Welcome back to the Light Keepers podcast, an
exclusive production of A Guiding Light, our
non -profit charity dedicated to the idea that
knowledge is power and good information leads
to a better life. I'm Clayton Vandiver, your
Light Keeper, with my co -host as always, Charlene,
our licensed clinical social worker who is certified
in the state of Florida. And this show is dedicated
to everyone who wants to get the most quality
out of life that they can. Join us for the conversation
this week about hurricane preparedness and so
much more on this edition of the Light Keepers
podcast. And that open is particularly appropriate
for the Light Keepers podcast because this is
a conversation about hurricane preparedness.
Please leave your questions or comments below
and join our conversation. We'll also have some
links below with specific locations to go to
for some of the things we talk about today. Questions
are answered during our next show online each
Wednesday evening at 7 p .m. Eastern. The Light
Keepers podcast is an exclusive production of
A Guiding Light Incorporated. And, Charlene,
our dealing with hurricane preparedness doesn't
apply to some of our viewers and listeners out
on the west coast of the United States and through
much of the plain states, but by golly. Here
on the eastern seaboard, that's a very important
topic this time of year. Well, you know, and
the thing is, no matter where you are in the
United States, you're going to face some sort
of weather emergency, whether you're snowed in
from a blizzard, whether there's been an earthquake
or flooding or a hurricane. We all have our own
special little challenges with where we live.
And preparing. the need to prepare is universal
yeah and that is really the key to surviving
is preparing how well you prepare ahead of time
is how well well you will weather the way is
how well you will be able to speak to the camera
no how well you prepare ahead of time is how
well you will weather the storm say that fast
three times no probably not um but i wanted to
ask what What is the first step? First of all,
let's introduce our special guest this week.
So this is Nugget. Nugget is our little foster
kitten. And I would say he's acclimating well.
He's a sweetheart. So we are fostering Nugget
from the Jacksonville Humane Society. So while
we're taking care of him, while he gets a little
bit of age and a little bit of weight and gets
to a point that he can safely be adopted, put
up for adoption. Practically a newborn. We've
had him for three weeks now. So if he's this
small now, you can just imagine how little he
was when he started. He was three weeks old when
we started fostering him. Barely a handful of
kitten. Now he's about two handfuls. But very,
very sweet little fellow. And he's kind of wound
down now. We wanted to include him in the show
today because it's very important to consider
when you're doing your hurricane preparedness
to prepare for pets. Absolutely. And not just
tie up the dog. They found after Hurricane Katrina
in New Orleans and many other places, animals
that had just been tied up outside the house.
Some of them in flood areas that were literally
straining and stretching at their collars trying
to keep their head above water. And that's a
tragic situation. It was very tragic. And so
after Katrina came through, it had only been
a few days before we took supplies and went to
provide support to the Humane Society of the
United States with their rescue and recovery
efforts. Atrocious. Atrocious. It was heartbreaking.
I don't blame the people. They were in desperate
situations. And that's the whole point of the
show is because with proper planning and preparation,
desperate situations don't have to be. Yeah.
In times of emergency and in times of panic,
we do a lot of things that we wouldn't do otherwise.
And sometimes we forget about the pets. Well,
we recommend that you make the pets part of your
preparedness. plan for a storm, an earthquake,
a snow, a blizzard, whatever situation regularly
happens in your part of the world, your part
of the country. If floods are an important thing
to be prepared for, then consider the pets as
well. So the key things when prepping for your
pet as well as yourself, you want to make sure
that you have You want to make sure that you
have enough food and water for everybody, not
just yourself, but also your pet. You want to
make sure that if it's dry food, for example,
you want to make sure that you have a waterproof
tub or tote that you're keeping it in. Or put
it in Ziploc bags. Or put it in Ziploc bags.
You want to make sure that if... there's any
medication. You want to make sure that you have
plenty of medication for yourself as well as
your pet. Supplies. I know a lot of people, especially
people who have dogs, if they are concerned that
their dog is not going to be able to go outside,
one of the things that they'll do is they'll
get like a small kiddie pool and they'll put
dirt and grass or they'll even put artificial
turf as a place for the dog to go to the bathroom
when it can't go outside so you want to make
sure that you're preparing a little bit of the
outside inside exactly you want to make sure
that you're preparing that way for cats you want
to make sure you have cat litter you also want
to make sure that you know that you have first
aid supplies not just for yourself not just for
your family but also for your pet Well, I'll
tell you what, I've got a disaster supply kit
checklist that was provided by the Florida Department
of Emergency Management, Florida Division of
Emergency Management, and they actually have
put a lot of those same things you're suggesting
in a nice kit. We'll have a link to that down
below, but let me show that to you, where you
can actually have a two -week supply of medication.
regularly used medical supplies, a list of allergies,
a list of the style, serial number, and manufacturer
information of required medical devices. Now,
of course, that's in case you need to replace
them. And you can find a replacement, or FEMA
can help you acquire a replacement while you're
at one of the shelters. But also batteries, flashlights
do not use candles. That's how fires happen.
NOAA weather radio battery, battery operated
or hand cranked. These are between $10 and $20,
relatively inexpensive little weather radios.
And they're really great for information during
the storm. We're assuming that the power goes
out, which is very common when you're in a hurricane.
