How to keep your furry friends safe while weathering the storm

Jun 13, 2024

With Hurricane Idalia headed towards Florida, it is important to keep your pets safe from the storm, too.

Orange County Animal Services recommends that pet owners maintain their animal’s routine as much as possible.

Animals may feel anxious or scared and try to escape during a storm so animal services recommends keeping a close, watchful eye on them, walking them with a leash and keeping a collar with tags on them.

Orange County Animals services said that animals will arrive at the shelter without collars, tags or microchips during a storm.

The best way to avoid your pet becoming lost in the storm is to take proactive measures like having a tag made with your current information and affixing it to the pet’s collar. If your pet is already microchipped, take the time to ensure that the information attached to the microchip is correct.

Diane Summers, the manager of Orange County Animal Services, says that they typically see an increase in lost pets after a storm. She asks her community to consider housing animals who do not have a home.

"While it doesn’t appear our area will receive direct impact from Hurricane Idalia, it’s likely people from more impacted areas will evacuate here and this could lead to pets being displaced in Orange County." Summers said. "For this reason, we strongly encourage those in a position to adopt or foster a pet to do so as we want to ensure we have resources available for our incoming pets."