My husband & I are, among other things, members of the American Red Cross
National Disaster Relief team. We are also involved in disaster
preparedness education.
Since kindergarten you've all been taught the ABCs of disaster preparedness:
keep a bag of food/water/batteries/radio, etc. ready near the door;
position yourself in a doorway or under table for earthquake; evacuate for
hurricane; evacuate for fire; evacuate for mudslide; keep cool & drink
fluids for a heat emergency; seal yourself inside for a gas leak or other
hazardous waste spill outside your home; lowest-level unwindowed room for
tornado. BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR FERRETS?
What is you plan?! Don't tell me; just HAVE ONE! And just like fire drills
in grade school, practice practice practice!
My plan: The large carrier (for vet transport) is located atop the crits'
cage. The bedding is always clean, & there's a toy, a bottle, & a tube of
F'vite in there. We've practiced.
When they're inhouse, I put the carrier on the floor, put the 'vite & bottle
into my pocket, then put the ferrets into the carrier. For a weather
emergency, I carry them out through the back stair (enclosed); for fire, we
use the front stair (to avoid kitchen).
When they're roaming, the first order of business is to find them. Usually
they're in plain sight or under the couch. Everyone I can find goes into
the carrier & onto the porch. I then hunt for the other. I have made
myself promise that I will remain aware of time, so that I do not risk all
them + me to save the one. In practice, though, I can get them all in the
carrier & out of the house in about a minute.
This plan saw action last month when a tornado touched down 5 miles from us
and headed our way. We were packed and downstairs in less than a minute.
The funnel cloud passed right over us without damage (according to the
neighbors who stood outside to watch.) I can't express how happy I was to
have been prepared.
So think about it. Think hard, & then plan it out. Got kids? Kids love to
be involved in planning. So get it together & design your family disaster
plan, with an eye (& a heartstring) toward the safety of your ferrets.
On Monday evening at say, 7PM EDT, call FIRE DRILL. Time it & see how you
do. Someday it will matter. Or maybe it never will. Murphy's Law on
Disaster Preparedness states that if you're ready, it won't happen. So
you'll be preventing disaster by being prepared.
Finally, if the police or civil defense or national guard come to your door
and tell you to evacuate, DO IT. If they say leave your pets because this
will be short-lived, DON'T LISTEN! BRING YOUR PETS!
Yes, generally, you should do what these guys say, because they know what
they're talking about. But predicting the duration of a disaster is
impossible for anyone. Treat evacuation like a fire drill. Bring your
pets.
Presently, a Red Cross Shelter will not admit you with your pets. We're
working in that. This being the case, it's up to you to plan on where to
keep them in the event of evac.
Please don't leave them behind.
I helped run the evac shelter in Weyawega, Wisconsin two years ago. Propane
cars derailed on the Wis.Central tracks, & the 1,400 residents were
evacuated at 6AM. Just a few hours, they were told, so pets were left
behind. Then the fires started; then leaks were discovered. These people
were homeless for 3 weeks! Pets starved & people wept. Hunger-ravaged
dogs & cows roamed the streets. Cats drank toilet bowls dry.
One man walked across the frozen lake (falling through twice) to retrieve
his beloved cats. Frozen near to death, he turned himself in to civil
defense so they could take him back out of town. Eventually, the National
Guard shuttled residents into town in tanks to retrieve pets that had
survived.
Don't let this happen to you. Be Prepared.
CRC
Cher R. Clarke | Law Office of Cher R. Clarke
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What if they gave a fire and nobody came?
Support your volunteer fire department.
[Posted in FML issue 2028]
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