Disaster Preparedness for Pet Sitters (
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http://www.petsit.com Jordan Di Marco, owner of Dogma Catma Pet Sitting, presents Pet Sitters International's October 2011 member webinar, "Disaster Preparedness for Pet Sitters." This presentation provides helpful tips to help pet sitters and pet owners ensure their pets will be safe in the event of a disaster. PSI members can view the actual recording in the Members Area of petsit.com.
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Disaster Preparedness for Pet Sitters (
- 1. Disaster Preparedness for Pet Sitters October 19, 2011 Presented by Jordan Di Marco Boulder, CO 2011 sponsor
- 2. Ask your questions! PC Mac 2011 sponsor
- 3. Meet today’s presenter Jordan Di Marco •Owner, Dogma Catma Pet Sitting •PSI member since 2006 •Certified Professional Pet Sitter (CPPS), 2009 •B.S., Biology from the University of Colorado at Denver, 2006 •Years of experience and training in pet care, disaster response, pet first aid, dog bite prevention and more.
- 4. Why is this important for pet sitters? • How many houses are you responsible for on a daily basis? – Your sitters? – How many pets are you responsible for?
- 5. Disaster Preparedness Overview • What disasters are common in your area? – Preparedness is KEY as – Fires there is usually little to – Floods no warning! – Tornadoes – Earthquakes – Blizzards – Disasters can be natural OR manmade • Chemical spills • Train derailment
- 6. Disaster Cycle • Mitigation – Making changes ahead of time to reduce the impact of disasters • Preparedness – What do you need if a disaster hits
- 7. Disaster Cycle continued • Response – What can you do to help after a disaster? – This is community wide! • Recovery – Help bring the community back to stability – Short term and long term goals!
- 8. Pet Preparedness • But why is this • Preparedness is an important for pets and ongoing process! owners? – Identifying risks and – Impact of pets on resources humans – Learning what you can – Considering pets in do better disaster plans saves human lives!
- 9. Making a plan! • Personal plan and business plan – Evacuating pets – Sheltering at home – Preparing a kit
- 10. Evacuate or Shelter at home? • Depends on the disaster • What are you told to do?
- 11. Evacuating Pets • Where would you evacuate to? – Know this ahead of time • Safety precautions • Emergency contacts • Identification • Important information
- 12. Sheltering at home • Making sure pets are safe and protected from hazards • Making sure that they are comfortable and have amenities • House issues
- 13. Preparing an Emergency Kit • Recommended 72 hour kit to evacuate, 10 days to shelter at home • Human kit and Pet kit • Container should be portable, waterproof and lightweight • Designate a location ahead of time
- 14. Human Emergency Kit • Change of clothes • Flashlights, batteries • Medication, copies of medical records • Bottled water • Canned food and can opener • First Aid Kit • Camping Supplies
- 15. Pet Emergency Kit • Copies of medical and vaccination records and pet identification • Food, wet and dry, can opener • Medication • Bottled water • Cat litter, scoop • Poo bags! • Cleaning supplies • Comfort items (toys, etc.) • Extra collars and leashes • Muzzles (several sizes) • Sharpie • Flashlight • Pop up carrier
- 16. Pet Emergency Kit • Pet First Aid Kit • Pet First Aid Kit – Adhesive tape – Neosporin – Gauze pads and rolls, ‘4x4’s – Iodine – Vet Wrap – Activated Charcoal – Gloves – Hydrogen Peroxide – Thermometer – Baking Soda – Trauma scissors (bandage – Vaseline scissors) – Styptic Powder – Syringe (no needle) – Tweezers – Q-Tips, Cotton balls – Towels – Cold pack
- 17. Response After Disaster • Be aware of dangers • You may not be able to get where you need to go • Emergency crews may not be able to get to you • Disaster response starts locally in your community!
- 18. A Word on Facilities • Structural Integrity • Plan! • Practice with employees – Prioritize – Safe areas – Employee roles
- 19. Recovery • Damage assessment • Returning community to normal
- 20. Community Preparedness • Network! • Identify hazards and risks – Work together • Estimate companion animal population • Be active • Education
- 21. Legal Issues • Yes I had to mention it! – Authorization – Emotion – Lost Animals • Training • BITING!
