We might not want to think about it, but we’re all vulnerable to significant illness, injury and death that could prevent us from caring for our pets either for a short period of time or indefinitely. You love your pet and want what is best for them. One of the greatest gifts you can give them is to plan for their care should you ever be unable to provide it yourself.

PLANNING FOR AN EMERGENCY

When you leave your house in the morning, you don’t assume that today is the day you’ll get into a car wreck or have a heart attack. And we sincerely hope neither happens to you! But becoming seriously injured/ill and unable to return home later that day to take care of your pet is an unfortunate possibility. So how do we ensure our pets get the care they need right away?

In the event of an emergency, it might take time for your loved ones to be alerted. You can help expedite this process by sharing your information in two ways:

1. Make sure your Emergency Contacts information in your cell phone is up-to-date

2. Print an Emergency Card and place it in your wallet

Note: You can buy a Pet Emergency Card online or make your own. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. The card should explain that you have a pet at home that might need care. Include one or two individuals who can be contacted to provide immediate care.

Consider Possible "Immediate" Caregivers

First things first, you’ll need someone who can step up immediately, even if it’s just for a day or two. This person should live nearby, like a pet sitter or neighbor. Ideally, you’ll have a few people on your list in case one or more are unavailable. In some cases, you might have a boarding facility as your primary care option, but keep in mind that someone you know and trust will need to access your home, collect your pet and their things, and transport them to the facility.

Home Access

In order to provide care for your pet, your caregiver will need access to your home. You have a few options to facilitate this. If you feel comfortable, let your caregiver know in advance how to access your home via a key (either hidden or one you provide to them), garage code or other system. Given that your immediate caregiver might be a pet sitter or someone else you don’t have a close relationship with, you might feel uncomfortable providing this information in advance. If this is the case, you’ll need to designate a Primary Decision Maker. This person might not live close by but can coordinate care efforts from afar. You’ll want to make sure they have information on the best way to access your home and can quickly share this information with your pet’s immediate caregiver. Your goal in planning ahead is to make sure there is no delay in providing care to your pets!

If you live in an apartment complex, your complex manager might be able to allow access into your home, if needed. Talk with them now about any paperwork you might need to complete to authorize access in the event of an emergency.

If you have a security alarm, you’ll need to provide your caregiver with the access code to turn the system off and on.

If you have a Smart Home, your Primary Decision Maker might be able to open/close your home from afar for your immediate caregiver, though this will obviously take coordination. Keep in mind that your Primary Decision Maker might be overwhelmed with grief, anxiety or a list of other things they need to address because of the emergency. Ideally, you’ll make their work as easy as possible.

Create a Pet Care Information Sheet

In order for your caregiver to provide proper care, they’ll need to know a lot of details regarding your pet. You can help them by compiling all this information into one document. Print it and leave it in your home near your pet’s food or other supplies. Make sure you tell your possible caregivers where they can find this information. If the information changes somewhat frequently (perhaps you’re modifying your pet’s diet or medications), consider sharing an electronic file through Google Drive or some other shareable link that allows you to make changes. This way your caregiver will always have access to the most recent version.

What information should be included on your care sheet? Given that you can use this care sheet for both short-term and long-care needs (just in case!), you’ll want to be as thorough as possible. Here are some details we suggest including:
  • Basic Pet Information – Name, date of birth (or approximate), weight, male/female, unaltered or spayed/neutered, color
  • Pet Identification & Certifications – Microchip company and number, rabies certification, pet insurance information, and county license, if applicable. You may want to include copies of these in your pet’s Google Drive folder.
  • Contact Information – Ideally, you’ll provide a phone number and email for each, along with the business contact information for your vet(s).
        – Your Contact Information
        – Your Primary Decision Maker - Person who is authorized to make decisions on your behalf
        – Primary and Specialty Veterinarians – Who to contact if your pet needs medical care
        – Possible Pet Caregivers – Include backup options, if possible
  • Pet’s Daily Schedule
  • Diet – Type of food, quantity, time of day. Don’t forget any specific instructions, like where your pet eats, the type of bowl to use, etc.
  • Treats – If treats are allowed, what kind, how much and how often?
  • Medications – List each medication, the dose and when it’s administered. Don’t forget to include the next date for preventative medications.
  • Activities – What is your pet’s ideal activity schedule? Do they need walks, play time, sniff time, outdoor time?
  • Additional needs – For cats, what type of litter do you use and how frequently does it need to be changed? If your pet has a favorite toy or sweater, include these details. You want your pet to be as comfortable as possible.
  • Location of important items – Where can your caregiver find your pet’s food, medications, leash, litter box, etc.?

Vet Permission to Treat / Absent Owner Forms

If your caregiver needs to take your pet to the vet, how should they go about making decisions and paying for the service? Most veterinarian offices (including emergency vets) have a form that you can complete in advance, providing authorization for specific people to make decisions regarding pet care on your behalf. Each vet has a different form, but they typically ask if there is a maximum amount you are willing to spend on vet care, who is able to make decisions for you, and what your wishes are for emergency care. Some require that you leave a credit card on file.

