“Our pets enrich our lives in more ways than we can count. In turn they depend on us for their safety and well-being. Here's how you can be prepared to protect your pets when disaster strikes.”.....By The Humane Society of the United States and the American Red Cross.

Be prepared with a disaster plan

The best way to protect your family from the effects of a disaster is to have a disaster plan. If you are a pet owner, that plan must include your pets. Being prepared can save their lives.

Different disasters require different responses. But whether the disaster is a hurricane or a hazardous spill, you may have to evacuate your home.

If the event of a disaster, if you must evacuate, the most important thing you can do to protect your pets is to evacuate them, too. Leaving pets behind, even if you try to create a safe place for them, is likely to result in their being injured, lost, or worse. So prepare now for the day when you and your pets may have to leave home.

Red Cross disaster shelters cannot accept pets because of state's health and safety regulations and other considerations. Service animals who assist people with disabilities are the only animals allowed in Red Cross shelters.It may be difficult, if not impossible, to find shelter for your animals in the midst of a disaster, so plan ahead. Do not wait until disaster strikes to do your research.

• Contact hotels and motels outside your immediate area to check policies on accepting pets and restrictions on number, size, and species. Ask if "no pet" policies could be waived in an emergency. Keep a list of "pet friendly" places, including phone numbers, with other disaster an impending disaster, call ahead for reservations.
• Ask friends, relatives, or others outside the affected area whether they could shelter your animals. If you have more than one pet, they may be more comfortable if kept together, but be prepared to house them separately.
• Prepare a list of boarding facilities and veterinarians who could shelter animals in an emergency; including 24-hour phone numbers.
• Ask local animal shelters if they provide emergency shelter or foster care for pets in a disaster. Animal shelters may be overburdened caring for the animals they already have as well as those displaced by a disaster, so this should be your last resort.

Whether you are away from home for a day or a week, you'll need essential supplies. Keep items in an accessible place and store them in sturdy containers that can be carried easily (duffle bags, covered trash containers, etc.) Your pet disaster supplies kit should include:

• Medications and medical records (stored in a waterproof container) and a first aid kit.
• Sturdy leashes, harnesses, and/or carriers to transport pets safely and ensure that your animals can't escape.
• Current photos of your pets in case they get lost.
• Food, potable water, bowls, cat litter/pan, and can opener.
• Information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior problems, and the name and number of your veterinarian in case you have the foster or board your pets.
• Pet beds and toys, if easily transportable.

Often, warnings are issued hours, even days, in advance. At the first hint of disaster, act to protect your pet.

• Call ahead to confirm emergency shelter arrangements for you and your pets.
• Check to be sure your pet disaster supplies are ready to take at a moment's notice.
• Bring all pets into the house so that you won't have to search for them if you have to leave in a hurry.
• Make sure all dogs and cats are wearing collars and securely fastened, up-to-date identification. Attach the phone number and address of your temporary shelter, if you know it, or of a friend or relative outside the disaster area. You can buy a temporary tags or put adhesive tape on the back of your pets' ID tag, adding information with an indelible pen.

You may not be home when the evacuation order comes. Find out if a trusted neighbor would be willing to take your pets and meet you at a prearranged location. This person should be comfortable with your pets, know where your animals are likely to be, know where your pet disaster supplies kit is kept, and have a key to your home. If you use a pet sitting service, they may be available to help, but discuss the possibility will in advance.

Planning and preparation will enable you to evacuate with your pets quickly and safely. But bear in mind that animals react differently under stress. Outside your home and in the car, keep dogs securely leashed. Transport cats in carriers. Don't leave animals unattended anywhere they can run off. The most trustworthy pets may panic, hide, try to escape, or even bite or scratch. And, when you return home, give your pets time to settle back into their routines. Consult your veterinarian if any behavior problems persist.

Birds should be transported in a secure travel cage or carrier. In cold weather, wrap a blanket over the carrier and warm up the car before placing birds inside. During warm weather, carry a plant mister to mist the birds' feathers periodically. Do not put water inside the carrier during transport. Provide a few slices of fresh fruits and vegetables with high water content. Have a photo for identification and leg bands. If the carrier does not have a perch, line it with paper towels and change them frequently. Try to keep the carrier in a quiet area. Do not let the birds out of the cage or carrier.

Reptiles

Snakes can be transported in a pillowcase but they must be transferred to more secure housing when they reach the evacuation site. If your snakes require frequent feedings, carry food with you. Take a water bowl large enough for soaking as well as a heating pad. When transporting house lizards, follow the same directions as for birds.

Pocket Pets

Small mammals (hamsters, gerbils, etc.) should be transported in secure carriers suitable for maintaining the animals, food bowls, and water bottles.

A Final Word

If you must evacuate do not leave your animals behind. Evacuate them to a prearranged safe location if they cannot stay with you during the evacuation period. (Remember, pets are not allowed in Red Cross shelters.) If there is a possibility that disaster may strike while you are out of the house, there are precautions you can take to increase your pets' changes of survival, but they are not a substitute for evacuating with your pets. For more information, contact The Humane Society of the United States, Disaster Services, 2100 L Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20037.

