Is Your Pet Ready for Hurricane Season?

One of our dogs, Lizzie, who passed away in May, was on a special diet due to severe allergies, so we've always made sure to have plenty of food on hand. If you don't have a prescription with you, it can be difficult to get special dog food and your vet may be hard to reach if they've had to close their office. My friend Francis, who has four labs, suggests 40 lbs of dry food, but we'd only need one small bag for our tiny dogs!

My dogs are crate-trained, so they are comfortable in the car and wherever they go. Their home and bed are always the same whether at home or away. I highly recommend crate training, period. If you have small dogs, the collapsible fabric kind are indispensable.

If you're headed to a hotel, make sure they accept pets AND that they won't charge you an exorbitant non-refundable pet deposit. This happened to us once when traveling with our dogs. When we made the reservation, they told it was going to $25 per pet. What they didn't tell us was that it was $25 per pet, PER NIGHT!

Sherrie reminded me to make sure each pet has their ID tags on and to plan ahead and make sure they are microchipped. Make sure you also have a copy of their medical and shot records.

Obviously, if your pet takes medicine on a regular basis, you'll want to have that with you, but you may also want to bring their next dose of anti-flea or heart-worm prevention. My facebook friend Laura suggests talking to your vet about anxiety medicine as well, especially if they're not used to traveling or a stressful environment.