Emergency Preparedness

The key to a guide dog team’s safety and well-being during a disaster, crisis or emergency is to be prepared! Check out this resource from Guide Dog Users, Inc. (GDUI) on emergency preparedness.

Fire, flood, severe weather, medical crisis, prolonged power outage, or other such emergencies may require anything from a brief absence from the home to long term evacuation. These situations often require different preventative measures to keep safe so be sure to consider all types of emergencies when making plans.

To start, be certain the guide dog’s identification tags and license are always kept current. Carry a list of emergency numbers at all times and make it a practice to store the dog’s harness and leash within easy reach. In case of fire or flood, plan escape routes ahead of time and exhibit extreme caution when venturing outdoors after a major storm. Assemble a survival kit that includes supplies such as food, water, bowls, copies of medical records, waste removal & first aid supplies, dog boots, a favorite toy and blanket. In some instances, a guide dog may not be able to perform its duties so be sure to include a white cane in the emergency kit.

Many emergency shelters have a “no pets” policy and some mistakenly apply this policy to exclude service animals. Contact the local Red Cross chapter or state office of emergency management well in advance to verify that all emergency shelters have procedures in place to ensure that service animal teams will not be separated during an emergency. Separate provisions should be made for retired guide dogs since they no longer have access rights.