In light of the recent ice storms that hit my area in Southwest Missouri, I would like to bring up the subject of emergency protocol. The ice storm began on a Friday evening and continued throughout the weekend. By 12:30 AM we had lost power at our home and small facility - we were unaware of the electrical failure until my husband happened to wake around 4:30 AM and woke me up. I hurried out to the chilled bird building and worked quickly to pack the birds up in kennels, wrap them up, and bring them inside.
Although our power was out, we had alternative heat from our natural gas fireplace.
While my husband worked to get the fireplace going, I got the birds all situated and fed for the day. We put batteries in one of our radios so the birds would have something to listen to and we gathered all of our battery operated flashlights. I also gathered unscented candles and matches to prepare for the darkness that was sure to come early.
Many people in the area were without power for two weeks. Luckily, we were only without for three days, and we had plenty of heat from our fireplace to stay warm. We also have a gas water heater and grill, so we had hot water and a way to cook food. It was really cold outside, so our frozen and refrigerated goods were able to stay in a cooler outdoors to keep from thawing and spoiling. I do not yet have a generator on grounds, but I plan to buy one for the future. If for some reason we would have been unable to keep warm - we would have packed up the animals and taken them to stay in my office at the zoo - where I work full-time. The zoo is high priority for the city in times of power outages, but our zoo is also equipped with numerous back-up generators for such emergencies.
Emergencies are unexpected situations requiring urgent measures. Under these circumstances, we want to be as prepared as possible to safeguard our family and pets.
Many families discuss and develop a strategy for crisis situations, but often the animals in the household are overlooked. My intention with this article is to urge families to establish an emergency pet protocol.
Although our power was out, we had alternative heat from our natural gas fireplace.
While my husband worked to get the fireplace going, I got the birds all situated and fed for the day. We put batteries in one of our radios so the birds would have something to listen to and we gathered all of our battery operated flashlights. I also gathered unscented candles and matches to prepare for the darkness that was sure to come early.
Many people in the area were without power for two weeks. Luckily, we were only without for three days, and we had plenty of heat from our fireplace to stay warm. We also have a gas water heater and grill, so we had hot water and a way to cook food. It was really cold outside, so our frozen and refrigerated goods were able to stay in a cooler outdoors to keep from thawing and spoiling. I do not yet have a generator on grounds, but I plan to buy one for the future. If for some reason we would have been unable to keep warm - we would have packed up the animals and taken them to stay in my office at the zoo - where I work full-time. The zoo is high priority for the city in times of power outages, but our zoo is also equipped with numerous back-up generators for such emergencies.
Emergencies are unexpected situations requiring urgent measures. Under these circumstances, we want to be as prepared as possible to safeguard our family and pets.
Many families discuss and develop a strategy for crisis situations, but often the animals in the household are overlooked. My intention with this article is to urge families to establish an emergency pet protocol.
|
|