With hurricane season in full swing, it’s a good idea to make sure all necessary preparations have been made. And that means deciding how best to care for, and keep track of, pets should a storm hit.
According to St. Johns County Animal Control Operations Manager Paul Studivant, when a hurricane strikes many animals get displaced and cannot be reunited with their owners, usually due to the lack of some permanent identification. But that doesn’t have to be the case.
The solution is simple: microchipping.
Saturday, July 22, Studivant was at the grill outside the St. Johns County Pet Center, cooking up hot dogs for the center’s promotional event, Hot Diggity Dog Day. County residents were invited to stop by for a hot dog and consider adopting a pet. On average, more than 700 pets are adopted from the center each year.
Also Saturday, center staff were offering a special deal on microchipping: two pets for $10.
The process is quick and simple. The paperwork takes about a minute and injecting the microchip between the pet’s shoulder blades takes about 30 seconds.
“We’ll register the animal for you and give you information to take with you,” Studivant said.
When a lost pet is found, any veterinarian can scan for the microchip, which will reveal a number. Officials can then look up the number in a computer and that will provide whatever information the pet owner supplied at the time of microchipping — usually name, address and phone number.
The owner is then called and informed that the lost pet has been found.
The Pet Center, at 130 N. Stratton Road, will microchip dogs, cats, ferrets and even rabbits.
In addition to microchipping a pet, Studivant recommended having the pet’s paperwork, such as shot records, on hand and keeping pictures of the pet on your phone. Tattoos inside the ear or somewhere also can also help identify a lost pet.
Authorities used to recommend people leave pets home with three days’ worth of food and water whenever they had to evacuate. But that’s no longer the case. During Hurricane Katrina, thousands of animals were left to die in all the flooding.
“I would try to find a safe place for you and your pet outside of the storm area,” Studivant said.
Fortunately, St. Johns County has designated two evacuation shelters as pet-friendly: South Woods Elementary School, 4750 S.R. 206 West; and Timberlin Creek Elementary School, 555 Pine Tree Lane.
For more information, go to sjcemergencymanagement.com/shetpet.html.
