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Is Your Pet Emergency Kit Up to Date?

  • Apr 23, 2014
  • 2 min read

By Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO & Pet Industry Entrepreneur

Every year, once I’ve gotten through the dreaded Tax Season, I like to take stock of the Whisper (and now Mimsy) Emergency Kit. It’s a good time of year to do it, before the spring and summer storms start in earnest.

What is an emergency kit? It’s an easy-to-carry, always-stocked bag containing everything we might need if we have to seek shelter with the dogs; it also does double duty as a vacation/travel kit. Inside this bag I like to keep the following basic items:

  • Food (three days’ worth for each dog)

  • Water (ditto)

  • Medicine (ditto)

  • First aid kit (including these bandages)

  • Two collars and leashes

  • Two travel bowls

  • A bunch of poop bags

  • A couple of trash bags

  • Clorox wipes

  • Duct tape

  • Paper towels

  • A half dozen puppy pads (both dogs are too big to pee on the pads, but they are good for absorbing accidental messes or lining crates)

  • A couple of these fancy space blankets

  • A zip lock bag containing pictures, descriptions, contact info, and up-to-date health certificates for each pet (technically, you should have current health certificates any time you cross state lines with your pets, and in an emergency situation you don’t want to risk having your pets turned away for lack of documentation)

You should rotate the food and medicine out of the kit periodically, to make sure it doesn’t go stale or expire.

Everyone’s pet emergency kit is going to be different, and some of the supplies (like water) will overlap with your people emergency kit. If you have other pets, the ASPCA has a good checklist for species-specific disaster preparedness kits.

Updating and replenishing the emergency kit is a good reminder to check on the other logistics of your dog’s life as well. Is the microchip information accurate? Are the buckles on the collars and the clips on the leashes still sound? Are the tags still legible? Do I need to renew dog park or city licenses? Is it time to schedule a wellness visit/get more medication/sign up for training classes?

What sort of things do you keep in your pet emergency kit?

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Photo of Whisper resting securely in the knowledge that her pet emergency kit is up to date courtesy of Lynn Brezina.

 
 
 

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