Pet Safe Coalition, Inc.

Description: We invite families with pets to write or call Pet Safe Coalition to share their plans to keep their pets safe in emergencies. This can include plans to evacuate from the home or plans to have a trusted person take care of the animals in the family’s absence.

Criteria for winning: (1) A family’s plan should be specific, by (a) designating a family member to be in charge of seeing to it that the family’s emergency plan is followed as much as possible, (b) selecting and being familiar with an evacuation route and location away from home, (c) having an adequate, safe, secure, and readily available container for each pet to be evacuated in, and (d) evacuation “kits” (“go kits”) for each family pet, as well as go kits for each human member of the family. In addition, (2) a family plan should demonstrate that the other family members are familiar with the plan and know how to carry it out in an actual emergency.

Winners: One winning family will be announced once a month throughout the hurricane season (June 1 through November 30).

Prizes: Each winning family will receive a prize (to be determined by the contest organizers, based on availability of donated goods and services) and will be entitled to have family members’ pictures posted on www.petsafecoalition.org and used in promotional materials. In addition, Pet Safe Coalition will solicit a citation from the local legislator representing the district in which the winning family lives, recognizing that by being prepared the family has demonstrated good citizenship.

“Pet Safe Families” promotes good citizenship: Involvement by young people in preparing their families to handle emergencies can be a good way to teach young people (a) responsibility within the family, (b) respect for animals (and other family members), and (c) critical thinking such as (i) how to assess needs of family members (including pets) in an unusual time such as an emergency, (ii) how to meet the needs with what’s available at home or easily accessible (such as at the supermarket) and low cost, and (iii) how making a plan can help the whole family come through the unusual time in better shape than if they had no plan at all.

Program slogan: “Have a pet? Have a plan!”