and halt any outdoor play. It may seem like the best time to walk pets is at night when you can’t see the smoke. Smoke tends to rise during the day and settle near the ground at night. That makes mid-morning and mid-afternoon a better time for walks. 

Don’t trust your ability to determine the danger of wildfire smoke. Listen to what your weather forecast says about air quality. And finally, keep this pet safety tip in mind: When returning home after a fire, make sure the fire is completely out with no hot embers on the ground. Pets can suffer from severely burned paws stepping on a hot ember. 

Gordon Williams is a volunteer with the American Red Cross Northwest Region Communications Team.