PLANNING FOR LONG-TERM CARE

​At some point, you might need someone to care for your pet for a long period of time (during a major recovery period, for example). Or the time might come when you can no longer care for your pet. In both scenarios, we need to consider long-term care options.

​Individual or Organizational Caregiver?

You might have an individual in your life whom you believe will provide care for your pet if you’re no longer able. That’s great, but please don’t assume they’ll take your pet. Rather, discuss the possibility with them and make sure you’re both on the same page regarding the agreement. Will they provide the kind of care you wish for your pet? What happens in the future if they can no longer provide care? Will you be providing funds for your pet’s care or will the caregiver accept this responsibility? Is the individual interested in adopting your pet, if needed, or only able to provide temporary care?

If you don’t have an individual in your life who is able to take your pet, you will want to consult with animal welfare organizations in your community. In some instances, a nonprofit organization might be able to provide temporary foster care for your pet, if needed. Nonprofits typically have very limited space, but there are some who provide foster care for pets whose people are in a crisis situation, such as domestic violence or a home fire. And others might be willing to provide care for other reasons depending on the situation and the nonprofit’s capacity.

Back-up Caregiver – Whether your long-term caregiver is an individual or organization, it’s wise to have at least one back-up just in case.

If you need an organization to take over the long-term care of your pet (typically until your pet can be adopted to another person), there are a handful of options you might find in your community.
  • Planned Care Program – Some programs enable a pet parent to plan in advance for long-term care. This membership program requires a fee to join as well as funds to accompany any pet that enters into the organization’s care. The primary benefit of this type of program is the guaranteed acceptance of your pet once they’re enrolled in the program. Additionally, many programs ensure that pets are kept in a home environment rather than a shelter environment. Typically this is a foster situation, though some programs do have home-like institutional environments. Most programs of this kind seek to find loving adoptive families for the pets in the program, but the organization makes a lifetime commitment to the pet. This allows the pet to be in a home with a family that loves them, but the pet can always be returned to the program at any time in the future if the family can no longer provide care. Many programs focus solely on dogs and cats, but there are programs that accommodate birds, horses and other animals.

  • Nonprofit Rescue – Animal rescues vary in their acceptance protocols for surrenders, which is the term typically used to refer to an animal that is brought in by the pet parent (or that person’s decision maker), as opposed to a pet that was found as a stray. Some rescues work strictly with area county shelters and do not accept surrenders, while others make decisions of acceptance on a case-by-case basis. Unless the organization has a planned care program (like the one mentioned above), their ability to accept a pet will depend on their capacity at the moment – number of pets already in their care, number of staff members and foster caregivers, amount of funds available to provide care. Pets accepted into the rescue may go into a foster or shelter environment. Most rescues seek to find loving adoptive families for the pets in their care, though some do function more like a sanctuary where the pets are expected to remain their entire lives.

  • City or County Shelter – Many parts of the United States are experiencing a pet overpopulation problem, meaning there are significantly more pets needing homes than people wishing to adopt. If this is the case in your area, finding a shelter that is able to accept your pet might be quite a challenge. Each shelter operates differently, so give them a call to see what your options might be. Capacity will vary by area as well as the time of year.
So now that you know your options, what are the next steps? You’ll want to consider your current pet’s needs as well as your wishes. Does your pet have anxiety and need to be in a quiet home environment or are they active, social and adaptable, suggesting that a shelter environment might be acceptable for them? What is the state of your local animal welfare situation? Talk with your local rescues and shelters to better understand their surrender acceptance policies. Is funding required for acceptance? Ultimately, what situation do you feel most comfortable with, and what do your finances allow? Consider future needs rather than just your current situation. What will your pet’s needs be as they age? What if you adopt additional pets in the future; does that change your plan?

Money Matters

Providing care for pets requires a lot of money. You might automatically consider the vet bills, food, medication and supplies. But it’s important to also calculate the time involved (by staff members, fosters or other caregivers) as well as the housing costs, such as electricity, water and a mortgage. The cost of care rises exponentially as a pet ages or if they have a major medical condition. And of course, the cost of living generally rises over time. If you have the means to supply funds to cover the cost of your pet’s care, organizations will more likely be able to accept them. You can also leave funds for an individual caregiver in your Will, or you can set up a pet trust. You’ll want to discuss the specifics of either with an attorney.

Make Your Wishes Known

After you decide how you want to approach immediate and long-term care for your pet, you’ll need to make your wishes known. Though there is a cost involved, we recommend hiring an attorney to help you craft at least two documents: 1) Last Will and Testament, which governs decisions if you die and 2) Durable Power of Attorney, which enables you to give decision-making power to another individual while you’re still living. The latter would be particularly helpful if you became incapacitated and were unable to make pet care decisions on your own. These documents are especially important if you plan to leave funds for the care of your pet(s).

Closing Thoughts

Although we would all like to believe that nothing would ever keep us from providing loving care for our pets, sadly, unexpected events can happen to all of us no matter our age. The greatest gift we can provide to our pets is to plan for their care in advance.
This information is shared with permission from Dragonfly Dreams.