OK, you've got your pet. What else do you need? Food? Toys? Crate? Sometimes. Depends on where you are going, and whether or not you will be able to buy more when you get there. Think. What is unique to your pet alone? What can't you go out and buy, and won't have access to if your vet is shut down? Records. If you don't pack anything else, pack this.
If your pet gets sick while you are evacuated or if you are vacationing out of town or if you have to make that midnight trip to the all-night emergency vet, you can't get to your regular vet so bringing your pet's medical records with you will help get a strange vet up to speed, especially if your pet has an ongoing condition or is on medication for anything. It's also useful for a pet sitter if they have to take your pet to a vet. They probably don't know your pet's medical history as well as you do. And what if you need to check your dog into a boarding kennel? Or board your cat (or whatever)? They're going to want proof of rabies vacination. What if your pet gets lost while you're away from your familiar territory? They won't be able to find their way back. The faster you can get a lost-pet poster put together and destributed and notify animal control, the better. But how will they know what your pet looks like? Try describing your pet to someone and see if they can identify them. It's harder than you think, especially if they're a purebred that looks like any other of their breed. Having some good photographs with your records will make it a lot easier for your pet to be identified. Be sure to include shots of any unique markings, even on paw pads or the tongue. Also photograph any ear tatoos. Having a copy of their microchip number will be even better. And what about claiming your pet from animal control, or checking them out of an emergency shelter? How do you prove that you're the owner? If they can scan the microchip and you've kept the registration up to date and you have ID proving who you are, that should be suficient. Of course, if your pet is wearing tags (ID and/or licence) that would simplify things. But what if they can't scan the chip, if you never registered the chip, if your pet's not chipped, or if they weren't wearing tags? Having a photo of you and your pet together will help. With these bacics you should have everything you pet will need that you can not buy elsewhere.
It's important to keep all these records together ion a folder, envelope or something, in a place where it won't get lost and is easy to grap quickly on your way out the door. I have numerous cats, and I take in strays and find homes for them. To keep all their medical records straight, they each have their own folder, and all these folders are in a small tote bag that hangs on the kitchen doorknob. Later i realised that if I include microchip info, licence tag numbers, and some good photos, they were all set for whatever. My standard instructions to my cat sitters are; if anyone gets sick or hurt, put them in a carrier, grab the bag, and head for the vet. Whatever you'll need will be somewhere in that bag. Now I'm kind of old school. I like the convenience of paper records, and I'm not used to thinking in terms of computers. But someone pointed out to me that these records and photos can be scanned and transfered to a DVD or thumb-drive for easier storage. This might be easier to carry, but just in case there's no computer handy, I recomend keeping paper copies in addition. I'm even more out of date when it comes to cell phones. At a disaster response workshop I learned that you can store family info on your self, kids, and even pets on your smart phone. Yes, there's an ap for that! The easiest grab-and-go yet!
