Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – With Springfield being in the path of some pretty severe storms Wednesday after last week’s tornado, we ask, are you and your pets prepared? Melissa Hahn, a spokesperson for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency helps us ask and answer those questions by being on the WTAX Morning Newswatch.

“It’s really important that you think ahead about what you might need,” said Hahn. “Let’s say you would have to shelter in place. That’s the easiest one, because you probably have all your stuff at home. You might just need three days’ worth (of food and supplies). But now you have to think about what if you evacuate. You have the food, you have the treats, you have enough leashes. Do you have carriers and crates for everyone? Because your dogs and cats might get along just fine at home. But they’re not going to get along somewhere different.”

What are some important things someone might forget when trying to get prepared for an emergency?

“Two things that I don’t think people think about is documentation of vaccinations, so I have a folder with copies of everything. I also have them in an email. And then pictures of you with your pets, because for reunification, you want to be able to prove that those are your pets.”

How long in a time sense should it take for someone to be prepared for their pets?

“If you have a plan, the most important first step is just to think it through. What do my pets need? What would they need at home? What would they need on the road? How do I prepare for it, if I am disconnected from my pet? So those three steps are the first one. 15 minutes, you could probably just have a bag pretty much packed, unless you have to make some photocopies of medical documents and have some pictures printed. But otherwise, 15 minutes, your things are ready to go.”

June is “Pet Preparedness Month”.