May is a time for looking ahead - to the flowers in your garden blooming, to the end of the school year, to vacations.  It is also a good time to plan ahead for emergencies.  The more planning you do, the more automatic your response will be in case of an emergency.   

Thinking Ahead:
1 - CLEAN SHOES - You are probably all aware of the dangers presented by fertilizers and insecticides used on lawns and are careful not to let your pets walk on the newly treated areas.  But have you ever thought about what you might be bringing into your house and your pet - on your shoes?  Leaving shoes outside or at least in a “pet free” area could prevent exposure to these dangers.
2 - A BACK BOARD - You know that you should move an injured pet as little as necessary, but you need to transport them to the vet.  What can you use as a backboard?  A few ideas - a child’s sled, the cover to a bid plastic storage bin, even cardboard or the floor mats in your car. Look around. The rule of thumb is that you can carry half your weight but you can pull twice your weight.  And you might be surprised what you can do in an emergency when you simply have to. 
3 - “BAG IT AND TAG IT”.  There are several circumstances when you might want to bag what your dog had vomited up so that you can take it with you to the vet. For example, if you suspect  the possibility of poisoning. Where is a plastic bag when you need one?  As close as the bags you probably carry to clean up “number 2".
4 - A BLANKET - There a number of circumstances where you might want a blanket: to get a dog off the wet ground, to cover them during transport.  At home, you could surely find one quickly, but what if you are traveling or hiking with your dog?  The old hiking standby - the space blanket is perfect - that’s why it became a hiking standby.  Light weight, easily folded up to the size of one of those little packs of tissues.  It will easily fit into your first aid kit.  They can be “crinkly” (that’s another word for scary in tucker’s vocabulary)  - it might be a good idea to introduce your dog to this before you ever have to use it.