PET EMERGENCY TIPS
Basic Pet First Aid Kit
Below is a list of Basic Pet First Aid Kit items for your pet first aid kit. The purpose of the kit is to
provide quick, simple, easy care to your pet when he/she requires very basic, immediate first aid
treatment. You need not purchase a pre-packaged pet first aid kit and can easily obtain the items
listed below, either from your home or from a local pharmacy/discount store. These supplies are
only for very basic situations, like a minor cut/scrape, a broken nail, an insect bite, small area of
skin irritation or removing a tick .These supplies should only be used under the supervision of an
adult. For any care for more severe injuries, please contact your veterinarian or an animal
emergency hospital. A Basic Pet First Aid Kit can be kept in your home or in your car/truck if your
pet(s) travel with you. You may have pet first aid items at home already and can put them into your
kit so they are handy when needed for pet(s).
Some of the items included on the list have expiration dates: Benadryl, Saline Solution, and
antibiotic ointment; therefore your kit should be checked every 6 months in order to discard
items that are expired and replace them with fresh products.
BASIC PET FIRST AID KIT LIST:
1- Tweezers
2- Saline Solution (purchase at the pharmacy)
3- Antibiotic ointment (i.e., Neosporin or generic purchase at a pharmacy)
4- Liquid Benadryl (or generic, purchase at a pharmacy)
5- Alcohol Swabs (purchase at a pharmacy)
6- Cotton bandage (purchase at a pharmacy)
7- Sterile Gauze Bandage (purchase at a pharmacy)
8- Rectal Thermometer (human type, purchase at a pharmacy)
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS: Print this list and keep it in your Pet First Aid Kit and
in your vehicle
1-Have A Heart Animal Hospital: (978) 373-4422
2-Essex County Emergency Hospital of North Andover, MA (open 24 hours): (978) 725-5544
3-Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital of Woburn, MA (open 24 hours): (781) 932-5802
4-Poison Control:
Have A Heart Animal Hospital: (978) 373-4422
Boston Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention: 800-222-1222
ASPCA Poison Control: 888-426-4435
HomeAgain Pet Medical Emergency: 888-466-3242
Safe Transport of Pets
In order to transport your pet safely at any time, including during non-emergency car
transport, you should have a sturdy, latchable carrier for a cat and a seat belted car harness
for a dog. A dog can also be transported safely in a sturdy, latchable dog crate. Large
carriers/crates should be located safely in the most rear seat or hatchback area of the vehicle;
smaller carriers/crates and harnesses should be secured in the back seat of the vehicle.
Pets should not be transported in open truck beds.
To be prepared for an emergency, keep the following items in good working order and ready to
take at a moment’s notice. Consider putting one of each item in a special bag, kept in a specific
locatino in your home. Use the bagged items only for an emergency. By doing so, you would
not need to scramble through your house or vehicle searching for them at a time when you are
anxious to attend to the emergency at hand. Keeping the entire bag in your vehicle is also a
good option if you travel regularly travel with your pet(s).
1-Sturdy, cloth, leather or chain linked leash (not a retractable leash)
2-Sturdy pet carrier, harness and/or crate
3-Pet blanket/towels
4-Pet First Aid Kit
Evacuation of Pets
Having to evacuate our home is something we all dread and planning for a possible
evacuation can cause a great deal of anxiety; however, time spent now can save you a great
deal of heartache, panic and mistakes should an evacuation be necessary.
In the case of an evacuation, in addition to the items listed above, you should also have
ready:
5-Pet Medications/Medications List: keeping your pet(s) properly medicated for chronic
illness/disease will be critical to your pet’s overall health during any extended absence from
home. You can obtain a list of your pet’s medications from your veterinarian or via
www.haveaheartanimal.com/epethealth.
6-Pet ID Card: a good Pet ID Card contains handy, medical and identification information
about each pet, such as the pet’s name, the pet’s photo, your name, address, phone number,
microchip number, birth date and allergies. Each pet should have his/her own card. You can
obtain a free Pet ID Card from Have A Heart Animal Hospital by calling (978) 373-4422 or
emailing us at [email protected].
7-Pet Photo Album: in the event of an evacuation, a photographic record of your pet is ideal
to take with you for purposes of identifying your pet. An inexpensive paperback album,
containing photos of your pet over the past few years, would suffice. Try to include a variet y
of poses, showing any special identifying marks such as a dark patch over one eye, a curly tail,
etc. A good way to update the travel album is to take and add a new photo on the day of
your pet’s annual physical exam each year. This is also a good time to request an updated Pet
ID Card at Have A Heart Animal Hospital.
8-Pet Microchip Information: keep a photocopy of your pet’s microchip identification
documents in your emergency evacuation travel bag. You can also attach a pet microchip
identification tag to your pet’s collar as backup identification. Having the documents with you
is best in the event your pet’s collar comes off and/or gets lost during an evacuation. You might
consider making multiple copies and have each family member carry a copy on his/her person.
9-Clean, sturdy food/water bowl : an inexpensive cloth, collapsible water “bowl” is lightweight,
easy to clean, sturdy and efficient on space when packed in your emergency travel bag. These
are available in pet and discount stores for less than $5.00.
10-Bottled Water: you need bottled water for your entire family, not just your pets, during an
evacuation. Consider placing 16 ounce bottles in your pet’s emergency travel bag; as well as
serveral gallon bottles in the same location for your other family members. Note: canned pet
food has an expiration date, therefore adding canned pet food to your emergency bag now will
not be practical should an evacuation occur in the future, beyond the food’s expiration date.
You should have an evacuation plan for your entire family and should include canned
nonperishable goods in that plan.
Pet Emergency Phone Numbers
Print this list and keep it posted in your home and in your vehicle.
1-Have A Heart Animal Hospital: (978) 373-4422
2-Essex County Emergency Hospital of North Andover, MA (open 24 hours): (978) 725-5544
3-Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital of Woburn, MA (open 24 hours): (781) 932-5802
4-Poison Control
Have A Heart Animal Hospital: (978) 373-4422
Boston Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention: 800-222-1222
ASPCA Poison Control: 888-426-4435
HomeAgain Pet Medical Emergency: 888-466-3242
Our goal is always to keep your pets healthy and safe. While we hope that you never have to use the
information above for an emergency or an evacuation, we think this information can help give you
some peace of mind if you do. Remember that we are always here to answer your questions and
provide support in any emergency.