National Animal Disaster Prep Day

In 2010, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated the second Saturday in May as National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day. FEMA and other organizations want to help pet families create a disaster plan that includes their pets.

In times of crisis, pets are often separated from their families and left to fend for themselves. During natural catastrophes such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and wildfires, as well as man-made disasters such as hazardous chemical spills and terrorism, people are often told to leave their homes for a “short time,” only to find that they cannot return for days or even weeks. As a result, community animal shelters are overwhelmed with lost and separated cats and dogs in the wake of these events