The Preparedness Gazette

A publication of the Springfield Township Office of Emergency Management

____________________Vol 2, Issue 1, Fall 2025_______

CARE FOR HOUSEHOLD PETS IN EMERGENCIES

Whether a beloved housecat, faithful hunting dog, or loyal service animal, animals play a big part in our lives.  Studies show that more than 60 percent of household pet owners consider their pets to be family members.  In fact, some people are so concerned about their household pets and service animals that they may endanger themselves during a disaster.  This is particularly evident in seniors and children.  This concern may impair their ability to make decisions about their own safety.  Household pet owners have been injured or killed attempting to rescue their animals from burning buildings or refusing to evacuate hazardous areas.  These issues are particularly evident in seniors and children.

In a disaster, animal welfare is a human responsibility.  Planning for care for household pets and service animals helps to ensure that animals and their caretakers can achieve favorable outcomes when the unexpected happens.  The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act (as amended by the 2006 Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act and Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act) states that State and local emergency preparedness operational plans should address the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals.

Service animals shall be treated as required by law (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990). This includes any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability.  Service animals (legally limited to dogs and small horses) may be sheltered with the person they serve.  While the ADA guarantees a service animal may remain with the person served in a shelter set up in response to a disaster, the ADA does not ensure other aspects of caring for a service animal during disasters. Owners of service animals should be prepared to care for their service animals during an emergency, both at home and in an emergency shelter.

Household pets may be sheltered adjacent to or near a human shelter, allowing pet owners to care for them.  Human shelters may restrict animal sheltering locations for reasons of hygiene, safety, public health, animal phobias, or facility features.

One of the most important disaster preparedness steps is to assemble an animal disaster kit containing basic necessities and important information. The kit should include information and items you can use at home or take with you in case you must evacuate.

• Store your disaster kit in an area where it can easily be retrieved.
• Check the contents of the disaster kit twice a year
• Rotate all foods into use and replace with fresh food every 2 months.

Suggested items for your household pets and service animals in your disaster kit include:

• Food, water, and bowls for each pet. (Keep a 3-day supply for evacuations, and a 2-week supply for sheltering-in-place at home.)
• Paper towels, plastic bags, and spray disinfectant for animal waste cleanup.
• Extra collars and tags, harnesses, and leashes for all pets (including cats).
• Copies of your pet’s medical and vaccination records.
• A 2-week supply of medication, along with a copy of the current prescription.
• A recent photo of you with your pet.
• A crate or traveling carrier large enough for your pet to stand up and turn around.

(Label the crate with your pet’s name, your name, and where you can be reached.)

• First aid kit.

Determine sheltering options for you and your animals. Consider the following in your area and within a 100-mile radius:

• Family and friends
• Hotels that allow household pets
• Boarding kennels
• Animal shelters and humane societies
• Veterinary offices with boarding facilities
• Grooming shops
• Approved areas at fairgrounds or parks

Many areas now provide emergency household pet shelters alongside general population shelters.  If you must evacuate to a shelter, the following tips can help you be prepared:

• Familiarize your household pets and service animals with their transport crate before a crisis.
• Know your pet’s common and favorite hiding places. Once the chaos starts, this is where you will find them.
• Familiarize your household pets and service animals with being transported. You can practice by getting your pet used to riding in your car.  NOTE: Cats can be very difficult to catch when they are stressed or afraid. Practice catching and transporting your cat in a carrier. 

We are each responsible for the survival and well-being of our household pets and service animals.  Everyone should have an emergency response plan and emergency kits with provisions to ensure their care.  We may not be able to prevent disasters from occurring, but we can reduce their impact on our lives and loved ones, both human and animal.   

The Preparedness Gazette

A publication of the Springfield Township Office of Emergency Management

____________________Vol 1, Issue 1, Summer 2025__________________

• OEM Coordinator: Mr. Anthony Sam, 609-723-2464, oem@springfieldtownshipnj.org

Greetings from your Office of Emergency Management (OEM):

Our township is beginning a new chapter in the evolution of our emergency management program, and we would like to say “hello” to you, our friends and neighbors!  Like many public service agencies, Emergency Management has gone through significant changes in recent years. Emergency Managers at all government levels have had to contend with multiple challenges: shifting priorities, inconsistent funding, and spotty resourcing. Regardless, emergency management must maintain the ability to enable recovery from disasters large and small. The constant planning, analysis and practice conducted by our OEM is something that we all rely on, whether we’re aware of it or not.

Preparedness is Not an Accident:

Keeping our community safe is a continuous and ongoing process.  Springfield Township OEM coordinates the efforts of our community leaders with our Fire, Police, Public Works, schools, and residents, to foster an “all hazards” preparedness culture.  Your OEM team works closely with Burlington County and State OEM to create and maintain a comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan to ensure we are ready and able to respond when needed.

Community Engagement:

Engaging with the community is a cornerstone of effective emergency management, yet it remains a challenging task. Building trust, raising awareness, and encouraging preparedness among the public requires ongoing effort and innovative strategies.  Even with effective outreach, many individuals remain unaware of potential hazards or are unprepared to respond effectively when disaster strikes. Overcoming this requires communication that resonates with residents.  It also requires building and maintaining strong relationships with community members.  Your OEM team is dedicated to those goals.

Threats We Face:

Our township is a rural, largely agriculturally based community, but we face many of the same threats and challenges as larger, more diverse communities.  For instance, we have a major military installation, with an active airfield, just next door.  A great deal of daily traffic, to and from the base, transits our township roads, creating threats to motorists, pedestrians, and farmers moving from field to field.  We also have the possibility of aircraft related accidents, hazardous materials exposures, spills, and other hazards that are unique to military installations.  Then there is the weather; regardless of our views on why our weather is changing, it certainly is changing and having a measurable impact on natural disasters nationwide.  As we’ve seen over the past few years, our community is not immune.  In the past 36 months we’ve experienced the following right here in our own backyard:

• Severe storms producing torrential rain/flooding/hail
• Drought conditions
• Damaging wind events with higher windspeeds and longer durations

• Wildfires
• Tornadoes

Given our township’s topography, if a storm becomes severe enough to spawn a tornado, or just excessive straight-line winds, there isn’t much to slow the momentum.  It is conceivable that we could see widespread storm damage that will challenge our ability to respond. 

What can we do?   

Emergency Management begins with a proactive approach.  That begins with each of us as community members.    Each resident should have a personal emergency response plan in place.  Think about the following:

• What would I do if I lost power for 7 days?
• Do I have a water source?
• Do I have food that will resist spoilage?
• Do I have a way to charge my battery-operated devices (cell phones, tablets, etc.) 

Locally, our first responders are constantly training for emergency responses of all types.  However, it is incumbent upon all of us as township residents to be prepared for the unexpected.  As we’ve seen recently, FEMA is not able to respond as robustly to disasters as it once did.  The Federal Government is shifting authority and responsibility for hazard response to the state and local levels.  As community members, we must do what we can proactively to mitigate risks before disaster strikes.  There’s an old saying in emergency management: “hazard prevention generally yields better outcomes than hazard response.”  Stay safe out there!  #preparedness