• calendar_month December 15, 2024
• folder Tips

"Daddy, Cooper's breathing funny," Emma whispered, watching their elderly Golden Retriever pace anxiously in the backseat. Their German Shepherd Luna whined softly, picking up on everyone's distress as Mike made what felt like the hundredth phone call from the gas station parking lot.

The hurricane evacuation order had come just hours ago, it’s getting dark, and every pet-friendly hotel within 200 miles was booked solid or would only accept small animals. Their aunt had offered to take in the family, but also has severe pet allergies, "Maybe the dogs could stay somewhere else?"

Cooper and Luna weren't just pets – they were family. These dogs had been there for every nightmare, every scraped knee, every celebration. Cooper's evening heart medication was overdue, and Mike caught his wife Sarah's worried glance. The prescription was sitting back home on the kitchen counter, forgotten in their panicked rush to leave. Tyler's small voice broke the tense silence: "What are we gonna do Dad? Is he going to be ok?"

His phone buzzed with another "sorry, no vacancies." The closest pet-friendly emergency shelter was three hours away, and they were only accepting pets with up-to-date vaccination records – which were sitting in a folder in his home office desk. "We'll figure this out," Mike promised his family, watching all four of his children – two human, two canine – huddled together in the backseat amongst whatever supplies they could grab.  "We're staying together. No matter what."

When disaster strikes, every minute counts. While most of us have some kind of emergency plan for our human family members, we assume our four-legged (or winged, or scaled) friends will just tag along with us only to find out, its not that easy. With a little extra planning, you can ensure your pets safety as well.