Preparing Animals & Pets for Disasters

If you care about disaster resilience, you cannot ignore your animals and pets.

Types of animals and pets

For purposes of emergency planning, preparedness, response, and recovery, “animals” includes household pets, service animals, emotional support animals, assistance animals, and domesticated livestock that are owned, cared for, or relied upon by individuals, households, or agricultural producers. This definition recognizes that animals may serve companionship, disability-related assistance, therapeutic support, economic livelihood, or agricultural production functions and therefore must be considered in evacuation, sheltering, transportation, reunification, and recovery planning.

• Household pets: animals traditionally kept for companionship such as dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, reptiles, and similar domesticated animals.
• Service animals: animals individually trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Emotional support or assistance animals: animals that provide therapeutic or emotional benefit related to a disability but may not have specialized task training.
• Livestock and agricultural animals: animals raised for food, fiber, labor, breeding, or agricultural production (e.g., cattle, horses, goats, poultry, swine).

Too many people delay evacuation, refuse shelter, or return to unsafe areas because of their animals and pets. That hesitation can cost lives-human and animal. Pet preparedness isn’t a “nice extra.” It’s a core safety strategy.

Why it’s important to prepare animals and pets for disasters

Here’s why it matters:

• People are far less likely to evacuate if shelters won’t accept pets.
• Delayed evacuation increases injury, death, and rescue burden on first responders.
• Unplanned animal displacement complicates recovery, housing, logistics, public health and reunification.
• Families experiencing disaster trauma are further destabilized when pets are lost.

After Hurricane Katrina, thousands of people refused evacuation because they could not bring their pets. The aftermath led to federal reform through the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act (PETS Act 2006), requiring state and local emergency plans to account for household pets and emotional support animals. That wasn’t symbolic. It was recognition that animal-inclusive planning reduces human harm.

Pet preparedness strengthens:

• Evacuation compliance: People leave earlier and safer.
• Shelter access: Co-located or pet-friendly shelters reduce refusal rates.
• Mental health stability: Preserving family units includes pets.
• Community recovery speed: Fewer search-and-rescue redeployments.

How to prepare your animals and pets for disasters

If we want safer communities, below is what preparedness actually looks like.

For households:

• Microchip and register pets.
• Keep vaccination records accessible.
• Prepare a pet go-bag (food, water, meds, carrier, ID, photos).
• Identify pet-friendly hotels and shelters in advance.
• Practice evacuation with animals.

Understand local emergency plans:

• Does your city/county or political subdivision address pets/animals in sheltering, evacuation and transportation procedures?
• Are local humane organizations and veterinarians available as resources and supports for the community during and after events?
• Are there supports for farmers/ranchers in preparing livestock and property?
• Are pet sheltering policies publicly available and transparent before disasters occur?

For livestock:

• Identification: Ensure all animals have permanent identification, such as tags, tattoos, or microchips. Maintain photos and records of ownership and store digitally.
• Evacuation planning: Identify prearranged, safe locations to take animals (e.g., fairgrounds, fellow producers, farms/ranches) and map out at least two routes. Contact local veterinarians, Agriculture or Animal Health Commission for points of contact.
• Evacuation kit: Pack enough feed, water, medical supplies, and special supplements for at least 3-7 days. Include essential tools like halters, ropes, and tools for handling.
• Transportation: Prepare trucks and trailers in advance, ensuring they are serviced and ready for immediate use.
• Shelter-in-place: If evacuation is not possible, determine whether to leave animals in a safe, open pasture or secure them in a fortified barn. Generally, open fields with secure fencing are safer to avoid entrapment by collapsing structures.
• Stockpile water: Have a plan for alternate water sources if power fails, such as generators or hand pumps.
• Document records: Keep important veterinary documents, vaccination records, health certificates and medication list in a waterproof container/bag and store digitally.
• Identify neighbors: to check on property and infrastructure if displaced and when safe.

Communities that plan for the whole household build resiliency and recover faster. In other words, animal-inclusive planning reduces evacuation resistance, supports disability access, and protects economic resilience.

Published: June 4, 2026
Publication Code: DPR28

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Disclaimer: Disability Rights Texas strives to update its materials on an annual basis, and this handout is based upon the law at the time it was written. The law changes frequently and is subject to various interpretations by different courts. Future changes in the law may make some information in this handout inaccurate.

The handout is not intended to and does not replace an attorney’s advice or assistance based on your particular situation.

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