- 22. Further Courses • To Learn More • To Get Involved – Pet First Aid – Your local County Animal • Red Cross Response Team http://www.redcross.org/ (CART), usually your humane • Pet Tech society or Animal Control will http://www.pettech.net/ have information – Animal Handling – Volunteers Active in Disasters – http://www.aspca.org/pet- (VOAD) care/disaster-preparedness/ http://www.nvoad.org/ – FEMA Independent Study – National Disaster Animal Courses Response Team (NDART) • IS 10a. http://www.ndart.org/ http://training.fema.gov/EMI Web/IS/is10a.asp • IS 11a. http://training.fema.gov/EMI Web/IS/IS11a.asp
- 23. Thank You! Reach Jordan at dogmacatmapetsitting@gmail.com
- 24. Next Steps… •Complete the feedback survey for today’s webinar •Register for the November 16 webinar: “How an unlatched puppy gate turned in to $98,000 in damage,” presented by David Pearsall, Business Insurers of the Carolinas. 2011 sponsor
Editor's Notes
- I want to talk about what is expected of you if your clients and you are faced with a disaster. Who would be responsible to evacuate the pets, protect the houses, and gather important things? What do you need to be prepared?
- It is important to identify what disaster may or may not affect you as that can affect your plans and how you respond to a disaster.
- Some examples of mitigation are: moving horses out of a floodplain, removing dead brush and downed trees in a mountain area.Some examples of preparation are: putting together a disaster kit, planning and practicing an evacuation
- Some examples of response: helping reunite lost pets with owners, helping people and pets get resources after the disaster such as food or shelter.Some examples of recovery are: assessing damage to properties, helping rebuild animal facilities.
- All of you who are here today would do just about anything for your pets and the pets you care for! Not surprisingly, many pet owners feel the same way! What many don’t realize is that in disaster scenarios, ill preparation for pets can cost human lives. We all remember the heartbreaking images of the people and pets in Hurricane Katrina. So why did that happen? People who evacuated in the initial stages were told to leave their pets at home and leave out extra food and water. Then the levees broke and people couldn’t get back in to their pets. Many risked their lives to try and save their pets. They returned to unsafe conditions and some did not survive. The pets who did survive faced horrible conditions as they hoped for rescue. Some people refused to evacuate because they didn’t want to leave their pets. And first responders were at risk themselves trying to save people. Now communities and governments are realizing that they need to include pets as well as people in disaster plans. In 2006, the PETS Act was passed. This law ensures that communities, local governments and facilities all include companion animals in their disaster plans. The specifics of the law address a community’s needs for shelter and transportation for animals in the event of a disaster.There is no ‘one’ plan for disasters. Each person must take a look at the type of disasters they may face, how to prepare for each one, what resources are available in your community. Then when a disaster hits and we find holes in the plan, we can learn better for next time.
- You want to make a plan not only for your pets and your family, but for your business as well. The things I discuss here you should discuss with your clients in order to help facilitate a smooth disaster plan. You should consider these things for each and every client and home you provide care to.
- Choosing to evacuate pets or shelter them at home is entirely dependent on the type of disaster. You will want to be in touch with your local emergency personnel and follow their guidelines! Fires are a good example of when you should be prepared to evacuate. On the other hand, if it is a blizzard, it would be best to shelter the pets at home.
- Knowing where you will evacuate with pets is extremely important. Some human shelters will not accept animals. You may have your pet in one location but be sheltered somewhere else entirely. Can you rely on friends and family? For client’s pets, will their emergency contacts be able to help out? You can also contact pet friendly hotels and have an arrangement in place ahead of time. Most humane societies and boarding kennels will be able to take in pets, if not provide other resources.Evacuating pets is risky business. Be prepared for the pets to be scared. They probably will hide. Animals react very differently during disaster scenarios and you have to take precautions so that you don’t get injured or bitten trying to help the pets.Another thing to consider is will you have the help you need if you need to evacuate pets? Do you have trained personnel whom you can call on to assist you? How about if you can’t get to the location to evacuate the pets? Will your clients neighbors be able to help?You will want to talk to your clients about pet identification in case of a disaster. Collars can fall off and shelters may not have microchip scanners. The absolute best identification in disaster scenarios is a photo of the pet and the client. That way if the owner gets separated from the pet, they can bring in proof that the pet is indeed theirs.If you are evacuating with the pets, you are preparing for the case that the house may not be standing when you return. You will want to have a designated location for important information. This would be things like insurance documentation, birth certificates and photographs. If you are evacuating pets from a clients home, do they want you to collect important things? If so, have this discussion ahead of time and have a designated location so you can grab and go.
