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Where to board exotic pets during a hurricane evacuation is a really ridiculous question. Like with any pet, you board the exotic pet where it will be safe and properly taken cared of. You hopefully wouldn't put your dog or cat in a boarding kennel during a hurricane evacuation that was in a flood area or where there would be no one responsible during the crisis, why would you do it with an exotic pet?

Whatever boarding facility you use for your pet during a hurricane evacuation, it needs to be safe, secure, and well managed to handle the emergency.

Safe and secure during a hurricane means a place away from the coast or any rivers, at least 100 feet above sea level and not in a flood plain. There is a lot of tidal surge and rain during a hurricane. It should be made of either stone or very strong steel and needs pens of adequate size for your exotic pen, a tiger needs more room than a ferret! Look at the roof and make sure it looks strongly attached.

It should also have several access points if possible so that if one road gets blocked, another may still be open. If the boarding kennel is in the hurricane zone, it should have a marine radio as well as telephones!

What does "well managed" mean? It means the boarding facility should have lots of food put aside that will be sufficient for several days and staff that will be staying on the premises during the storm. Some one will need to be with the animals "just in case". In case of what? In case the roof does start to leak or a tree falls and breaks out a window. Well managed can also mean that it has an in house veterinarian with supplies and medications for either tranquilizing nervous animals or means of helping them if they get injured.

If you can't find a boarding place for your exotic pet that is safe, secure, and well managed, consider taking the pet with you during the hurricane evacuation. You are the person it will feel most secure with and you are going to a safe place and know best how to handle your pet, exotic or not, so why not keep it with you? Pets are precious and we have a responsibility to them, especially exotic pets. We have taken them out of the wild, robbed them of their ability to take care of themselves, and created a dependency upon the owner, now the owner needs to live up to those obligations!

Learn more about this author, James Johnson.
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