Emergency Preparation

With tornados and terrible storms rolling through the South these past few weeks, emergency preparation is something on everyone's minds.

We all generally know how to take care of ourselves and I'm guessing a lot of people have a plan for their family, even if it is a bit...vague.

However, do you know what you'd do about your pets?

Some of you lucky people have the room to save ALL your pets, either by having a nice large basement to weather out a tornado in, or just simply by having only a few animals.

At my house, it's a little different. We have three cats and two dogs living in the house, along with a pet house bunny. We have only ONE room that has no windows and that is the main bathroom.

We do have an attached garage, but it does have windows all along one wall.

So what is my plan?

Grab carriers and put the top animals (and favorites) in to them. Try my best to get as many inside the house in closets and if there is time, put the rest in the garage, which is at least attached, unlike my rabbitry.

In the case of emergency, if I can cram 5 does in a cage, 5 does will go in that cage. If I have to put a buck and a doe together, or a buck and several does together, then that is what will happen. I'm less worried about injuries and unplanned pregnancies than total death.

Unfortunately, no rabbit carriers could come with us in to the main bathroom- it wouldn't be terribly safe (think heavy metal and pointy ends), though I would probably bend my rule for my top few woolies- I'm thinking a buck and two-four does could easily go in one of the plastic dog kennels.

You'd also have to make sure you had at least one bag of food and some water on hand to take care of everyone.

With luck, the storm would pass and everyone would come out safely. With bad luck, you might have to do your best to fill up food bowls and water dishes and abandon the bunnies. I know that we could never get ourselves, the other pets and all the bunnies in our car. Never.

If push came to shove and I DID have to leave them, I would honestly probably turn them loose in the garage with plenty of bowls of water and bust open all the bags of food and the bale of hay. That way, they get a fighting chance of survival. It's not something pleasant to think about, but it DOES bear consideration, especially because you never know when a disaster is going to strike.

Do you have a rabbitry disaster plan?

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry