by Pat Gray

Created on: December 13, 2008

Katrina taught us a terrible lesson - we all need to prepare for the worst and we need to include our animals our plans. We cannot rely on others to help - the government appears to be incapable and rescue workers are too often overwhelmed in times of crisis.

Making a disaster preparedness plan for yourself and your animals shouldn't be difficult - it will take a few hours of your time, a bit of creative thinking and perhaps a small financial investment. Your efforts will repay you over and over again, in peace of mind and when, heaven forbid, disaster strikes.

- Threat Assessment
First you need to identify the potential disasters you may be called on to cope with, and you need to identify the likelihood of any of it ever happening. Don't just think about natural disasters, think about man-made disasters too. For example, do you live near a train track? If so, what's in those tanker cars that rumble past your neighborhood a couple of times a day? You might be surprised - you might decide to move!

Other potential disasters to consider are fire, earthquake, tornado, hurricane, riots, bombing, flood, ice storm, blizzard, plane crash, factory fire or landslide. What you will face depends on where you live of course, but pull out a map and take a good look at what's around you.

- Brainstorm
Once you know what you're up against, figure out how you're going to deal with whatever happens, whenever it happens. You need a plan for when you're home and you need a plan for when you're away - at work, shopping, at school, and so on. You need to decide how you're going to get yourself and your animals out - and you need to figure out how you are going to get back to them if you're away, or who you can turn to, to get your animals out for you.

You need to consider transportation too. Public transportation out a disaster area may not be willing to take even a small dog - if you have a large dog or a horse, you'll definitely need to make sure you have your own transportation.

Once you and your animals are out of danger, where are you going to stay? If you have a small dog or a cat, you might not have too much trouble - if you have a horse or two - or a kennel full of dogs, you need to make special arrangements.

You may also have to face being trapped at home - if your escape route is cut off or if you're snowed in, you need to make sure you have everything you need to ride out the storm. Consider food and water, medicines, heat or air conditioning and a way to provide minimal exercise

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