WILMINGTON -- While this storm is still churning in the Atlantic it's a good time to talk emergency planning. That includes having a plan ready for your pet.
New Hanover County has a third shelter ready for pets in the event of an evacuation.
And unlike the other shelters, this one will house both pets and their owners.
The separation between pets and their owners during Hurricane Katrina highlighted the need for hurricane shelters to factor pets into emergency preparedness plans. New Hanover County has had two pet shelters ready during past storms. Now they have gone one step further.
Emergency managers have prepared a third shelter at noble middle school designed specifically for pets and their owners to be housed in one location.
The facility will be located at 6520 Market St. It will have capacity for 80 dogs and 36 cats. If it fills up, pet owners can take their animals to the New Hanover County Animal Control Services facility at 180 division drive.
While it's helpful to bring supplies, it is not mandatory.
Kristen Wingenroth with New Hanover County Emergency Management said, "We have crates for consistency. We have those set up and ready to go. They should not worry about bringing food unless they have a special diet. We have all the supplies."
Other shelters in the county include Eaton and Johnson Elementary schools. And county-run shelters are not the only option.
Also, there are many pet-friendly hotels if you'd like to evacuate inland, which is the safest option.
It is also recommended that you bring a photo of your pet to the shelter for identification purposes and make sure your pet is wearing an ID tag.
Animal Control officials prefer that pets are spayed or neutered. And while your pet should also have had all vaccinations, they will not turn you away if your pet has not had all vaccinations.
And when we talk about preparing your pet, that includes making sure it's been vaccinated for rabies.
Students and faculty at UNCW are sponsoring a free clinic Saturday. Anyone with a dog, cat or ferret can bring their pet to the clinic for a free rabies vaccination.
Experts say more than 55,000 people worldwide die every year from being bitten by a rabid animal. But they say it is very preventable as long as all domestic pets have been vaccinated. More importantly, it's mandatory.
Jean McNeil with Animal Control Services said, "Rabies is the only vaccine that is required by law. We police it as an animal control agency. And in New Hanover County, dogs, cats and ferrets four months of age and older are required to have the vaccine."
The clinic will be held on the UNCW campus, next to Trask Coliseum. It runs from one o'clock to three p.m. Saturday afternoon.
what storm?
Did I miss something? WHY do people seem to freak out and overreact to a sub tropical storm??? We have thunder storms worse.
For the pet hater
You are the nutty one, pets are like children for some, do you see pets out robbing people, dealing drugs,shooting each other, having babies and having welfare pay for them, that is wasting your taxes..
You need to pull your head out and see who REALLY is wasting your taxes and complain about the REAL issue, everyday there is a story about children, they are getting younger and younger commiting crimes here in town, this is WASTING your tax money, not proving shelter and food for a few days for some animals.. WAKE UP !!
dogs or pets
I have left town before in a cat 4 hurricane because I could not keep my pets with me. I have two dogs and if I leave for anything they are going with me.
To the person who thinks it is a waste of tax dollars, you are very uncaring person. There are lots of working pets out there, that the owners would not be able to have a full life without them.
I think it is one of the best things that this county has done in along time for the people.
WOW...
What a GREAT waste of my tax dollars. Unfortunately, we have nutzo's that think their dog/cat/insert_pet is a son or daughter....now I have to pay for pet food with tax dollars to feed them in times of emergencies. Ahhh the spiral into the dark abyss is quite breezy sometimes.
If you think a little harder
If you think a little harder you can probably come up with a thousand things that are far less worthwhile that our tax dollars are going to than this. Some elderly people who are the ones that can't evacuate only have their pets, give them a break would you? One day you might need some tax dollars for something others deem a waste. All of us live in glass houses so we should not throw stones!
How often will your tax
How often will your tax dollars actually be applied here? Once every few years? And how much, truly? Instead of whining about a bit of kibble, I am sure there are other daily wastes that should concern you a whole hell of a lot more.
Animal Shelter
If you had a pet to show you some love (even though you don't deserve it), you might change your views. Would you rather the animals drown, and your tax dollars then go to more projects such as clean up and disposal of dead puppies? Tomorrow when you wake up and kick mike vick out of your bed, I hope you walk out to get the paper and get eaten by a pack of wild (once sweet and housebroken, before the storm that left them homeless) dogs.
You
disgust me. You think people are 'nuts' for loving their pets. Humans domesticated the things, and it's our duty to now take care of them. Besides, it's an honor to have them care about us in return. You have icewater running through your veins, and you probably think thats a good thing.
waste of tax dollars? Far from it!
The truly unfortunate thing is this world is full of people like you who care so little about animals. Its people like you, who only care about themselves and your petty problems, thats causes pets to go unspayed and unneutered and breed like crazy which results in tens of thousands of unnecesary euthanizations each year. People like you are the reason animal abusers get off with only a slap on the wrist for their heinous and cruel actions. I am glad to have my tax dollars go towards such a worthy cause! I have 4 cats and guess what...they are my sons and daughters. You think Im a nutzo, go right ahead. To me, you are the nutzo for being so self centered and ignorant, not to mention selfish!
Pets
Well for those of us who cannot have children our pets are out kids. My tax dollars pay for schools and I don't have any children, so is that a waste of my money? Also, you can tell alot about a person by the way they treat animals.
Man!
Why don't you just pack your junk and take your tax dollars with you? I'm being Serious! Take your money And LEAVE!!!!! Go to Wisconsin or Kansas,NEW YORK, Anywhere. Hit the road. The sooner,the better.
Well,there goes YOUR
Well,there goes YOUR Compassionate Humanitarian Award down the dumper. Please follow it. The amount you pay in taxes probably breaks down to about $0.004 contribution to pet food. I will send that amount to the county to cover you. In the event of a hurricane or full-fledged tropical storm, please evacuate the area so MY tax dollars don't have to pay the EMS people to rescue your sorry butt.
Msg back to pet hater
You are the nutty one, pets are like children for some, do you see pets out robbing people, dealing drugs, having babies and having welfare pay for them, that is wasting your taxes, NOT a emergency to shelter some for a few days..
You need to pull your head out and see who REALLY is wasting your taxes, everyday there is a story about someones child they are getting younger and younger commiting these crimes, WAKE UP,and go complain about the truth instead of someone who cares for animals..
new shelter for owners and pets
I am very glad to hear that a shelter is going to be open for both owners and their pets. It is very traumatic to have to evacuate your home and move to a place where you are a stranger there. It would be doubly hard on some pet owners if they had to leave their beloved companions at a separate shelter. I really hope this works out and there are not many problems. Maybe other counties will hear about this and more shelters of this kind will open in more places.