Is your fenced yard a heaven for your dog, or a prison? Every dog should have a fenced yard as a safe and handy place to play, to relax in, and to defend. Fenced yards relieve owners of the necessity of walking their pet 3 or 4 times a day.

Unfortunately, a lot of dog owners sentence their pets to "life" inside the chain links. They never take the dog for a walk, and deprive themselves of many of the pleasures of pet ownership. Every dog deserves one walk a day (or at least one a week) and every owner will benefit from providing it. Here's why:

• Time together, especially active time together, provides and opportunity for a dog and owner to interact and establish mutual communication and a strong bond of affection. Dogs on a walk also get to socialize with other dogs. This is especially beneficial for puppies, who learn the rules of canine social interaction from meeting older dogs.
• Most dogs won't run around a fenced yard enough to get the exercise they need. Your dog may run up and down the fence line barking at a passing stranger two or three times a day, but unless your yard is the size of a football field that isn't much exercise. If you and your dog walk a mile or more a day, you'll both benefit by building strength and endurance, burning off calories, breathing fresh air, and discovering what's new in the neighborhood.
• Yard bound dogs get bored. Walk past a fenced yard and watch the resident dog race along the fence line, press its face through the links, bark, pant, whimper, and practically turn somersaults to get your attention. Image being able to see a park, alley, or vacant lot from your yard but never getting the chance to explore it. No wonder dogs get frustrated. They deserve some variety in their lives, which regular walks can give.

You see one in every community, a dog tied day after day to a back porch or fence, lying lonely on a pad of bare, packed dirt. The water bowl, if there is one, is usually empty or just our of reach. Abandoned, but chained up, backyard dogs cannot move to comfort, shelter, or companionship. In winter, they shiver, in summer, they languish...year round they suffer.

Of course, dogs can be forced to live outside, alone and away from their human pack, but to force this kind of life on a dog is one of the worst things you can do. Being alone goes against the dog's most basic instinct. If you doubt this, think of all the whining, barking, clawing dogs you have seen tied alone outside. These dogs are trying desperately to get the attention of their human families.

People who keep their dogs constantly tied outside rationalize it, saying that they do spent time with them. But Even the most well-meaning among them do not spend significant time with their animal companions. Under the best of circustances, the backyard dog gets a bowl of food and water, a quick pat on the head and maybe a few minutes of contact with another living being each day.

Dogs can offer people the gifts of steadfast devotion, abiding love and joyful companionship. Unless people accept these offerings and take the time to return them in kind, it would be best for not to get a dog. A sad, lonely, bewildered dog tied out back only suffers, and what sort of person wants to maintain suffering?

Author Unknown

DON'T let your dog travel unsecured in an open truck bed. Dog's can't "hold on" the way humans can, and start, stop, or turn can loss your pet onto the highway. In the impact of hitting the road at a high speed doesn't kill it, oncoming traffic probably will. It is estimated that at least 100,000 dogs die this way each year.

There are other hazards to consider. Most dogs love the feeling of wind blowing past their ears at 60 mph, but that wind can seriously irritate mucous membranes and blow pieces of grit into the animal's eye. It may require veterinary attention to remove the foreign material, which could cause permanent damage to the eye. Insects or flying debris can also lodge in the nasal passages or get sucked up into the wind pipe.

Open truck beds provide no protection from the weather. Rain, snow, and freezing temperatures are obvious problems, but even warn days have their dangers. Hot sun can heat the metal floor of a truck bed enough to burn a pet's paw pads. And once the truck has stopped, a dog left sitting in the broiling sun without water or shade may suffer from heat stroke before long.

It is safest to allow your dog to ride inside the truck cab, or leave it at home. If it must ride in the back of the truck, put the pet inside a crate that will give it some protection from the wind and weather, and tie the crate secure to the walls of the truck bed so it cannot slide about or be tossed out of the truck.

When you lose your best friend, the one you could always count on to be there when you were down, the one who warmed you played with you, and made you laugh no matter how bad you felt, then of course you can cry.

Your other friends may not understand how painful it is for you to lose your pet, but only you know how strong the bond was between you. No one else has the right to judge your sorrow.

Some of the people you know will understand your feelings because they have pets of their own that they love. If they are willing to listen, tell them about your pet - the good times, the bad times, and the way it ended. Talking about your loss will help you feel better.

In recognition of the loving bond you shared with your pet, you might also make a memorial donation in his or her memory to a humane organization or animal care and control agency. Your generosity will help protect unwanted, abandoned and abused dogs and cats.

People use ceremonies to mark important passages in their lives. One way to recognize your pet's death is to hold a memorial service. You may do this alone standing in the woods or by your pet's favorite creek or pond. Bring a cherished photograph to symbolize your pet. Say a prayer or read a poem that expresses your feelings. Leave flowers, dog biscuits, or kitty treats as a parting gift of remembrance. Let yourself feel the pain and the loss, and appreciate all the years you had together.

