Are you and your family prepared in the event of a natural disaster or emergency?  If you own pets, you need to prepare for their safety and survival too.  Your pet is an important member of your family.  When making your family’s  emergency plan, keep in mind what is best for you is generally what is best for your animal companion as well.

On October 6th, 2006, President Bush signed into Federal law the Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006, better known as the ‘PETS’ Act.  This law amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to ensure that state and local emergency plans address the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals following a major disaster or emergency.

This is great news for you and your pet, but you still need to be proactive. Make sure you have an emergency supply kit for ALL members of your family with enough supplies to allow everyone to survive for at least three days, without outside assistance, until help arrives. Also make advance preparations of evacuation routes and for buddy systems for both the four-and two-legged members of your family.

For more information on how to prepare you and your pets in case of a disaster or emergency, click the links below:

Evacuate My Pet

Preparing Your Pets for Emergencies from Ready.gov

Disaster Preparedness for Pets from the Humane Society of United States

Disaster Preparedness for Horses from UC Davis

Disaster Preparedness Brochures for pets from CA Department of Food and Agriculture

Emergency Supply Checklist from Ready.gov

Family Emergency Plan from Ready.gov

Click here to download a copy of the PETS Act

Information on Large Animal Evacuation

In the event of an emergency where evacuations are ordered by emergency personnel, Los Angeles Animal Services will activate evacuation sites for equines and other large animals. Various locations may be used, depending on the location of the emergency and the area to be evacuated. If there is an emergency in your area and you believe evacuation is likely, or if you have been ordered to evacuate, please contact one of the animal care centers below to get current information on evacuation sites for your area.

For large animal evacuation:

West Valley Center: (818) 756-9325 from 8 a.m. to midnight.
East Valley Center: (818) 756-9323 24 hours a day

These numbers must only be used in case of a disaster.

In case of an emergency click here