Disaster Preparedness

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS INFORMATION

The SPCA is here for you during disasters. If you are given orders to evacuate, please take your animals with you.

How You Can Help:

Be Prepared: please see the information below
Evacuate with your pets: we will be here for you
Donate to help our disaster response
Give pet food to help families in need: Amazon Wish List, Chewy Wish List, or your favorite local pet store. Pet food can be delivered to SPCA Monterey County, 1002 Monterey-Salinas Highway, Salinas CA 93908

SPCA Monterey County always recommends being prepared. If you haven’t already, please prepare for how to care for your family and pets should a disaster strike. Visit the Monterey County Office of Emergency Management page for updated information on the current events/emergencies as well as information on pet-friendly emergency shelters.

Important Information: See a list of pet-friendly hotels and motels and learn how to prepare for a disaster now.

If you are ever given orders to evacuate, please always take your pets with you. SPCA Monterey County will be here to shelter animals if you do not have other places to take your pets.

As always, thank you for your support that makes all our programs, including disaster response and preparedness, possible. We are here for you, because of you.

If you need assistance, please call the SPCA at 831-373-2631 between 8 am and 5 pm or 831-646-5534 for after hours emergencies. If you are self-evacuating, please call us so we can direct you to safe sheltering. Visit our list of pet-friendly hotels and motels to find a place to stay with your pets.

SPCA Monterey County was the very first animal welfare agency in the United States to partner with the American Red Cross and shelter pets adjacent to human evacuation shelters during disasters. We continue that commitment today with concrete partnerships with our local Red Cross and a seat at the Office of Emergency Services. SPCA Monterey County, in agreement with Monterey County Office of Emergency Services, acts as the lead animal rescue agency during a disaster.

Contact us at 831-373-2631 if you have questions or need assistance with emergency pet or livestock evacuations during disasters.

Please download this important disaster preparedness information or para leer ésta información en español, presione aquí.

BE PREPARED

Is your family ready for when disaster strikes? Many families create emergency evacuation plans and disaster kits for their human members, but their furry, feathered, or scaly friends are often forgotten until its too late. Preparation is important, and could likely save your pets life in a real emergency situation.

Here are some tips on how to create a kit that is best for your pet:

What kind of pet do you have?

Disaster Preparedness Kit Checklist

HAVE A PLAN

Have a clear evacuation plan for both your family and your pets. Remember, practice makes perfect, so run through evacuation “drills” often. Don’t forget to train your pets to load into their evacuation carriers. This will ensure that any real evacuation will go as quickly and as smoothly as possible.

Did you know know you can even train your dog to “duck and cover” in an earthquake? Learn how in this video:

KNOW WHAT TO DO

The Monterey County Office of Emergency Services (OES) recommends that people should be prepared for disasters by taking the necessary steps to care for themselves for a minimum of 72 hours (but preferably at least seven days) after a disaster occurs. This includes planning for no electricity or phone communications, as well as the possibility that services such as police, fire and ambulance will be extremely limited. This recommendation should also extend to all pets and livestock.

If you are given an order to evacuate, please take your pets and livestock with you. Any situation that is dangerous for you is also dangerous for your animals.

Read our recommendations, based on the many disaster rescues we have performed

EDUCATE

Planning ahead for disasters can save lives and make a very stressful situation less severe. Please call the SPCA at 831-373-2631 if you would like to schedule a disaster preparedness presentation please contact us.