Most of us have first aid kits at home – or at the very least a slightly disorganized medicine cabinet with the basics! Especially if you have kids! Band-aids, thermometers and antibiotic creams seem to find their way into your cabinets on a regular basis because let’s face it … kids are accident-prone! Our pets might not suffer from skinned knees and small bumps quite as often but they still manage to find ways to hurt themselves now and then and being prepared with a pet based home emergency kit can really come in handy when those moments present themselves.
While a first aid kit for your dog will in no way replace the help of a trained veterinarian, it can certainly make an emergency much easier to handle. Imagine your dog gets injured while hiking, making it back to your vehicle so that you can seek treatment may be challenging without the suitable supplies for your canine companion. Likewise, some injuries require care but not necessarily a full vet trip, in such cases, it’s much less stressful to have these supplies on hand rather than have to make a panicked trip to the store. With that in mind read below for a few items you might want to stock up on!
Creating An At-Home Emergency Kit For Your Pet
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The Basics
Regardless of who you’re creating an emergency kit for there are some staples that should always be included. These items are so useful that having them on hand is a must when it comes to injury treatment.
- Laminated Emergency Numbers Card – Your first aid kit should always contain a laminated or protected card with the number for your local vet, your emergency after-hours clinic and Animal Poison Control.
- Gauze Pads – For bandaging cuts
- Tape & Non-Stick Bandages – For a pet emergency supply kit you should have both of these on hand. The tape is handy for securing bandages to each other but you can’t use it on fur..which is where products like vet wrap can come in handy.
- Cotton Balls – These are excellent for cleaning wounds and applying ointments or antiseptics.
- Hydrogen Peroxide – To immediately disinfect wounds, can also be used to induce vomiting if you suspect your pet has ingested something bad for them. This should only be done under instruction from a vet.
- Antibiotic Spray & Ointment – To help keep wounds clean while bandaged.
- Scissors – For trimming bandages and gauze pads. It can even help clean up fur around a wound or cut out burrs and other irritants.
- Tweezers – For pulling slivers and debris out of paw-pads or wounds. It can also be used to remove ticks if you’re spending time in the woods.
- Syringes (Without the Needle) – These are useful for flushing wounds or delivering medications if needed.
- Flashlight – Nothing in your kit will do you any good if you can’t see!
Optional But Helpful Emergency Kit Items
While these items might not be necessary for immediate injury relief having good quality versions of them on hand can be very helpful when you end up dealing with injury rehabilitation or even when dealing with everyday issues (like preventing excessive licking of an irritated hot spot/bug bite). Having these items in your house just means you don’t need to make a run to the store when they crop up!
- Recovery Collar – No dog likes the ‘cone of shame’ but they probably like the softer higher quality ones provided by companies like OneTigris then the hard one uses plastic ones you get from the vet. Of course, the side benefit of using these higher quality recovery collars is that they can be washed and reused which is great for the environment AND your wallet.
- Leg Braces – Animals love to injure their legs, a lot of them play hard and end up limping for a variety of reasons. Having a couple of leg braces on hand to help support an injury before you can make it to the vet can be very helpful!
- Portable & Washable Dog Bed – Having a dog bed that is easy to wash and move around can be great if you have a sick animal Not only can you relocate it to a specific spot should you need to quarantine your pet (or just keep them close by) but being able to wash it can help keep illness from spreading. If you find yourself having to evacuate an easy to grab and carry pet bed that your animal is familiar with can be a nice addition when trying to make a pet comfortable in unfamiliar locations.
- Towels – Towels can be very useful! They can work as makeshift bandages, clean up messes and even double as a bed or blanket. Everyone should have some old extra towel stashed away!
- Muzzle – No one wants to think that their pet will bite them but when an animal is in pain or afraid and you NEED to move them..it can happen. Having a muzzle that is fitted to your pet and that you’ve spent the time conditioning them too so that they don’t see it as a negative item can be very helpful in times of great stress. It can be a tool to keep both you AND your pet safe while seeking treatment or getting to safety.
Emergency Kit Items For Disaster Scenarios
Sometimes our emergency kits should include things that are not related to treating injures. If you live in an area that’s prone to environmental dangers such as hurricanes, wildfires or flooding it can be useful to have some of these items on hand – just in case you find yourself having to evacuate or without power for extended periods of time.
- Proof Of Ownership – These can be photos, registration papers or microchip ID numbers/login Information Pretty much anything that will prove that you are the owner of a specific animal should you be separated during an emergency evacuation.
- Food – It’s recommended that you keep extra food on hand for your pets just like you stock up for your family. Ensure that food is stored in a cool dry location and use & replace it as needed to make sure it doesn’t expire.
- Water – When stocking up on water for your family, don’t forget to get extra for your pets.
Of course, if you don’t feel like putting together a DIY kit there are many pre-made ones available for you to buy!
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