The list below, adapted from the FlyLady to cover my rabbit situation, will hopefully motivate you to make a similar list for yourself. This is a good idea if
- the rabbits are yours and your spouse would have need guidance if something suddenly happened to you.
- if you are elderly and live alone. You don’t want to be in the hospital with a broken hip trying to tell someone what needs to be done at home.
- if there is a hurricane, tornado, severe winter storm, etc headed your way.
I've always heard to plan for a full week away. If you are really organized, maybe have a sheet for winter emergencies (do you leave the water dripping because with no power the house is going to get really cold and busted water pipes would add to the mess when you come back home) and summer emergencies (open windows if no rain involved? rabbit fans on timers for while the power is still on?).
A check-off list of stuff like this would certainly make the mad dash to leave a lot easier. You don't want to be 3 hours from home and remember you didn't put out water for rabbits left in their cages back home. Hopeful-ly a check-off list would speed things up enough that you would have a little extra time to gather things you didn't put on your list and handle things you hadn't thought of before.
10 Points of Preparedness
1. PEOPLE: Have a plan for getting out of the house and make sure every one knows it. Have a game plan on a) where the family would meet in case of a near-by or concentrated-area emergency and b) some location several hours drive away. People get new cell phone and new email addresses. Be sure all of your family members and friends have updated contact information.
2. PETS: Keep pet carriers and leashes readily available to lead pets to safety. Pets will sense your feelings of panic and will hide instead of coming when you call so be patient. Take pet food with you plus a can opener and zip loc bags (VERY useful item for many things). Grab that bag of kitty litter.
3. PICTURES: Keep negatives or CDs of pictures in a bank lock box or at a family member's home. Have picture albums in one place ready to grab and go at a moment's notice if this is a high priority item with you.
4. PAPERS: Have all your important papers in a lock box at a bank and only keep copies at the house. We all know about having your birth certificate, marriage license, life insurance and banking information handy in one place. Put such impor-tant papers in an envelop type folder that you can grab easily if you have to move fast. Color code it so you can find it! Include a small planner or notebook with lists of important phone numbers, important dates, account numbers, etc. A copy of your latest credit card statement could be helpful. What about your rabbit pedigrees? Periodically make a back-up of your pedigree program so you could quickly grab that CD or pedigree notebook. The ARBA Yearbook might be helpful if you are leaving your immediate home area. It lists members by state so hopefully you could contact a fellow rabbit person to ask where to buy your brand of feed, etc.
