Early this week I promise you Hurricane Preparedness Information.
 
NOTE: All sites are FREE
 
Emergencyemail.org = this site is wonderful, you can set it up for your
county, or state (you can also set it up for any county or state).  You
can also set it up for the type of notification you want, email, phone
message etc.  Please be aware that the first time you receive a message
you will see [log in to unmask] as the sender of the message (so
do not delete it).
 
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ - By far the best place for Hurricane tracking,
and History.  Strongly suggest you spend several hours visiting this site
and to absorb as much information as you can.
 
Of particular note (on left hand side of screen at nhc.noaa main page):
Under Hurricane History click on
U.S. Strikes -- Decade and
U.S. Strikes -- State.  A particular scary place to visit (under
Hurricane History) is the Season Archive (once there you can pick the
season); going about 1/2 down this page you will get a visual of the
hurricanes for any particular year from 1958 thru 2004.
 
Three quarters down the main nhc.noaa main page, you will see a bold
heading: Additional Resources, under this heading you will find Hurricane
and Natural Disaster Brochures.  Once there you can print out brochures,
hurricane-tracking maps and my other important handouts you can share
with others.  You could and should spend several days familiarizing
yourself with the NHC.NOAA site.
 
How to pack a pet first aid kit
http://www.ehow.com/how_2435_pack-first-aid.html
 
Ferret First Aid Kit (how to)
http://www.ferret-universe.com/health/first_aid.asp
 
Prepared First Aid Kit (I have one of these and they are probably the
best on the market of prepackaged kits:
http://www.canineauto.com/caredogtravelguide.htm
Click on products (left hand side of screen).  Scroll down almost to
bottom of screen.  Click on pet first aid kit V.S.I pet first aid kit
(it's a real bargain at only $19.00).
 
Having experienced direct hits from two hurricanes (up close and
personal), and having evacuated more times than I can count (due
to possibility of strike in my area) there is one thing I know for
absolutely certainty: FERRET SUFFER INCREDIBLE STRESS before (while
evacuating), during the strike itself, and after.
 
In addition, it should be noted that some Ferrets can and do develop,
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and it can be DEADLY.  Having said
that PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE include a bottle of Bach's Rescue Remedy
(BRR) drops in your first aid kit.  Start administering the BRR when you
realize you will be evacuating.  8 drops to 8 ounces of water (as always
be sure and check with your Veterinarian that BRR is O.K. to administer
to your particular animal).
 
The above are the basics.  May you and your children of fur, feathers,
scales, shells and hooves have a Hurricane FREE season.
 
Chere McCoy
Ferret Friends Disaster Response
[Posted in FML issue 5324]