Free Emergency Contact Sheet for Download

Whether you travel a lot and have house sitters and dog sitters, or you simply want to have your emergency contacts handy for all family members, here's a great resource to put on the fridge.
When an emergency arises, we're suddenly thrown into a situation that requires us to make lots of quick decisions and process info to deal with the risk at hand. That's why it's important to make things easy to find, easy to use and thoughtfully placed. Just like keeping your fire extinguisher handy in the kitchen, every family should have an emergency contact sheet posted where it's easily accessible.
Your Emergency Contact Sheet should include basic emergency numbers (such as 9-1-1) especially if you have younger family members, but also key contacts like family doctor, your pets veterinarian, and perhaps family members whom should be contacted in an emergency.
I hope you find this tool useful, and please use it as a conversation starter with your family on what you would do in an emergency situation.

Create an Evacuation Plan for Your Pets

An evacuation plan is a necessity for every home, especially if you live in El Paso County where fires, flooding, and other disasters are a possibility. Many homeowners create evacuation plans for their homes and practice them with their kids, but far fewer have considered one for their pets. An evacuation plan should be inclusive for everyone in your home. Take these steps to add your pets to your evacuation plan.

Assign pet evacuation to an adult. Everyone should know how to act during an evacuation, and that includes assigning one parent or adult to the pets. This allows the other parent and the children to focus on their part of the evacuation plan, so there’s no confusion during a high-stress moment when time is of the essence.

Keep evacuation maps and pet carriers readily accessible. If you need to evacuate, you should know exactly where every important item is. If you pets require carriers, keep them in a place that you can access easily.

Practice your plan. Include your pets in your home evacuation drills. It’ll help you see how they will respond and make changes to your plan if necessary. Getting your dog out of a window may not be as simple as you think!

Be prepared in case you get separated from your pets. No matter how much you drill your evacuation plan, it’s possible that a dog or cat will run off while you’re focusing on keeping your family safe. A microchip or a GPS-compatible tag can help you find your pets once it’s safe to return to the area.