.......And remember, of course you can cry.

Provided by The American Humane Association

Warm weather means kids on the move. Children on bicycles, skates and skate boards explore new places and come into contact with different sights, sounds, people and yes, animals...

To prevent upsetting or even tragic situations resulting from active children encountering strange dogs, teach your children these rules about how to behave around dogs.

Dogs do not like to be teased. Stay away from dogs that are chained or in fenced yards. Do not shout, run around, or stick hands at dogs through fences or open car windows. Never approach a strange dog.

Dog are possessive about certain things. Do not grab things like bones, balls or other pet toys from a dog.

Never stick your hand into a dog fight. Find an adult to help.

Know what an angry dog looks like. Barking growling, snarling with teeth showing, ears laid flat, legs stiff tail up, and hair standing up on a dog's back are warming signs. If a dog looks this way, slowly walk away sidewalks. Shout "No!" at the dog and act like the boss. Never stare a dog in the eyes, or turn around and run away. Curl up in a ball on the ground and protect your face if a dog attacks.

If bitten, tell an adult right away. Remember what the dog looked like, if it had collar and in what direction it went. Wash the wound with soap and water. See a doctor, and report the bite to the local health department.

The rewards of teaching consideration and respect for animals are children who are both humane and safe.

By Laura Merrill

Going to a new home is one of the most stressful and frightening experience in a cat's life. I like to compare it to the stress we would experience if our homes burned down, we were fired from our jobs, and our friends and family disappeared -- all in the same day. Some cats adapt readily to their new homes and are contentedly purring away in their new owner's laps in a few hours, while others take days or weeks. One of the nicest and most well adjusted cats I ever had spent her first two weeks in my very quiet home hiding behind my bathtub. Regardless of whether your new pet comes from a shelter or a loving foster home, it will find you and your home strange and frightening. You can minimize the stress your new kitty experiences if you follow a few simple rules:

1. Your new kitty should spend at least its first day in its own room. This can be any quiet room in your home-- a bedroom or bathroom with a window is ideal. Place a litter box, bed, scratching post, and food and water dishes in this room. Bring in the carrier containing the new cat, close the door to the room, and open the carrier door. The cat should be allowed to come out of the carrier when it's ready to -- don't force it. Being in its own room will allow the kitty to become accustomed to the sounds and smells in your home without the additional stress of confronting a complex physical environment.
2. When left alone the kitty may cry anxiously. You can comfort it by talking to it quietly, petting it gently, and if it doesn't seem too frightened, picking it up and holding it in your lap.
3. If you have small children, it is especially important that they leave the kitty alone during this time. Because small children make sudden loud noises and movements, they are particularly terrifying to cats. Introduce children gradually. Ideally these visits should occur when the child is in a quiet, attentive mood. Tell the child, "We're going to visit the new kitty now. We have to be very quiet and gentle, and move slowly, so that the kitty will learn to trust us"
4. How soon you open the door to the new kitty's room depends on the new kitty and whether or not you have other pets. Your new kitty is ready to come out when it no longer behaves fearfully (running away from you or cowering). If you have other cats, the new kitty should stay in its own room for at least a few days. This room will then smell like the newcomer, and the resident cats will be more likely to treat the room as the newcomer's territory. The new kitty will thus have a refuge when you finally open the door. If you are introducing the kitty to a home with a dog, particularly a dog which has not previously lived with cats, do not leave them together unsupervised. I've been told of three incidents in the last month alone of dogs killing kittens -- in two cases because the dogs were attempting to play. If you have a dog, you should consult a dog trainer or dog training books on how to introduce cats.
5. NEVER force your kitty out of its refuge before it is ready. If you attempt to do so your kitty will be even more fearful and distrustful on you.
6. Give your kitty the same type of food it was receiving in its foster home, at least at first. Sudden dietary changes can cause digestive upsets.
7. If you've decided to let your kitty outdoors (bearing in mind that indoors-only cats live longer, healthier and less medically expensive lives), do so until the cat is at least two weeks beyond the fearful stage in your home or at least a month after you adopt it. Cats have strong directional senses, and a cat permitted outdoors too soon will attempt to return to its previous home, rarely succeeding. The SPCA recommends keeping kittens indoors until they have been spayed or neuter ed. Supervise your kitty's first visits outdoors. You can provide much of the enjoyment your cat would obtain from the outdoors by putting screens over a few windows (so the cat can safely stretch out on the sill of an open window), growing grass, wheat or oats in a pot for the cat's astronomic pleasure, and installing a floor to ceiling scratching post.
   
   The confinement technique described above will avoid many problems such as failure of the cat or kitten to find the litter box, running out he front door before the kitty recognizes you as its own, and hiding in places where you might no want the cat (such as under the washer). Your patience will be rewarded, and the little cat who cowered under your bed for a week will become a loving family member who greets you at the door, brings you gifts (a catnip mouse, perhaps) and generally repays you tenfold with love and companionship.