NewsFinale
  • Home
  • News
  • Local News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Celeb Lifestyle
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Advertise Here
Gleammour AquaFresh
NewsFinale
  • Home
  • News
  • Local News
  • Business
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Celeb Lifestyle
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Advertise Here
Home Local News Preparing Your Pets for a Hurricane: Getting Ready for Stormy Weather with Your Furry Friends

Preparing Your Pets for a Hurricane: Getting Ready for Stormy Weather with Your Furry Friends

How to prepare your pets for when a hurricane makes it rain cats and dogs
Up next
Amount you need for a 'minimum quality of life' in America revealed
Revealed: the required amount for a basic standard of living in the United States
Published on 06 July 2025
Author
NewsFinale Journal
Share and Follow
FacebookXRedditPinterestWhatsApp


HOUSTON – Getting ready for a hurricane’s landfall means making sure everyone in your household is prepared, including your furry family members.

It’s important that the work in gathering essential items for your dog or cat and determining if your pets have their ID tags and are microchipped is done before a storm is bearing down, said Julie Kuenstle, a spokeswoman for the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

“All of that stuff needs to be done in advance because you can’t do that obviously if your pet gets away before, during or after a disaster. And that’s heartbreaking because we know that our pets are our family members,” Kuenstle said.

Put together an emergency kit for your pets

Just as the humans in your family require an emergency kit with food, water and medications, pets also need one. Their go bags will be a little different and should include things like chew toys, leashes and poop bags.

Kuenstle said it’s also important the kit has hard copies of your pets’ vaccination records that you can show if you have to evacuate and end up at a hotel or shelter.

“A lot of items that pet owners need and are essential for their go bags, they already have around their house,” Kuenstle said.

Cesar Perea, the associate vice president of rescue for the American Humane Society, said people should also verify that their pets have ID tags on their collars and that the information linked to their pet’s microchip is up to date and that multiple people are listed as contacts.

“If you decide you want to ride out the storm and stay, we wouldn’t recommend that,” Perea said. “But if they do, typically, we tell people that you should have at least two-weeks worth of (pet) supplies in your home.”

Try to reduce your pet’s stress

Pets can sense any stress their owners feel as they prepare for a hurricane, Kuenstle said.

“When there is a disaster or storm, sirens, things like that, a natural fear response is for them … to hide and to run away. So, you know, making sure that your yard is secure and that they’re in a quiet, safe, secure place can help avoid that,” she said.

Animal rescue groups say it’s important to have your pet crate trained so their crate can be used as a safe space for your pets.

People who decide to stay and ride out a storm should keep their pets close, Perea said. Leaving them alone in another room “is just going to elevate their stress,” he added.

Never leave your pets behind

Leaving pets behind, particularly if they’re left tied to a fence or chained in a backyard, can be deadly.

“If the disaster comes along, they can’t move away from it,” Perea said. “The disaster rolls through and they suffer a horrific death potentially.”

Abandoning your pets could also result in animal cruelty charges.

The plight of a bull terrier named Trooper, who was rescued last year during Hurricane Milton after being found chained to a fence along a Tampa highway, inspired a new Florida law that imposes tougher penalties on people who abandon pets during natural disasters.

Animal rescues are standard part of hurricane response

Most emergency operations centers during a natural disaster focus part of their work on animal rescues, Perea said.

But both Perea and Kuenstle said most pets and other animals needing rescue are not abandoned on purpose.

During Hurricane Harvey in Houston in 2017, Kuenstle’s group rescued about 2,300 animals, including cats, dogs and horses, reuniting about 300 of them with their humans.

“A lot of it was … ’We had no idea we wouldn’t be able to come back.’ They were contacting us in a panic. They were concerned about their pet,” Kuenstle said.

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 is filled with countless stories of residents not wanting to leave their flooded homes if they couldn’t bring their furry loved ones, Perea said.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Share and Follow
FacebookXRedditPinterestWhatsApp
You May Also Like
Sights and sounds from Champaign County's annual Freedom Celebration
  • Local News

Experience the Vibrant Festivities of Champaign County’s Freedom Celebration

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — For yet another year, it was all about…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 5, 2025
Villages Health company, under fire for Medicare overpayments, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
  • Local News

The Villages Health company faces criticism for receiving excessive Medicare payments and takes legal action by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

THE VILLAGES, Fla. – A major health care group that caters to…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 6, 2025
Washington County, Tennessee man facing child sex crime charges
  • Local News

Man believed to be wanted reportedly hit a WCSO car during a chase

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Washington County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office (WCSO)…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 6, 2025
TIMSC to host a dolphin evening with experts
  • Local News

Experts to host dolphin-themed event at TIMSC

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. () — The Tybee Island Marine Science Center (TIMSC)…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 5, 2025
map visualization
  • Local News

Fatal lightning deaths most common in Florida

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Since 2006, almost 500 people have been killed by…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 6, 2025
Tropical Storm Chantal forecast to bring heavy rain to the Carolinas
  • Local News

Expect significant rainfall in the Carolinas due to Tropical Storm Chantal.

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Chantal formed off the southeast U.S. coast…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 5, 2025
Moultrie Co. woman arrested on meth charge
  • Local News

Sheldon man arrested for possession of large quantity of LSD and other drugs in Livingston County.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — A Sheldon man was arrested in Chatsworth…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 6, 2025
A look at some of the deadliest floods in the US in the last 25 years
  • Local News

“Exploring the Most Devastating Floods in the US from the Past 25 Years”

(AP) – Flooding has caused an average of more than 125 deaths…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 6, 2025
Liam Gallagher apologizes for using racial slur before Oasis reunion
  • US

Liam Gallagher issues apology for using racial slur ahead of Oasis reunion

Liam Gallagher is on an apology tour. The Oasis frontman, 52, came…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 6, 2025
Two Spirit Airlines planes covered in foam inside a hangar.
  • News

Passenger planes left buried in FOAM in hanger with suds spilling over runway after giant fire extinguishers go wrong

A FLEET of passenger planes got an unplanned clean after dodgy fire…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 6, 2025
NextGen bar exam elevates legal competence, streamlines interstate practice
  • News

NextGen bar exam elevates legal competence, streamlines interstate practice

Since when have conservatives started defending the bar examination? For decades, many…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 6, 2025
Tropical Storm Chantal makes landfall over South Carolina with 50 mph winds
  • US

Tropical Storm Chantal arrives in South Carolina with winds of 50 mph

Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall at about 4 a.m. on Sunday near…
  • NewsFinale Journal
  • July 6, 2025
NewsFinale Journal
  • Home
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Sitemap
  • DMCA
  • Advertise Here
  • Donate