There are some COVID-19 related situations that everyone with an animal should prepare for, to safeguard their animals’ welfare, including if:
- You are practising social distancing
- You are self-isolating but are not sick or suspected of having COVID-19 infection
- You or someone in your household is has or is suspected of having, COVID-19
- You require hospitalisation due to COVID-19
General advice on preparing for emergencies
You can take a number of steps to prepare for emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a good idea to make some preparations for if you need to self-isolate, become sick or have to be hospitalised, to help you safeguard your companion animals’ welfare during that time.
- Ideally, if you’re at home, you will keep your companion animals with you. See the linked articles at the end of this article for specific advice about farm animals, backyard poultry, and horses.
- Make sure you have a minimum of two weeks’ supplies at home for your companion animals, including food and any medications.
- If you cannot get supplies personally, order products online or ask friends, family, or neighbours to help. If necessary, avoid direct contact with other people (e.g., get them to drop off any supplies outside your gate or door).
- Ensure that you have appropriate carriers/crates available for all your animals, in case they need to be transported.
- Check that your companion animals are up to date with their vaccinations, in case it is necessary for them to go to a boarding facility or to someone else’s home to be cared for.
- Check that your companion animals are free of fleas (treat them for fleas if necessary) and that they have been wormed within the last three months.
- Ensure that your companion animal’s microchip contact details are up-to-date and, if possible, that they have an external ID tag.
- Have a plan in place in case you cannot care for your companion animals. It is important to make these plans in advance.
Pet Emergency Plan
- Make a plan to cover the event that you need to be hospitalised, or cannot care for your animal for other reasons. Ensure that you have organised for a trusted family member, friend or associate to be ready to provide your animals with proper and sufficient food, fresh water, shelter, welfare checks, and, when necessary, veterinary treatment. For example, you would need to pre-arrange for someone to look after your animals at your home or transport your animals to where they can be looked after (for example, another home or a boarding facility). Potential options available for pet care if you are hospitalised, or cannot care for your animal for other reasons, include:
- Leaving your animals at your home with family, friends or a trusted pet sitter coming to care for them. This is the ideal situation to minimise disruption and stress to your animals.
- Having family or friends take care of your companion animals at their own home.
- Arranging for your pets to go into boarding kennels, catteries or to have a home care pet sitter.
- Other options may become available as the situation develops so keep looking for different possibilities in your area.
- Let your neighbours and next of kin know about the care arrangements you have made for your animals.
- If your animals are on any medication or preventative health care, document instructions for this (include dosages, method of administration, and how often to give the medication) in case someone else needs to care for your pets. Ideally, have a prescription for any medication in case you cannot look after your animals for longer than you had planned.
- Make sure that you give the following to the person who is going to be caring for your animals:
- A minimum of two weeks’ supplies for your companion animals, including food and any medications.
- Written instructions on exactly how to care for your animals. For example, include the following:
- Food – what, when, and how to feed your animals.
- Detailed information on any medications your animals need – include dosages, method of administration, and how often to give the medication. Ideally, have a prescription for any medication.
- Your animals’ routines – for example, what kind of play and enrichment your animals like and need; what grooming care they need; and, for dogs, how often and for how long they are walked, where they go, what they are like with other dogs.
- Any medical records for your animals.
- Your pets’ microchip details.
- A contact list that includes your animals’ veterinarian and insurance company, if relevant, and anyone else who might be necessary or helpful for your animal’s care (e.g., groomer, dog walker etc).
Resources
There are some simple but important steps you can take to ensure the health and safety of your own animals and neighbours’ animals in the case of an emergency (such as but not limited to emergencies relating to COVID-19 or natural disasters). We have prepared these interactive PDFs to help you prepare your emergency plan for your animals:
- Emergency Animal Authorisation Form
- Emergency Animal Preparedness Plan
- We also have “Animals Inside Cards” for you to print and fill out and put on your doors/windows to alert first responders that you have animal(s) in your home needing assistance in case of emergency.
Acknowledgement
The Pet Emergency Plan initiative is funded by the Natural Disaster Resilience Program, and has been developed by RSPCA South Australia in partnership with the Commonwealth and State Government of South Australia.
What to do if you are practising social distancing
One way for people to minimise risk to themselves, their animals, and their community from COVID-19 is social distancing and good hygiene.
Make sure you wash your hands before and after handling your animals and, when practising social distancing, wear an effective mask or respirator in accordance with health guidelines and, where possible, ensure you remain at least 1.5 metres away from other people.
If you have a dog, you can and should take them for walks. However, if you are practising social distancing, you need to take some precautionary steps, such as avoiding areas where there are lots of people and places where conflict between dogs might lead to close contact with people (e.g., dog parks, where a dog fight might mean owners have to get close to each other to help break up the fight or help an injured animal).
If your pet needs to go to the veterinarian, call ahead and follow the instructions and COVID-safe protocols of the veterinary clinic.
All government restrictions, social distancing, and hygiene requirements must be adhered to.
What to do if you are in self-isolation but are not sick or suspected of having COVID-19 infection
People may be self-isolating because they have been directed to self-isolate or may have chosen to self-isolate because they are at high risk from COVID-19.
If you have been directed to self-isolate, you should check your relevant government website for current mandatory requirements before leaving your property during self-isolation, as state/territory government requirements for self-isolation may vary.
If you are self-isolating but are not sick or suspected of having COVID-19 infection, in addition to the general advice under social distancing provided above, you should minimise contact with animals other than your own at this time.
Ring your veterinarian to ask for advice if you are concerned about your companion animal’s health while you are self-isolating, rather than going to the veterinarian directly. Your veterinarian will be able to work with you to ensure your animal receives the care they need while keeping you and the veterinary staff safe from COVID-19 infection.
What to do if you or someone in your household is sick with or suspected of having COVID-19
Follow the general advice provided social distancing and self-isolation provided above.
There is evidence that many animal species (domestic and wild) may become infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) from humans infected with the virus. Therefore, sick people should avoid or at least restrict contact with pets and other animals, just like you would around other people. However, the evidence indicates that animals do not play a significant role in infection of humans and that the human COVID-19 pandemic is sustained through human-human transmission.
If possible, have a member of your household who is well care for your animals while you are sick with COVID-19. If you must care for your pet or be around animals while you are sick, wash your hands before and after you interact with your animals, their food, or supplies, as well as avoiding kissing or sharing food with animals. Also, regularly wash your pets’ bowls, bedding and toys. Follow the same advice as for interacting with other people who are not sick; avoid exposing animals to you shedding the virus by wearing an effective mask or respirator.
If your pet needs to go to the veterinarian, call ahead and follow the instructions and COVID-safe protocols of the veterinary clinic.
If you or your family cannot care for your animals yourself, activate your plan for this situation – see the Pet Emergency Plan above.
You require hospitalisation due to COVID-19
If you require hospitalisation due to COVID-19, your companion animals will need to be cared for while you are in hospital. So, activate your plan for the situation where you cannot care for your pets yourself – see the Pet Emergency Plan above.
What to do if you need to leave your home to care for pets
If you have been directed to stay at home and self-isolate, if you are sick with or suspected of having COVID-19, or you require hospitalisation, and you normally care for pets not located at your place of residence, then you must organise alternative arrangements for their care. In this case, activate your plan for the situation where you cannot care for your pets yourself – see the Pet Emergency Plan above.
If you are facing challenges caring for your animals, please get in touch with your local RSPCA to discuss options; we are here to offer support and help if possible.
Please note that this information has been prepared with the best and most current information available at the time but things are changing rapidly as the situation evolves.
