Guest Post Written By: Elizabeth Garcia (https://www.instagram.com/alister.thecorgi/)
In this guest blog, I would like to share with you the story of how I decided to make a pet emergency kit for my corgi, Alister. I will explain why an emergency kit can come in handy in a crisis. Also, I will discuss how you can design your own kit with online resources available to you. Hopefully, this will inspire you to create a bag for your pet(s). First off, let me introduce the reason for this article, Alister. He is a 1 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi.

Where it all began:
My boyfriend and I moved to Kentucky last year. Soon after we were settled at our new place, we decided to welcome Alister into our home. We had everything ready for him to have a positive start in life. About a month into our newfound family, I began noticing road signs flashing “Are you ready?” across portable marquees. At that point, I genuinely asked myself, “Am I ready for inclement weather in Kentucky?”
Growing up in California, I never had to deal with the possibility of tornados. However, being in the military for 10 years, the importance of having a plan set out before anything disastrous happened was instilled in me. I began searching for information on nearby shelters and emergency evacuation routes. I updated my personal “Go Bag” for myself, and halfway through the process, realized that creating a bag for Alister could help us along the way.
In an emergency, you want to be able to move quickly and safely to get out of harm’s way. You might not have access to water, electricity and stores might not be open for you to purchase food. There may be times where you’re restricted from moving on roads or must leave your home in an evacuation. In these times, having an emergency kit can ease your hardship and get you through those days a bit easier. These kits not only come in handy for ourselves, but for our beloved pets as well.
About a few days into assembling a makeshift kit for Alister, I came across a contest from the Lexington Emergency Management Facebook page. This contest asked to see pictures of our dogs and how they were ready for emergencies. We decided to share what we had accomplished beside others who also had their pets ready to go!

items (My favorite — a weather radio!)
There are various websites, videos and checklists online (The links to my favorites are below) that are set on guiding anyone how to create a pet emergency kit. You can tailor your kits to fit your pets. The key information I was given by Lexington’s Emergency Management staff is to have everything you would need to sustain each pet for 3-5 days. This includes, food, water, medication and any other necessities your pet would need to survive.
Since Alister’s first birthday, we’ve fully updated and completed his kit (using the new bag) and routinely rotate out perishable items as required. I also keep myself updated on how to better help myself and my “Little Loaf” with information that I glean online about pet first aid and helpful emergency procedures in my county. So far, we have not had to use this kit in a real emergency, however, we are prepared if necessary. Are you and your pets ready?
Here are a few small tips on how to get your pet ready:
1. Build an Emergency Kit
2. Seek information on local emergency shelters (find out if they’re pet friendly)
3. Find and write down information on local and neighboring kennels
4. Have a plan set up with friends/ neighbors who can safely get to your pet if you’re not at home
5. Make sure family members are on the same page with emergency plans
Links to websites that can help you get started in building a plan for your pet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUbSF_S20bE
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/general-pet-care/disaster-preparedness
http://bereadylexington.com/pet-emergency-kits/
Download a free pet emergency kit checklist:
https://blog.corgithings.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/PetEmergencyBagChecklist.pdf
Download a free window decal:
https://blog.corgithings.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/EmergencyWindowDecal.pdf
More Corgi Things:
Awesome awesome post! Definitely helps hearing about other people’s bug out bags – some things that are good options that I hadn’t even thought of!
Is Alister sitting in a car seat in the far right picture? I would love to know what that is!
Hey Courtney! I asked Alister’s mom for you 🙂 It’s a “Good2Go Booster Dog Car Seat” that she got from Petco. She’s since changed to a seat cover and seatbelt with harness because he’s too big for it now.
For Lucy, we use a Solvit Pet Booster seat in the Jumbo size (http://amzn.to/2sHV3zg). Lucy’s about 23 lbs and it fits her comfortably. I hope that helps! 😀
Awesome awesome post! Look at his faces! I can’t wait to prepare for our cruise with my Dachshund. Thank you!
I am glad that more of you are taking this heart! I am a canine behavioral management/trainer/instructor in my spare time but volunteer in animal planning and other aspects for Lexington Emergency Management. In some of the recommendations out there for “To Go” kits for humans and animals, it is now suggested to plan for up to 2 weeks. For those of you here for the ice storms or other weather-related incidents there were people who had to relocate from homes for more than a week.
Also, to help better yourselves, consider enrolling in your local government’s Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.) training. It’s free and there is lots of good information. Depending on where you live will determine how often members may be asked to activate but most have ample opportunities to volunteer in less stressful times as well. More important, a resident who is more capable of taking care of themselves, family, neighbors and community – in that order.
Ellen, Thanks for the update on the suggested plan times! I will update my dog’s bag accordingly! I really would love to do the C.E.R.T. Training here in Kentucky, but I’m pretty sure we’re getting ready to relocate out of state and don’t want to waste time/resources for this area, especially if I’m not able to complete the course. I will look into it when I figure out wherever we end up!