Make disaster plans for your pets. If conditions are not safe for you, they are not safe for your pets! Red Cross shelters do not accept pets. You must make your own plans for them, keeping in mind an animal is happiest in a familiar environment such as in boarding kennels or with friends or relatives. To prepare, first assemble a Pet Disaster Kit including medical records and medications, name and number of veterinarian, a first aid kit, collars and leashes, food, water, bowls and manual can opener, cat litter/pan. Include a photo of your pet Make sure you have a sturdy crate for each animal. Pets will be more welcome in an emergency sheltering situation if they are contained. Ask friends, relatives or others outside the affected area whether they could shelter your animals.   Contact hotels and motels outside your immediate area to check policies on accepting pets and restrictions on numbers, size and species. Ask if ‘no pet’ policies could be waived in an emergency. Make sure all cats and dogs are wearing securely fastened collars with up-to-date identification. Bring pets inside well in advance of a hurricane so you don’t have to search for them if you have to evacuate. As a hurricane approaches call ahead to confirm emergency shelter arrangements.   Pet Safe Coalition Inc. P.O. Box 288, Locust Valley, N.Y. 11560 516-676-0808

Hurricane Storm Surge Map
	In the event of a hurricane the Office of Emergency Management has created a map to prepare for evacuations. Click here  to see the Storm Surge map and find out if your area is a at risk during a hurricane and if you need to be prepared to evacuate should one come our way.

Leave No Animal Behind Did you know that if you remain calm in a disaster your pets are more likely to be calm as well ? Animal behaviorist Brandon Solotoff of New York says that animals reflect the behavior and attitude of their owners. Solotoff shared those and other tips May 11 at the our Pet Safe Action Team Meeting at the Levittown Library, One Bluegrass Lane. In the past Brandon advised pet owners to have leashes at every exit door in case immediate evacuation is needed and suggested that noises like thunder that disturb animals should be taped and played at low volume so the animals become accustomed to the sounds. Learn what you can do to help your pet – and you –through an emergency evacuation. It’s part of Pet Safe’s initiative, “Leave No Animal Behind.”