June 1st kicks off the hurricane season. Are you and your pets ready? Read on for a few tips learned over the years by this hurricane veteran.
I still get angry when I think of all the pets left behind after Hurricane Katrina. It seems pet owners were betrayed when officials failed to have adequate emergency plans in place.
I've lived in the Gulf Coast hurricane zone for fifty plus years and have a healthy respect for these storms and the destruction they cause. With a couple of seats removed, my van is equipped to hold my family, my pets, and the irreplaceable valuables in my life. It can even serve as short term lodging, if worse comes to worse. I'm accustomed to tracking hurricanes and feel fortunate that I am able to "run from" these storms, including Rita last year, because I know that many of the New Orleans' residents had no way out of their doomed city. But perhaps Katrina was a lesson hard learned. Disaster preparedness is being revamped and legislation is now being hashed out to provide for pets as well as people in an emergency. Still, I feel more comfortable having my own disaster plan in place. Read on for a few tips learned over the years by this hurricane veteran.
