PET CARE INSTRUCTIONS FOR A BACKUP CAREGIVER
One pet per card. Complete privately with the owner and agreed caregivers.

FAST PATH
1. Confirm who accepts care, who asks them to start, and their first visit.
2. Write the next day's routine and show the caregiver the actual supplies.
3. Check both clinics, transport, authorization, and payment arrangements.
4. Try the card together. Assign any unresolved question before relying on it.

CARE, SAFETY, AND PRIVACY
For a sick or injured pet, contact a veterinarian or emergency clinic
promptly. Do not wait for the owner to reply before seeking veterinary
guidance. This card gives no diagnosis, treatment, or dosing instructions
and does not itself authorize care. For medicines, use current written
veterinary instructions; ask the veterinarian about anything unclear.
Arrange home access and payment separately. Keep passwords, entry codes,
and payment-card details off this card. Share only with people providing care.

PET AND VERSION
Pet's name:
Species and identifying description:
Recent photo location:
Other pets in this home and their separate card locations, or none:
Owner:
Version date:
Next review date or occasion:
Original and working paper copy kept at:

PEOPLE AND ACCEPTED HELP
Owner's confirmed phone and preferred contact method:
Additional contact if owner cannot be reached (name, role, phone):

Primary caregiver and confirmed phone:
Tasks and visits accepted:
How long they can cover:
Transport help accepted, or other agreed transport:
Date caregiver accepted and phone checked:

Backup caregiver and confirmed phone:
Tasks and visits accepted:
How long they can cover:
Transport help accepted, or other agreed transport:
Date backup accepted and phone checked:

START AND FINISH
Who requests care and how:
First visit needed and date:
Reply that confirms the caregiver has taken over:
If primary caregiver is unavailable or does not confirm, who contacts backup:
If neither can confirm, who arranges another caregiver:
If the absence continues, who arranges the next handover and when:
Who confirms the owner has returned or another caregiver has taken over:
How to report the last completed care at handover:

ACCESS
Caregiver's legitimate access arranged separately: Confirmed / Pending
Date tried together:
If access fails, agreed contact and phone:

THE NEXT DAY'S ROUTINE
Write your pet's actual routine. Use exact labels and owner-provided amounts.
Write "none" for a task that does not apply. Repeat a task block as needed.

Meal times:
Food name/type, current portion, and preparation:
Food, bowl, measuring equipment, and feeding-place locations:
Water bowl locations and refill/cleaning routine:
Walk or exercise times, route, equipment, and limits:
Litter or habitat tasks, times, and supplies:
Other routine task, time, action, amount/limit, and supply location:

Handling notes the caregiver needs:
Known escape risks and usual hiding places:
How to distinguish this pet's food, bowls, and equipment:
Where the last completed care is recorded:
Supplies checked on and enough for how long:
Person arranging more if the absence continues:

TRANSPORT
Driver or other transport arrangement and confirmed phone:
Carrier, harness, or other suitable equipment location:
Equipment and transport tried together on:
Backup transport arrangement, or unresolved question:

CURRENT VETERINARY INFORMATION
Current written veterinary instructions kept at, with their date:
Medicines and necessary supplies location, or none:
Current veterinary/vaccination records kept at:
Pet-specific concerns the caregiver needs to tell the clinic:

REGULAR CLINIC
Name:
Confirmed phone:
Address:
Usual hours and after-hours route, checked on:
Whether this clinic treats this pet's species, checked on:
How to contact it before traveling:

AFTER-HOURS CLINIC
Name:
Confirmed phone:
Address:
Hours/intake arrangements, checked on:
Whether this clinic treats this pet's species, checked on:
How to contact it before traveling:

WHEN THE OWNER CANNOT BE REACHED
Additional contact to keep informed:
What the caregiver should tell the clinic about owner availability:
Clinic-confirmed decision process and where its current instructions are kept:
Who the clinic should contact for a decision beyond agreed limits:

AUTHORIZATION AND PAYMENT: CHECK EACH CLINIC SEPARATELY
Repeat this block for the regular and after-hours clinics.
Clinic:
Caregiver(s) the clinic has agreed may bring in the pet:
Who may approve care and in what circumstances:
Required form, status, and copy location:
Clinic has received required form: Confirmed / Pending / Not required
Financial limits agreed with clinic and recorded where:
What happens if a decision is outside those limits:
Payment process arranged directly with clinic: Confirmed / Pending
Process the caregiver needs to follow, without card or account details:
Confirmed by whom, and on what date:
Question still open, responsible person, and date to resolve:

BRIEF VISIT RECORD
Keep this with the working copy so care is not repeated by mistake.
Date and time:
Caregiver:
Meals and routine tasks actually completed:
Observation or question reported, and to whom:
Next task or handover still due:
Completion update sent to owner/backup on:
Repeat for the next visit.

WALK THROUGH IT TOGETHER
Use Yes / Gap / Not tried. Correct a gap and repeat that part of the check.
Caregiver finds the correct pet's next meal without extra hints:
Caregiver finds the last completed care record:
Caregiver finds routine supplies and transport equipment:
Caregiver can use the agreed home access:
Caregiver identifies the right clinic for the time of day:
Caregiver explains what to do if the owner cannot answer:
Both clinics' authorization and payment questions are resolved:
Outstanding gap, person resolving it, and date:
Walkthrough date and people present:

CURRENT COPIES AND UPDATES
Who has this version:
Replacement copies acknowledged by, and date:
Update before a new handover and after changes to food, veterinary
instructions, clinics, supplies, equipment, or caregivers. Replace old copies.
For longer absences or evacuation, also arrange where the pet will stay
and how its care and supplies will continue.

General organizing guidance for U.S. pet owners. Individual care needs
should be confirmed with your veterinarian.

Guide and completed fictional example:
https://dearfile.com/blog/pet-emergency-care-instructions

Official sources checked October 18, 2026:
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-pets/emergency-preparedness/index.html
FDA: https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/take-care-your-pets-disaster-strikes
American Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/pet-disaster-preparedness.html