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Pets and Livestock
People can find out what to do when a hurricane threatens. Pets and livestock can't. They rely on you to make the right choice.
Pets
- What you do with your pet depends on where you and your family will be going in the event of a storm or hurricane.
- If you live in a mobile home or a low-lying area that is prone to flooding, you should plan to evacuate your home. Since pets are never allowed in public shelters, you have three alternatives:
- If you plan to evacuate the area and take your pet with you: Call ahead about necessary accommodations. There are more than 800 motels, hotels and kennels identified in Florida who have indicated they accept pets. You should prepare packaged, semi-moist foods and water in non-breakable container. Keep food and water in storage and ready to pack. Also prepare pet medications, kitty litter, cleansers, disinfectants to properly handle pet wastes and any other pet supplies.
A list of hotel or motels who accept pets is available at the Emergency Management Office.
- If you leave your pet at a kennel: Most facilities require proof of current vaccinations and a properly fitted collar with identification and rabies tags.
- If you leave your pet at home: Survey your home and determine the best locations away from windows to place your pet during a storm emergency such as a utility room, bathroom, kitchen or other tiled area which can be cleaned easily. Provide access to high places, such as counter tops, in case of flooding.
- Plan for the feeding of the animals by leaving dry type foods that are relatively unpalatable to prevent overeating. Leave water available in containers that will not spill.
- Never leave your pets outside during a storm.
- Never leave a cat with a dog even if the two are normally friends.
- Confine and keep small pets (birds, hamsters, etc.) away from cats and dogs.
- Dangerous animals should be left in special crates or cages.
Livestock
- The first step is to consider your own evacuation. If you live in a mobile home or a low lying area prone to flooding, you must evacuate.
- Whether or not you evacuate, you may want to consider evacuating horses if they are maintained in stables or small pastures in urban areas where they will be unable to avoid debris and collapsing buildings. If you decide you must evacuate ... do not try and evacuate with your livestock trailer unless there is sufficient time.
- If you can not be on the road 72 hours before the storm is due to hit, you could easily be caught in traffic and high winds. Traffic on the highways will be moving very slowly, if at all. A livestock trailer is a very unstable vehicle in high winds and high winds will arrive 8-10 hours before the storm. Long-distance evacuation is not recommended as the storm may move faster than you anticipate.
- Evacuating your animals out of the area may be too dangerous, but there are alternatives. Make plans now to move your animals to a safer area relatively near your home. Make sure all animals have current immunizations and Coggins tests and take the necessary papers with you.
- Here are some ideas in getting ready:
- Store and secure everything around the barn you can. Turn over or tie down picnic tables or anything else too large to store.
- Get mobile home tie-downs to secure stock vehicle and trailers in the middle to the largest open area away from trees and buildings.
- Have on hand a box packed with halters, leads, twitch, tape, tarps, fly spray and animal medical supplies including bandages and medicines. Store in waterproof containers and secure.
- Keep a supply of plastic neck bands for identifications. Write name, address and phone number with a permanent marker and put on your animals before the storm.
- Fill large vessels with water.
- Store two weeks supply of animal feed and medications in waterproof containers.
- Photograph or video your property and animals and take film/tape with you.
- If you have broodmares in foal (late term) do your best to provide them with a body of water deep enough for them to immerse. They may do so by instinct to prevent the onset of premature labor due to the drop in barometric pressure. A body of water may also provide some protection against debris injuries (note power line warning).
- Close bar and/or stall doors. Open all interior pasture gates. Put ID on all animals and turn your large animals out. They may suffer debris injuries, but at least this way they stand a chance.
- The lessons of Hurricane Andrew can help put this in perspective. The leading cause of death in large animals were:
- Collapsed Barns: Owners thought their animals were safer inside.
- Kidney failure due to dehydration: Wandering animals were deprived of food and water for days.
- Electrocution: Horses seek the lowest areas; in many cases this was a drainage ditch. Power lines over drainage ditches were blown down during the storm.
- Fencing failure: Wandering animals, unharmed during the storm, were entangled in barbed wire or hit and killed on the roadways.
- Debris caused the most severe injuries during Hurricane Andrew.
- Barbed wire entanglement and collapsing barns caused injuries resulting in euthanasia for many horses.
- Infection was common in lacerations and puncture wounds, as prompt treatment was impossible.
- Don't keep your animals in the barn to prevent debris injury. Debris injuries were severe, but in many cases treatable. If your barn collapses, and there is no way to insure that it won't, large animals have no chance to save themselves and are likely to panic if they can't follow their instincts.
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