DHS explains how to protect your pet fish in a disaster

The Disaster Preparedness Plan prepared by the local DHS for Union County NC explains what steps you should take if you have to evacuate and take your pet fish: "Your name and where you will be located should be on an ID tag and taped to the fish bowl. This should include your description of all your fish and pictures of them with you in the pictures for identification purposes."

Disaster Preparedness (Thanks, Kkennedy!)

(Image: Fishbowl cat quilt27, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from lenore-m's photostream)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Delightful Creatures • DHS • disaster • submitterator

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satn

After I read the first sentence I thought “Aww, they added in something silly for kids”.

After the second I thought; “……”
retepslluerb

Here I was, planning to rant about bowls, but apparently they are intended only as an exception device. Whew. I was wondering if keeping fishes in bowls was still legal in the US.
Max

Surely if there is a disaster, the only priority is people. Pets and property are only saved if you’re lucky. Anything bad enough that I need to evacuate my home without a car to keep my fish in, and the fish take their chances. (I have cats not fish, but the theory is the same.) It’s sad but I’d rather be alive without cats than dead with them.

I should probably make a joke like :
“If the army run the evacuation then the fish will be safe in one of their tanks”
But then again, maybe not…
- Just_Ok
  
  my fish drowned during the last hurricane, you specieist
Pete Teoh

I would absolutely take note of this for my pet fish Eric, for whom I have a license from the Ministry of Housinge.
- Just_Ok
  
  you should comply with the DHS, just for the halibut
http://noctilucent-studios.blogspot.com/ Noctilucent Studios

You gotta understand, a lot of the people who hold jobs like this are usually BORED out of their little ape minds at work and write things like this because they have nothing better to do. It’s either dream up something ridiculous like this, or post comments on blogs all day.

Or so I’ve been told.
chgoliz

This touches on something I’m all too keenly aware of (having been in some life-or-death situations already in my life): one of my children is the type who panics in emergencies. The type who would fall apart if we didn’t stop to pack up our fish (not that we have fish). The type who would be the reason our entire family didn’t get to safety in time. As a survivor-type myself, it’s very hard to be a parent to such a temperament.

It’s easy to laugh at these sorts of silly scenarios — won’t somebody think of the goldfish? — but we all know someone who really would be their own worst enemy in a disaster situation.
CH

Those instructions were clearly missing:
“Bring also a frying pan, some butter, and a wedge of lemon.”

Whaaaaat?
- bcsizemo
  
  Those are the instructions for the rescue crews. This way they know who to send a letter to thanking them for the tasty meal while searching for their other loved ones.
Lobster

I don’t have a fish to protect, but I do have a frog I highly value. Him name is hopkin greenfrog WHO TOOK MY FROG!?
- http://aqfl.net Ant
  
  What about my ants? :P
Sekai Scaping

If the fish is in a bowl it isn’t even being well-cared for enough to be “saved” and return to the same relapse owner.

But I always think about my fish in those mental scenarios of disasters. :P
Wisconsin Platt

So, two goldfish are in a tank. One turns to the other and says “I’ll drive and you man the gun.”
Robert Cruickshank

Anyone who’s kept loaches might have heard about their ability to predict earthquakes. This is nature’s way of giving a few hours head start to catch them and transfer them to a bowl. You’ll need it.
Mark Dow

Even better for ID, tape their dental records to the bowl.
BarBarSeven

My fish will always be safe, since I store them in metal tins & only eat them in case of emergency.
setdog

I plan to take my fish, cats, goats, pigs, cows and other livestock (all suitably picture-documented) with me when I board the aircraft carrier in Yellowstone. I was advised to do this by a neighbor named Noah.