Pets are members of our families, but according to anASPCA Survey, less than half of pet owners have a preparedness plan in place even though 83 percent of pet owners live in an area impacted by disasters.
10 million pets are displaced nationwideeach year and less than half will make it home.
During fire season alone, thousands of pets to missing every year. For instance, Los Angeles County Animal Care & Control estimated that the Woolsey and Hill fires displaced more than 10,000 pets.
We talked with Dr. Ashley Farmer, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice Sciences at Illinois State University and author of All Creatures Safe and Sound: The Social Landscape of Pets in Disasters.
She gave us some tips for animal disaster preparedness:
• Identify pet-friendly evacuation locations
• Have supplies - leashes, carriers, food, etc.
• Recent photos of pet and vaccinations records
• Pet Identification - Microchip or Tag, like GPC Smart pet tag
GPC stands for Get Pet Connected Smart, it's a Syneroid Technologies product, and is the nation's first wireless communication platform dedicated to pets and public safety for use by first responders.
It's a unified system that allows first responders to securely access and share animal information on FirstNet, America's public safety communication platform.
GPC Smart app recovers pets using pet tags and implanted microchips. It works with a Universal Pet Registry, accessible through the GPC Smart app and smartphone, 24/7, from anywhere in the world.
Syneroid Technologies has donated more than 40,000 GPC Smart Tags to several non-profits and two partner cities that include Perris, California, and East Williston, New York.
GPC Smart Tags can't be purchased yet but will be available nationwide in the future.
Any cities interested in adding the GPC pet I.D. system to their animal control programs can learn more at GPCsmart.com.
