Hi. This is Bonnie Morrison, the Ohio State Coordinator for EARS. I wanted to share an important and helpful piece of information I learned during one of my own disaster trainings about how to safely have someone remove your pets from your home if you are prevented from returning todo it yourself. Remember the person going into your home is not as knowledgeable about your pets and their habits and could end up spending critical time searching for them and your emergency kits, thus subjecting your friend and your pets to life threatening conditions.

The thing I learned is: Place a laminated list inside your kitchen cabinet door containing the following: Number of pets to look for, their names to be able to call for then and their secret hiding locations (especially for cats), what and where their medications are located, the location of their carriers and your emergency pets kits. This allows you to make a fast phone call telling the person to go to the kitchen, open the cabinet and start from there. This is critical time saved and is extremely helpful the the rescuer.

Have a great Thanksgiving holiday.

Great idea, Bonnie! One of the things we always recommend to people is to start a "buddy system" by identifying a trusted friend or neighbor who can evacuate your pets if you are not at home when diaster strikes.

This is a great way to help your buddy evacuate your pets safely and quickly.