Action Plan for Incapacitated Pet Owner

Remember when you planned to have that heart attack? You know the one that you penciled in on your calendar? No? What? You don’t plan your emergencies in advance? Of course not! No one knows when bad things are going to happen. Well, if we can’t plan the emergency, we can plan how to handle the emergency when it occurs.

Recently we had a local utility company call with an unknown, possible patient of our hospital. 4 employees later, we eventually identified the client/patient. The back story is the utility company contaminated the husband/wife client’s house with a toxic substance. The clients were escorted out of the house that minute, the house quarantined, the pets left to fend. Later that day work crews collected the pets and they were brought to us for emergency boarding.  

Certainly this circumstance is extreme. Many of our clients say “I could never board Deogee. I just couldn’t”. This is fine when you are making decisions not to go sailing off to the Caribbean, but not practical in other circumstances. What if both owners have to be hospitalized at the same time? What if you go out of town and your pet sitter becomes ill? What if Deogee and Fluffy hold a wild party, get in over their heads and just need help? 

While you have time research boarding facilities in case you ever need them. Make sure that if something were to happen to your family that the facility can take your pets. This is especially important in the matter of exotic pets. You may love the family snake, however, finding a facility that loves them as much as you may prove difficult. Designate an outside family member, friend, or neighbor to be your “pet guardian”. Make sure they know your wishes as to finances for medical care, contact information for the pets’ veterinarian, where to board the pets, and a key to your house. I would also recommend keeping a current copy of your pets’ vaccine status and medication list in case your veterinarian is unreachable. Have pet carriers and leashes organized and available and their location listed in your designated plan for emergency workers to use. You must also devise a way to get your plan to a stranger that may need to enter your house in an emergency capacity. Tape quick reference cards of your plan including how many and which types of pets you have and contact information to pet’s carriers, visible somewhere obvious in your home, and in your purse or wallet. Some simple planning now can ease your worried mind later.
   
chris