THESE TIPS CAN APPLY TO CATS AND OTHER PETS

Hopefully no one will have to search “Lost Dog During Hurricane” after Hurricane Dorian reaches the South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and surrounding states. It’s obvious when warnings of a hurricane or tropical storm surface that everyone’s first and foremost priority are their family and possession’s safety. However, it’s incredibly easy to forget how traumatic all the might chaos can be for your dog AND how easy they could get lost during an evacuation.

First and foremost, MAKE YOUR DOG COMFORTABLE INSIDE if you choose not to evacuate. While putting on some white noise inside such as music or the TV, there’s virtually no way to completely mask the loud, thunderous vibrations of what’s going on outside. Make sure their favorite toy is nearby, maybe give them a treat or a bone, anything to make sure they don’t freak out. Talk to them, pet them and if they have anxiety meds make sure the prescription is refilled.

KEEP THEM ON A LEASH. Sometimes there isn’t much dog owners can do when there is a massive storm going on outside. If they do start to freak out, you’ll want to make sure you can control them so they don’t hurt themselves trying to escape (a lot of times their thought process is so erratic dogs just want to get out of whatever environment they’re in). If your dog is use to a cage, you might want to use one of those.

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR DOG ALONE, even if you are not home, call a neighbor or friend to take them in. It is not safe or healthy to make them go through a massive storm alone.

IF YOU EVACUATE WITH YOUR DOG, do it early and be prepared. Bring food, a bowl, leash, toys and treats. Driving in the car to a new place could also be stressful for a dog not familiar with travel. If they’re comfortable in a carrier, you’ll definitely want to bring that along.

SHELTER TIPS if you evacuate without your dog*

Leashes are great but shelters really need crates. The dogs can’t just run around shelters on a leash and dog fights do happen. They need somewhere secure to be. Expect to be separated from your pet. It’s just not feasible to have pets, people, and stuff and crammed on top of each other. Shelters are chaotic environments and barking and stressed dogs make it that much worse. If your animal has special needs please bring whatever food or meds with it. Shelters have limited food for your animals. If it says “dog food” on it, we’re gonna give it to the dogs. If you have an animal that can’t swim, French Bulldog etc., get a life jacket for them. They sell them at boating stores. Stuff happens, animals jump off rescue boats/ jet skis, things slip out of people’s hands. Rescuers don’t have the time and it’s unsafe to dive into flood waters to rescue a dog that sinks like a rock. If you have a high value animal i.e purebred, consider marking them in a special way. We’ve seen some pets with hairdye, light colored one’s gets one ear dyed black, the dark one gets an ear bleached with owners initials dyed into them. Then take a picture of them. There may be 6 fluffy white dogs that get picked up, but some will be easily identifiable even if the collar gets lost or they can’t find the microchip. Unfortunately rescues “flipping” dogs after a disaster is a thing. But no cop is going to tell you your dog might belong to someone else when your initials are on it.

It’s often that during a storm a lost dog can end up miles away from home, or even in different states. We’ve found it very frequent that people evacuating might pick up a lost dog and bring them to a safe shelter.

If you or someone you know does have a lost dog during hurricane (or cat) issue please sign up on our website at www.CuddlesUnited.com. We have partnerships with thousands of shelters and vets in the Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas areas. We also offer digital amber alerts, around the clock shelter monitoring, lost pet Facebook ads and neighborhood phone calls. Our volunteers also give free consultation and will be servicing clients 24/7 during the duration of Hurricane Dorian.

Email us at support@cuddlesunited.com or call us at 234-PET-FIND.

Help find lost dogs by following our Facebook page’s

@georgialostdogscats

@southcarolinalostdogscats

@lostdognorthcarolina

@lostdogscatsflorida

Be sure to also like our national Facebook to help support finding lost pets!

*credit to u/goofygrrl on Reddit