Hurricane and Pet Dogs? - Page 1

We were affected. We live in NJ and PA.

In NJ, the fence blew down. We no longer have a dog yard. It will be weeks before we can get a contractor to replace the panels. The dog who normally lives in NJ has been moved to PA.

In PA, we've lost five large pine trees, blown over and uprooted by the wind. They'll be cut up and chipped in due time. One other large pine is leaning, uprooted but not fallen yet. This is a major concern because it could fall at any time and injure a dog. We've put up tempoarary fencing in the PA yard to keep the dogs away from the area the tree could fall to.

We've had no electricity sonce Monday and that means no running water since we use a well. We have enough bottled water to last a week for people and dogs. We also have a swimming pool and are using its water to wash dishes, take sponge baths, wash hair, flush toilets. Plenty of food and no problems preparing it since we have a propane cook stove. We use a gasoline powered generator to run the refrigerator and one of the freezers, and the modem/computer but we have no lights other than flashlights and head lamps. It's grey and dreary outside and the gloom is depressing.

The dogs are fine. We play with them outside which gets of of us some fresh air and exercise, no different from any other day. We can't go anywhere because we need to conserve gasoline for the generator. The gas stations in our area are all closed because no one has electricity.

All in all, we're fine. So many people have lost their homes in NJ and NY and CT. Thank you for being concered.

Aqua I am so glad you planned ahead with a supply of water for everyone.   I teach a course in disaster preparedness for owners and animals and I an never surprised by the number of people who think it will never happen to me.  It can happen in a second and sometimes with no warning at all, so even if you have one dog, a kennel full or a farm full of livestock you need to be ready.

Thank you both for your comments. Preparedness is a way of life in these parts since we frequently have lengthy power outages due to t-storms or, in the winters, ice storms. The best appliance we ever spent money on is that generator! It's small, not a whole house unit, and it can't power the lights but it does keep the freezer and fridge running, each for 12 hours at a time, and the computer/modem. The TV cable is out, too, so the only access we have to news is via Internet. We're so grateful that the DSL lines held.

Before the storm we gathered a number of items in a backpack: the dogs' rabies certificates, spare collars with name and phone number tags, spare leads, microchip numbers and contact numbers. We printed and laminated photos of each dog individually and a picture of the dogs with us. A dog emergency medical kit including leather gloves for us in case an injured dog bites in panic, muzzles, Vetwrap, Tramadol, Benadryl, booties, a belly sling, and a trocar needle. Also a flash drive with scanned images of our credit cards, financial info, homeowner's and vehicle insurance and contact info and other such useful things. Important data was backed up from the desktops to the laptops. The "get-away" car has a case of water, dog food, a change of clothes, head lamps, rope, protein bars, sleeping bags in a waterproof container. Fortunately, we live on a hill and don't really have to worry about getting flooded but fire is always a concern. Lots of houses have burned as a result of downed live wires and malfunctioning generators.

The power is still out and likely won't be restored until the weekend. It's getting boring. I would just love to take a shower  :)