If you leave, the animals go with you when it is safe to take them. Ready.gov is unambiguous: if you are told to evacuate, pets should evacuate too. Public emergency shelters and many hotels do not take pets, other than service animals. That is also the message on the City of Charleston Pet Preparedness page, Dorchester County’s Prepare Your Pet page, and the Berkeley County Hurricane Guide, which notes that some shelters may not allow pets. Dorchester County has announced pet-friendly shelters in some past events, but those openings are not a standing list. Solve a hotel, friend, or boarding option in calm weather, not on the afternoon a zone is called.
Make a pet plan
- List two or three places you can actually go: a pet-friendly hotel inland (call to confirm the policy before storm season, and again when a storm is inbound), a friend or relative who will take the animals, or a boarding kennel well outside the surge zone. Keep phone numbers on paper.
- Arrange a buddy — a neighbor or nearby friend who can collect the animals if you are at work when an order is issued. Make sure that person can enter the house, handle the animals, and knows where the carriers are.
- Microchip dogs and cats, and keep the chip registration, your mobile number, and an out-of-area contact up to date. Collars should have current ID tags.
- Note where each animal tends to hide when frightened, so you are not searching a crawl space as the wind rises.
- Leave carriers out in ordinary life, with a familiar blanket and occasional treats inside, so the carrier is not only associated with the vet.
- Bring pets indoors at the first serious weather warning, even if you are not evacuating yet.
Large animals (horses and livestock) need earlier movement, trailers, and a destination with food, water, and handling equipment. If you keep animals like that, talk to county emergency management and local extension or animal-control offices before the season.
A kit for the animals
Build a shelter-in-place stash and a lighter evacuation kit. For a household with pets, plan water and food on the same 3-day (bag) and 14-day (home) logic you use for people: extra water in addition to the human gallon-per-day figures, and several days of the food they already eat, in waterproof containers. The 3- and 14-day supply calculator works out pet water by size.
Include:
- Food, a collapsible bowl, and a manual can opener if the food is canned
- Water and a bowl
- A 14-day supply of medicines, plus a copy of medical records and vaccination certificates (many boarding facilities and some shelters will ask)
- A spare leash and collar or harness with ID, and a backup leash
- A crate or carrier for each animal, labeled with your name and phone number
- Litter, a small litter box, waste bags, paper towels, and a household disinfectant
- A photo of you with each pet, to help prove ownership if you are separated
- A familiar toy or blanket
- A muzzle only if your veterinarian has advised one and the animal will accept it in a stressful setting — never as a substitute for a secure carrier
Check food and medicine dates when you check the rest of the household kit.
On the road and in a temporary place
Carriers should be large enough for the animal to stand and turn around, and secured so they will not slide. Do not leave pets in a parked car. Keep dogs leashed whenever they are out of a crate; familiar animals bolt in strange places.
If you are separated, contact local animal control, county emergency management, and area shelters, and share the photo of you with the pet. Microchips only help if the registration is current. The Berkeley County Hurricane Guide lists Berkeley Animal Shelter at (843) 719-5050 for pets found after a storm.
After the storm
The yard may be full of debris, downed fences, and contaminated water. Walk dogs on a leash until you know the fence is sound. Watch for wildlife that has been displaced. If the animal was in floodwater or is injured, call your veterinarian.