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Pets, Disasters, And What You Need
By Gabriel Martin
It’s in the news a lot lately. Just this year, we have had Japan’s earthquake and tsunami; tornadoes ripping through the Midwest right now; flooding all along the Mississippi all spring… I do not need to go on. Normally, we live in a world with very minor inconveniences comparably, but disaster can strike anytime.
Our area, the Pacific Northwest, is vulnerable to flooding, earthquakes, and volcanoes. These are the major nature-based threats we face. We also have home fires, smaller landslides, and localized floods due to creeks getting too much run-off or drainage getting averted or stopped. There’s also simple things like your plumbing going whacky and filling your basement with grey water … I can go on about all the things that can happen that would make you and your pets have to leave your home for a night or two (or even longer). This would get boring and frightening though.
As president of the Oregon Chapter of Zombie Squad, I’d like to lighten it up a bit and educate you on things you should do as an animal’s guardian during a zombie apocalypse. (As we say in Zombie Squad: If you can handle a zombie apocalypse, you can handle a flood or an earthquake.)
First, I’d like to note my personal philosophy and mantra that I use to prioritize survival in all its shapes and forms. I learned this in the Boy Scouts and in a sixth grade P.E. wilderness survival course. It is called The Rule of Three:
You will survive only …
Each case is different per pet, but this is translatable to any mammal out there.
Let’s break the above down some.
Three Seconds Without Knowledge, Attitude, and Decision Making
This is all about how your brain is working. Learn now what you need to know. Books and the internet are great. Classes are better. Join groups that share information and even physical aid. Zombie Squad does this; we write articles (like this one) for people who ask us to. We hold seminars and answer questions personally after we research what is true and what is not.
There are a lot of lies, fear mongering and myths out there. Other groups do what we do too, with varying degrees of political and religious connections (Z.S. having zero of either). If you look around, you will find plenty of information you need from planning to buying gear to figuring out where to go. Personally, I like the Red Cross.
Attitude is very important. Will to survive is a true thing. I also call it “fire in the gut”. You’ve got to want to survive if you want to actually survive. Your fire in the gut will inspire those around you, including your pet.
Furthermore, part of the deal of being an animal’s guardian is to take care of it. If you give up, you are not doing your job fully. Some things will just happen and you are #1 when it comes down to it, but I firmly believe that if you take in an animal, you should take care of it as best as logically possible.
With a good knowledge base and a good attitude, you will be able to make good decisions (for the most part).
Three Minutes Without Air to Breathe
I’ve been in light earthquakes that shook all the dust off the top of my bookshelves and kitchen cabinets. One time, while I was serving in the Navy, I was in a light ship collision (nothing major), and that little bump shook all the dust out of the overheads. Since then, I took it seriously when we were ordered to clean up the overhead pipes.
Dust in the air will blind you and choke you. It may be bad for you too, depending on what that dust is made of. Blinded and choking is a bad place to be. I advise standard N95 grade dust masks. I also carry a hanky. I have protective goggles in my kits.
Gas attacks and bio stuff? Gas masks will not help you much. Sure, gas masks come in handy, but most chemicals will still mess you up via your skin anyway; it’s the same with bio agents. The expenditure is not worth it in my opinion, and there are zero options for your animal. Refer to knowledge, attitude, and decision making for best results in a bio/chemical disaster (eg: know about it and get out of there ASAP).
Three Hours Without Shelter
Basically:
• Cold – you need to insulate from it. Clothes, walls, roofs, heat sources: all aid in proper core temp regulation. You can die in 55 degrees if you are not doing it right, and being that we are “urban” and civilized… we mostly, on a daily basis, are not doing it “right”.
• Hot – you need shelter from the heat too. Everything from shade to hydration to a good breeze. Enduring 90 degrees without shade will hurt most of us in a few hours; some of us would get killed by that.
• Physical Threats – zombies, assless-chapped raiders telling us to “just walk away from the gasoline…”, T-900s, the Illuminati… self-defense works into shelter, and shelter could be your greatest asset in self-defense.
Basic hygiene fits in with shelter too. You’ve got to think about what to do with your own waste and how to protect yourself from it (and others’ too).
There is never bad weather; there are only poor clothing choices.
Three Days Without Water
Usually you start to dehydrate sooner than three days. Only the toughest Navy SEALs and ninjas can handle three days without water. The rest of us normal people need it more often.
Dehydration is horrible for all mammals. First is the pain of being thirsty. Then you start getting cramps and you get all loopy and start thinking that that bucket of gas looks refreshing. You hallucinate and then die. Animals need water sooner than we do.
Sources say one gallon a day per person. This includes basic hygiene and cooking. You can get by on one liter to drink per day. My cat drinks less than a pint a day. I calculate one pint per day for her. Her stock is separate from mine. One gallon per day for me — I have to wash my hands and face with it too, as well as have the option to cook with it.
Not only should you have water in stock, but you should have the ability to make more water. There are volumes of information regarding this. It’s good to have some bleach on hand though so you can disinfect found sources (if you ever get to that).
My mobile plans have taken my water down to a liter a day if need be (my kitty’s stays the same though). Water is heavy; the knowledge and tools needed to gather more are pretty light.
Three Weeks Without Food
Yeah, you’d be pretty sick if you survived three weeks without food. Our animals need it more than us. My plan does not include going three weeks without food either. To be honest though, as www.Ready.gov and everyone else uses the 72 hour figure for disasters, most of us could go without food in that 72 hours. I’ve done it before recreationally (I used to do fasts). I don’t plan on it though. Some trail mix, a chunk of jerky, and a hot cup of coffee sure would boost my morale (see the first rule!) if I was in some Red Cross shelter with my cat on Mt. Tabor watching Portland, Oregon get flooded.
To Sum Up...
Those are some details of the Rule of Three. In following articles, I will delve into each one separately and talk about actual gear that will accomplish your disaster/survival goals for you and your pet(s).
Your homework for now, though, is to think of a plan.
• Where would you go if you had to leave your home with your pet(s)?
Work on this, and I’ll see you next time where we will delve more into knowledge, attitude, and decision making… and headshots for zombies.
Gabriel Martin is the President of the Oregon Chapter of Zombie Squad (ZSC011). He is also a resident of Portland, OR, volunteers in his local Neighborhood Emergency Team, volunteers for the Oregon Food Bank, and occasionally picks up some volunteer trail work or forest cleanup. He works in records at a downtown law firm in one of those “ivory towers” people talk about.
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