Gov. Heineman & First Lady Ganem Urge "Pet Pre-PAW-edness"

First Puppy Snickers Encourages Emergency Kit & Plan (Lincoln, Neb.)  - Today, Gov. Dave Heineman and First Lady Sally Ganem shared the message, “Being prepared for emergencies isn’t just for people.” The Governor and First Lady were joined by Snickers, Nebraska’s First Puppy, at the State Capitol to promote the importance of emergency preparedness for pets. Two weeks ago, Governor Heineman designated September as Nebraska Preparedness Month and urged all Nebraskans to be informed about the kind of emergencies they might face, to create a family preparedness plan and to build an emergency kit. The First Family not only talked pet preparedness, but they showed off Snickers’ “pet pre-PAW-edness” emergency kit, created to help care for Snickers in the event of an emergency. “For most of us, our pets are important members of our families,” said Gov. Heineman. “They depend on us for their care and well-being.  We owe it to them to make sure they are safe at all times, especially in an emergency.” Snickers is hosting pet preparedness information on his First Puppy web page at www.governor.nebraska.gov/firstpuppy.  Additionally, Snickers Pre-PAW-edness trading cards with various preparedness messages will be posted each day for the remainder of September, leading up to September 30 which is “America's PrepareAthon Day” hosted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The cards are available for download in an effort to help educate kids of all ages about pets and emergencies. Promoting Nebraska Preparedness Month, Snickers will be tweeting preparedness messages throughout the month under the hashtag of #SnickersSays on the Governor’s Twitter account, https://twitter.com/Gov_Heineman, and posting on the Governor’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/negovernor. Phil Kirk, Federal Preparedness Coordinator for the FEMA in Kansas City, Mo., was on hand to promote the importance of preparedness and taking care of pets, particularly in a disaster.  “Our animal friends are among our most vulnerable family members,” Kirk said, echoing the importance of helping family animals. “It’s really encouraging to see Nebraska take such a lead by helping to promote the message that preparedness for pets is so important.  If a situation isn’t safe for you to stay behind, it’s not safe for your pet to stay behind either.” Bryan Tuma, Assistant Director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), laid out the five basic steps to being pet-prepared for emergencies.  Those steps are: Make an Emergency Plan, Find a Buddy (to help your pet if you’re not home), Build a Kit, Practice Your Plan and Update your Plan and Kit as needed.  “Our advice for pets is essentially the same as it is for humans,” Dir. Tuma said about the five steps.  “The real key is to not wait until an emergency occurs to figure out what you are going to do.  If anyone needs proof of that, all they have to do is think back to the disasters we’ve seen in Nebraska this year alone and how little warning most folks had.” Dir. Tuma also noted that preparedness information is available from NEMA online at www.nema.nebraska.gov and through local emergency managers. Pet preparedness information is also available through the NEMA website at:  www.nema.ne.gov/response-recovery/pets.html Snickers Checklist (pdf) NEMA Preparedness Kit (pdf) FEMA All Pets Brochure (pdf)