May
Hurricane season starts June 1: the dog checklist.
The dog checklist for the start of the Gulf hurricane season: the go-bag, the records, the crate plan and the one question to answer before a storm has a name.
Hurricane season opens June 1. Most Houston families have a plan for the house and no plan for the dog, and the dog is the reason a lot of evacuations go badly. The checklist takes an evening in May.
The checklist
- A go-bag: a week of food, bowls, medications, records, a leash and a spare, and a photo of the dog
- A crate the dog settles in on command, in the car and in a strange room
- The answer to one question: where does the dog go if you leave? Family inland, a pet-friendly hotel, or a shelter that takes crated animals
- A microchip record with your current phone number
- Ready Harris and the NWS Houston office followed on your phone
The crate decides everything
A dog that rides calmly in a crate for six hours and sleeps in it in a strange room can go anywhere with you. A dog that panics in a crate limits where you can go and how safely. If your dog is the second kind, June is the month to fix it, and crate calm is two weeks of work. Our hurricane page has the full plan, including what a shelter will ask for.
The records question
A shelter, a boarding kennel out of town or a hotel will ask for proof of rabies vaccination, and some for the full vaccine record. Photograph every page of the dog's records now and keep the images in a shared album your whole family can open, then put a paper copy in the go-bag. Add the microchip number, your vet's phone number and a photo of the dog with a family member in it, which proves ownership if the dog is found by a stranger after a storm. None of this takes more than half an hour and all of it has been the difference between a dog going home and a dog staying in a shelter.
- Rabies certificate and vaccine record, photographed and printed
- Microchip number and the registry login
- Vet, emergency vet and a boarding option outside the evacuation zone
- Medications with dosing written down, a week's supply, rotated so they do not expire
Staying versus leaving
Most Houston families ride out most storms at home, and the dog's job then is calm through wind, rain on the roof and a power cut. Crate calm and place with duration are the skills; a fan on battery power and a covered crate in an interior room are the setup. The decision to leave is the family's, made on the county's guidance, and the dog's plan simply has to work in both cases. The hurricane page covers the go-bag, the shelter rules, and the drive with a dog in the car for six hours, which is where the crate work earns its keep.
Best Dog University Team
Board and train trainers in Cypress, Houston. 16+ years, 900+ dogs. About our team