Cash, because the banks and ATMs would be out
of power. and you may not be able to get cash
after the storm or use a credit card. Cell phone
chargers, books, games, puzzles, other activities
for children, and, of course, something for the...
for the kittens and puppies and animals to play
with as well. Now, I'm looking there on the screen
where it says important documents, insurance
cards, medical records. One thing that I would
also recommend including is the name of your
pet's veterinarian. It actually has that somewhere.
Name of the vet, and if your pet has any medical
conditions or allergies, you would want to list.
It's actually at the bottom of the list here.
Pet food, water to last at least seven days.
Medical records, beautiful. Medical records,
microchip information, carrier or cage, muzzle
and leash. because again you might be in a concentrated
area of humanity and other animals and you want
them and your animal to be safe so when you think
oh i would never muzzle my animal it would never
hurt anyone under emergency circumstances anyone
human or animal's personality can change in an
instant absolutely they feel threatened they
feel out of their element everything is new and
strange to them and especially when there's a
lot of a lot of stimulation going on, that muzzle
may be a lifesaver. So also water and food bowls,
medications, supplies for your service animal.
A carrier or a pet crate. Yep, it says it right
there. And other specialty needs items for the
elderly, infants, small children, family members
with disabilities, rain gear, jackets, boots,
umbrellas, rain boots, sturdy shoes or boots,
and work gloves. I never would have thought of
gloves after a hurricane, but you never know
what's been blown off of your house or onto your
house or into your windows, and especially if
glass gets shattered. Those word gloves are going
to help. They're going to be important. Now,
another thing to consider when preparing for
any type of emergency, especially a natural disaster,
most likely in your area there will be shelters
set up. It's important to find out whether or
not your pets are accepted at those shelters.
Some shelters will accept them. Some shelters
will not. That's important information to know
ahead of time. It's also important, and this
is something a lot of people don't think of,
If you require medical equipment that needs electricity
to run, you need to make sure that you're registered
with your electric company. Yes. Because what
that does is that... You'll be one of the first
people that they restore power to. Correct. If
they can. If you need assistance evacuating,
you need to let the city know that so that they
can have someone there to help you. These are
important things to take into consideration.
Well, they sure are. And the other thing, too,
is a list of places that do boarding in emergencies
for pets. A lot of you would think your veterinarian
would be the first place to contact, and a lot
of them can't. A lot of them will not do that
because there won't be anyone there. Yeah, and
it's important to also ask those boarding facilities
when you're screening them ahead of time because
prior planning prevents poor performance, to
ask them if they're in an evacuation zone, if
they're in a flood zone. if they have a generator,
if they're going to have electricity, and just
what their emergency plans are going to be before
you then put your loved one, your animal, into
their care. And if you have any questions about
how to find that information or what shelters
would accept pets, I would encourage you to reach
out to your local humane society. They're going
to have that information available. They sure
will. They sure will. and another document that
we have. This first one, as I said, was from
the Florida Department of Emergency Management.
The second one I have here is from the National
Weather Service, hurricane safety for you and
your family. Again, I'm providing links below
this to all of these documents. They're downloadable,
and they have information on before a hurricane,
during a hurricane. After a hurricane if you're
not ordered to evacuate if you are ordered to
evacuate It just basically gives you information
that you're going to need to be able to follow
and stay safe. And that's the whole idea is to
keep you and your family safe. And the more planning
and preparation that you do ahead of time, the
less of a panic it is, the less of a concern
it is, because you already know, well, if it
gets to this point, if it gets to this close
proximity to our house, we have the house prepared,
it's battened down. And we know that we have
a full tank of gas in our vehicles. We have carriers
for our pets, all the supplies that we need for
us and our animals. And we can get out of here
for a while. Yeah. And one thing that I would
also encourage is if you have a pet that can
be microchipped, I know some people don't support
that. It's important. That microchip can be the
difference between you getting your pet back
and not if you get separated. The other thing
too, a lot of people get their pets microchipped
and then they don't register a phone number with
it. And that kind of defeats the purpose. If
you are preparing for an emergency, it's always
a good idea to contact your pet's veterinarian
and find out who the chip is licensed through
and make sure that your information is up to
date with them. Absolutely. We all need good
information to help make the most informed decisions
to live life on our own terms. The conversation
is to start you thinking because most people
are not prepared at all. Some are very well prepared
indeed because they join us right here on the
Light Keepers podcast every Wednesday evening
at 7 p .m. Eastern. And the Light Keepers podcast
is an exclusive production of Vanimation Studios
and The Guiding Light and is found on all audio
RSS podcast feeds and also on YouTube. Yes, you
are. This is our little foster kitten that is
with us from the Jacksonville Humane Society.
This is Nugget. And Nugget will be available
for adoption soon. Right now he is waiting until
he's big enough to be neutered. And so he is
staying with us temporarily. And we have thoroughly
enjoyed having him here. He's such a sweetheart.
And for all of you who are listening on the audio
feed, this is a tiny little, barely bigger than
a handful kitten. That was just fairly newborn
when he came to us. And, yep, there he is. He
is mostly white, a little bit of yellow tabby.
He's an orange tabby torty. Yeah, an orange tabby
torty. And very, very cute and bright and steals
the show any time he gets in front of the camera.
So, speaking of stealing the show. If you would
like to help us with theguidinglight .org and
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so you'll catch every single episode. He's slowing
down. He's getting ready for nap time. So you'll
catch every single episode. And I'm Clayton Vandiver,
your light keeper. We'll see you next time. Thanks
for watching!