[In the event of a disaster] How can you keep your beloved dog, cat, or other pet safe?

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In the wake of the recent frequent earthquakes and other disasters, many people have begun to reevaluate their disaster prevention supplies.

When a disaster occurs, how can we keep our beloved pets, such as our dogs and cats, safe? Many people are worried about this.

This time, we will be using the "Guidelines for Pet Rescue Measures in Disasters" issued by the Ministry of the Environment as a reference and explaining the points to be careful about when evacuating with your beloved dogs and cats from a veterinarian's perspective.

* Guidelines for pet rescue measures in the event of a disaster

In addition, Bow Wow Place offers a wide variety of foods that contain the nutrients your pet needs to stay healthy. Please use the correct information to help maintain the health of your beloved dog or cat!

1. Start preparing now!

Disaster prevention measures for your home

Although it is a basic disaster prevention measure, earthquake prevention measures such as securing furniture are important.

To ensure that you and your pet can evacuate safely, make sure there are no objects near your pet's usual sleeping or sleeping area that could fall.

This is thought to be less common now, but if you keep your dog outdoors, make sure to check for any dangers around the area, such as block walls, glass windows, or buildings that are prone to collapsing.
It is also important to check that the collar or chain does not come off or break, posing a risk of the pet escaping.

◆ Discipline and health management

In the event of a disaster, your partner is also more likely to panic.
Make sure to get your pet used to being in the carrier so that evacuation can be as "normal" as possible.

Making sure your dog understands commands such as "wait" and "come here" will help make evacuation smoother.

Training your pet to use the same pet sheet or cat litter even when moving locations will be useful during evacuation.

Pets' immune systems will be weakened due to stress during evacuation, so be sure to vaccinate your pets regularly and administer preventative medication for fleas, ticks, and heartworms, and keep them in a hygienic state.
In addition, it is important to have sterilization surgery carried out to prevent unnecessary breeding after a disaster.


◆ Measures to prevent children from getting lost

It is ideal to evacuate with your partner, but there is a possibility that you may become separated from each other for unavoidable reasons.

It is important to have your pet fitted with some form of identification, such as a microchip, so that if your pet gets separated, it can be returned to its owner as quickly as possible if it is rescued.

For dogs and cats that always wear a collar, it may be a good idea to write emergency contact information on them or attach an Air Tag or something similar so that they can be tracked by GPS.


◆ Check the evacuation shelter rules of your local government

There are two types of evacuation with your partner: "accompanying evacuation" and "accompanying evacuation."

・Evacuating with your partner : When a disaster occurs, accompany your partner to an evacuation shelter. It is not always possible to care for and manage pets in the shelter.

- Evacuation with pet : The pet's partner is kept and cared for in the evacuation shelter. However, this does not necessarily mean that the pet will be able to live in the same room as the partner.

The disaster prevention items you should prepare will vary depending on whether or not you can bring your partner into the evacuation shelter.
Please check to see if your local government has rules regarding partner evacuation.

2. Make a disaster preparedness bag for your pet

What is a disaster prevention bag?

Gather all the necessary items for evacuation in one place and prepare them together in a disaster prevention backpack for people.

During a disaster, relief supplies for partners are often put on the back burner, so it's important to have at least a week's worth of supplies on hand.

If therapeutic diets or regular medication are required, you will need to prepare a longer-term supply.


◆ Disaster prevention items you should prepare

Here are some disaster prevention items that are of particular priority.

- A carrier for evacuation <br data-mce-fragment="1">We recommend one made of sturdy material for both dogs and cats.
Make sure the doors close securely to prevent escape in a panic.

・Therapeutic diet, medicine,
If your pet takes any medications regularly, be sure to get extra supplies from your veterinarian.

If you are dividing medication into portions, we recommend storing the extra medication in its entirety rather than splitting it into pieces.

Scissors for splitting tablets (pill cutters) can be purchased online, so be sure to have some ready.

・ Spare collars and leashes (non-stretchy)
・Tableware ・Packing tape (can also be used to repair carriers)
- Emergency contact information for the owner - Photos of the pet - Vaccination status, health status, and information about the pet's veterinary clinic

3. What to do in the event of a disaster

◆ Ensuring personal safety

First and foremost, put your own safety first and stay calm to ensure the safety of yourself and your partner.
Your partner may panic in the event of a sudden disaster, so be sure to put them in a carrier and take care to prevent them from escaping or getting injured.


◆ Evacuating with your partner

When evacuating, it is essential to evacuate with your pet. If you get separated from your pet, report it to the local animal department or the police. If you have to leave your pet at home, please consult with the local animal department.

◆ At evacuation shelters

In evacuation shelters and temporary housing, where many different kinds of people gather and live together, it is important to recognize that some people do not like living with animals or have allergies. While living with pets in evacuation shelters can be a great emotional support, it can also lead to problems with hygiene, such as bites, complaints about their cries, and the disposal of pet hair and feces.
At the evacuation shelter, please follow the pet keeping rules to make your stay as comfortable as possible for both you and your pet.

summary

This time, we introduced ways to keep your beloved pets, such as dogs and cats, safe during a disaster. We don't know when a major disaster will occur.
Using the information we have introduced here, I think it will be helpful to have a discussion with your family and decide on the division of roles in the event of an evacuation!

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