Printable
Printable Pet Emergency Plan
This is the one-page plan Ready.gov and the ASPCA tell every owner to make: the decisions you want settledbefore an emergency, not during one. Fill it in on screen and save it as a PDF, or print it blank and write it by hand. Keep a copy with your go-bag and give one to your backup caregiver. It doesn’t cover medical records or the microchip registry, that’s the pet emergency binder; this is the action plan.
Pet Emergency Plan
Put a rescue-alert sticker on your front door listing the number and types of pets inside and your vet’s contact, so responders know to look for them (ASPCA).
Free checklist
Get the printable pet go-bag checklist
The complete go-bag list from this site, mapped to Ready.gov and ASPCA guidance with per-animal quantities, as a print-ready PDF delivered straight to your inbox. One email to send it, then occasional new guides. Unsubscribe any time.
Frequently asked questions
What is a pet emergency plan, and how is it different from a go-bag?
A go-bag is the supplies; a plan is the decisions you make in advance so nobody has to figure them out mid-emergency: where you would take your pets, who to call, and who grabs whom. Ready.gov and the ASPCA both tell owners to make this plan before disaster strikes, not during it.
Why pick evacuation destinations ahead of time?
Ready.gov advises identifying several safe places in different directions, because a single route or shelter may be closed or full, and because many public shelters and hotels don't allow pets. Calling a pet-friendly hotel or a boarding facility now, and writing it here, is faster than searching during an evacuation.
What is a backup caregiver or "buddy"?
Ready.gov's buddy system and the ASPCA's caregiver step both recommend arranging someone, a neighbor, friend, or relative, who can reach your pets and evacuate them if you can't get home. Give them a key and put them on this plan.
Do the values I type get saved?
No, this page doesn't store anything, so fill it in and print or save it as a PDF in the same sitting. Nothing you type leaves your device. For the long-term records (medical, microchip registry, consent-to-treat), use the separate pet emergency binder.
Sources
- Ready.gov – Prepare Your Pets for Disasters (destinations, buddy system, out-of-area contact)
- ASPCA – Disaster Preparedness (rescue alert, safe haven, caregivers, staging area)
- AVMA – Pets and Disasters (records, exit staging)
- Related: multi-pet emergency planning · pet emergency binder · waterproof document kits