- How you respond will depend on the type of disaster. If emergency personnel recommend that you shelter yourself and pets in the home, you will want to find a safe place to do so. You will want to take notes regarding clients houses and how best to handle an emergency situation.You will want to shelter the pets in an interior room away from doors and windows. Interior bathrooms are good for this purpose. Remove debris and anything that might injure you or the pets. Pet proof the area and remember that pets don’t act like their normal selves. Remove anything that they could hurt themselves on or swallow.In addition to food, water and litter boxes, provide the pets with something that makes them comfortable. A favorite blanket, toy, or even your old sweatshirt will give them comfort and reduce stress.What should you do about the rest of the house? Is it recommended that you secure or seal off doors and windows? You will want to talk with your clients ahead of time in case the situation comes up. Anything you do to remove hazards and secure loose objects beforehand will help minimize damage.
- When disasters hit, you want to be prepared and self sustaining. If you are evacuating, you want to be able to sustain yourself and your pets for at least 72 hours. If you are sheltering at home, emergency personnel may not be able to access your location, so you want to be able to survive on your own for at least 10 days.You will want to prepare a human kit and a pet kit. You can use color coding or some other method to determine which one is which.
- When preparing a human emergency kit, think carefully about what you do every day. What is a necessity (like taking medication)? What would you need if utilities were out of service?A lot of great ideas can come from camping gear. Stores like REI or Dick’s sell small toiletry kits, waterless soap, freeze dried food, wind up radios, etc. These are perfect for sustaining yourself!
- These are just some of the items that can be included in your first aid kit as part of your emergency kit. You can buy pet first aid kits that are prepackaged or assemble your own. Keep in mind that you will add items and rotate items so it is good to keep an inventory list of all the items in your kit!
- After a disaster, you must be aware of dangers in your community for you and your pets. Power lines may be down, roads may be closed, and flood waters could exist. You must be prepared that you may be on your own as you may be essentially stranded and emergency workers cannot get to you. Be prepared to be self sustained!It is in these instances that communities come together and rely heavily on each other. After major disasters, emergency personnel are overloaded and adopt a triage to attend to the most needed first. You will be relying on your neighbors for the most part. If you discuss disaster preparedness with your neighborhood and communities ahead of time, you will have an easier time coping with a disaster as the network is already in place.
- A lot of this talk is designed for pet sitters who provide in-home care. Some of you may have facilities where you care for the animals. For facilities, there are a few other considerations.You want to make sure that your facility is structurally sound. Looking at your facility from a mitigation point of view and addressing any weak areas will help minimize damage caused by disasters.You will want to have a plan in place who, what, where, when and how! Who will be in charge, what are the circumstances, where will you evacuate, when is it safe to come back, and how will it all be carried out!Practice with employees and make sure that they know their roles in case of disaster. Prioritize evacuations (humans, animals, then files) and designate safe areas should they have to shelter in place.
- I like to think of every community as a rubber ball. When everything is under normal conditions the ball rolls along just fine. When a disaster hits, the ball gets dented and can’t roll. Disaster recovery is removing that dent and getting the ball rolling again.After a disaster, you will want to assess the damage caused to your community and what it will take to get your community back to normal. If you or your clients have been through a disaster it is essential to provide support to your community and neighbors and to assist in recovering the community.
- Since you are a pet sitter, you are already very active in the animal community. Talk to your local humane society, veterinarian, kennels and work together to formulate a disaster plan.Identify what is most likely to happen in your community and how this will affect your neighbors, clients and pets. Talk to each other and work together.In order to address the issue of companion animals in your community, you will need to know how many there are! Statistics are difficult to come by, but it can be estimated by how much pet food is sold.Be active in your community and planningYou want to be educated about disaster preparedness. I will give you a few resources at the end of further courses you can take.
- We all want to do everything we can in a disaster. But you may run into a sticky situation. Don’t assume anything. For instance, if a client is in an evacuation area, don’t go in to the house and evacuate their animals without authorization! If you are working with a group, know your role and how to perform it safely. Disasters are emotional times for everyone. You will encounter people who have lost their homes, their livelihoods and their pets and are in a fragile state of mind. Offer support, offer resources, but be careful. Take care of yourself first and foremost, because if you don’t work, then nothing else in your surroundings will!It will be tempting to help every single lost animal after a disaster. Again, you have to be careful. First responder animal rescuers go through training such as working in flood waters or working using a catch pole. The last thing anyone wants is for you to be hurt or killed because you were unprepared. Also, animals have very different reactions in disaster situations versus behavior at home. They are scared, may be hurt and will bite! The absolute best thing you can do if you are not trained to handle a situation is to contact authorities and let them know where the animal was seen and what condition it was in.
- The more you know!