How to Keep Your Pets Safe During Hurricane Season

Hurricanes are difficult for humans even though we can understand what's going on out side, so imagine how difficult it is for your pets.

During the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, my dogs dealt with a lot of stress before, during, and after the storm. Here are some tips to keep your pets calm and healthy:

1) Make sure that you stock up on pet food. During the 2004-2005 season, there were three times when we went without power for over a week, and many of the stores didn't have power either. That meant no shopping for anything, including pet food. So when you are fairly certain that a storm is going to hit, assess whether or not your pet has enough food for at least a week. The same rule applies with your pet's medication.

2) Make sure that your pets have a safe place to go if you are evacuating. Do not ever leave your pets in your house alone. Either take them with you, find them a safe shelter with friends or family who are not evacuating, or take them to a hurricane shelter that accepts pets. In South Florida, the Peggy Adams Humane Society offers shelter to pets during storms, but you must arrange it in advance.

3) When you are boarding up the windows, keep your pets in a room away from the noise of the activity. My dogs were horrified when the shutters were going up. All of the banging and drilling really scared them, so I put them in the bedroom with the TV on while my husband was doing the living room windows, and then I switched them to the living room when he was working on the bedroom.

4) If you need to relocate to a safer area of your home such as the closet during the storm, make sure that you bring your pets in with you so that they are safe too. Also, keep their collars and leashes on them. I decided to do this after I saw a number of cats and dogs on the news who were roaming the streets when their owner's homes were destroyed after other hurricanes. If your pets have their collars on and they get away somehow, they will be easier to locate. If you keep their leashes on, they will be easier to hold onto in the event that your home is compromised in any way.

5) After the storm it will probably be hot and more than likely you will not have any power. Make sure that your pets have water at all times and try to get them to stay in areas of your house where there is tile.

6) The first time that you let your pet outside after the storm has passed, be careful of debris in your yard. Assess the damage outside before you let your dog out and keep them away from anything that might be sharp or that could fall on them.