Evacuate your family, including your animals, as early as possible. By leaving early, you will decrease the chance of becoming victims of the disaster.

• Bring your dogs, cats, and other small animals indoors.
• Make sure all animals have some form of identification securely fastened to them (or their cage, in the case of smaller, caged pets). The utilization of permanent identification is encouraged.
• Place all small pets, including cats and small dogs, inside individual transportable carriers. When stressed, animals that normally get along may become aggressive towards each other.
• Secure leashes on all large dogs.
• Load your larger animal cages/carriers into your vehicle. These will serve as temporary housing for your animals if needed.
• Load the animal evacuation kit and supplies into your vehicle.
• Call your prearranged animal evacuation site to confirm availability of space.
• Implement your equine/livestock evacuation plan.
• If evacuation of horses/livestock is impossible, relocate them to the safest place possible based on the type of imminent disaster and your environment, realizing that the situation could be life threatening.
  • Make sure that they have access to hay or an appropriate and safe free-choice food source, clean water, and the safest living area possible including high ground above flood levels.
  • Do not rely on automatic watering systems, because power may be lost.
  • The decision to leave your horses/livestock in the field or in the barn should be based on the risks of injury resulting from the disaster as well as from the horse's/livestock's immediate environment during that disaster.
  • Factors to consider include the stability of the barn, the risk of flooding, and the amount of trees and debris in the fields.
  • If time permits, secure or remove all outdoor objects that may turn into dangerous flying debris.