Who Will Look After My Pet If I Go Into Hospital?

If you are taken into hospital suddenly, the first hours are the ones that matter for your pet. It needs food, water and company that day, and someone needs to know it is there. The answer is to decide now, while you are well, who will take over, and to write down enough that they can step in without asking you anything.

The core of it is a named person. Councils advise you to arrange with a friend or relative to look after your pets in an emergency¹, and to ask friends or family whether they would be able to look after your pet in an emergency². A neighbour can do the same job: consider having a buddy who might be able to take care of your pet in an emergency³. Then tell the people who will meet you at the hospital, because ambulance services ask that pets are put into a separate room before the crew arrives⁴, and Welsh Ambulance Services ask you to lock away any family pets⁵.

What you cannot do is leave it to chance. If no one can be contacted, the responsibility for the animal passes to the police or the council, who will care for it in place or move it to a boarding facility⁶. That is a safety net, not a plan. A short written plan, a named carer and a bag of your pet's things turn a frightening morning into a manageable one.

Arrange a named pet carer before you need one

The single most useful thing you can do is choose a person and ask them directly. Councils across the country give the same advice: arrange with a friend or relative to look after your pets in an emergency¹. In West Yorkshire the wording is to ask friends or family if they would be able to look after your pet in an emergency², and in Wiltshire the suggestion is a neighbour buddy, who might be able to take care of your pet in an emergency³. Any of these works. What matters is that the person knows they are the one, knows where the spare key is, and knows what your animal needs.

Choose more than one. A single carer who is on holiday, ill or unreachable when you are admitted leaves you back where you started. Think about who is close enough to reach your home quickly, who your pet already knows, and who could manage for a week rather than an afternoon. If your pet is difficult with strangers, the person who already walks it is a better choice than a willing neighbour it has never met.

Write the arrangement into your household plan. Official guidance is clear that pets are an important part of family life and your emergency plans should include how you will look after them⁹. The same applies to a hospital stay, which is simply another way you can be separated from home at short notice. If you are a carer yourself, the plan should record whether the person you care for has pets and who will care for them in an emergency¹⁰.

There is a limit worth knowing. If you are evacuated rather than admitted, some emergency shelters may only be able to take assistance animals¹¹, so a carer outside the affected area is the more reliable arrangement¹². The same logic holds for hospital: someone who can come to your home, or take the animal into theirs, is better than a plan that depends on you being there.

What to write down for whoever looks after your pet

A carer who has never owned your pet needs facts, not affection. Write them down once, keep a copy with the pet's things and give a copy to the carer. The list below covers what official guidance says a pet's records and grab bag should hold.

• Your vet's name and number, and the out-of-hours number. All vet practices provide an out-of-hours service for emergency cases¹³.
• Vaccination certificates, because most boarding facilities will not accept unvaccinated pets⁷.
• Medication, with the dose and where it is kept, plus emergency medication and food for pets in your kit¹⁴.
• Food, a water bowl and a carrier where needed¹⁵, and a lead or carrier for every animal⁷.
• Current photos of your pet, in case it gets lost¹⁶.
• Your own contact details, the ward you are on, and a second contact who can make decisions if you cannot.

The RSPCA publishes a guide to having someone else look after your pet, covering choosing who will look after your pet while you are away⁸. The National Animal Welfare Trust provides a summary and information templates for choosing a boarding kennel¹, which is useful if the arrangement may last longer than a few days.

Emergency hospital admission: getting your pet looked after quickly

If an ambulance is coming, you have minutes, not hours. The ambulance service's own instruction is to put pets somewhere safe⁴, and its crews will also request that pets are put into a separate room¹⁸. In Wales, the instruction is to lock away any family pets before the crew arrives⁵. Do that first, then make one phone call to your named carer.

If you cannot reach your carer, work down your list. Call friends, family members, veterinarians, or boarding kennels in a safer area to arrange safe foster care¹⁹. Your vet may know of a client or a local scheme, and a kennel can take the animal at short notice if its vaccinations are current.

If you have to leave the animal at home, leave a note in the window to inform the emergency services². That note is what turns an unknown animal in an empty house into a pet someone can collect. If you are well enough to speak, tell the crew and later the ward staff that you have a pet and who is caring for it.

Boarding, sitters and charity pet fostering: how each one works

There are three routes, and they suit different circumstances. If you and your pet cannot stay together, call friends, family members, veterinarians, or boarding kennels in a safer area to arrange safe foster care¹. It helps to make a list of local boarding kennels or other animal shelters that may help in an emergency before you need one², and the National Animal Welfare Trust provides a summary and information templates for choosing a boarding kennel³. If you go to a rest centre run by your local council, arrangements will be made to keep pets safe², and where a reception centre is available you may bring your dog or cat to a specific pet area within the centre, though you remain responsible for the animal's welfare and for ensuring it is not a risk to other people and animals⁴.

Boarding has one hard requirement. Most animal boarding facilities will not accept unvaccinated pets⁷, so keep the certificate where you can find it and check the kennel's own rules before you need them. Vaccination also helps your pet fight off many viruses and diseases⁷, which matters more when it is in an unfamiliar place.

If you are evacuated rather than admitted, the picture is slightly different. Many centres will allow you to bring your pet, and cats or small animals should go in a carrier or small box²⁰. If a reception centre is available, you may bring your dog or cat to a specific pet area within the centre, and you remain responsible for the animal's welfare and for ensuring it is not a risk to other people and animals¹. Some shelters may only be able to take assistance animals¹¹, so confirm before you travel.

Pets left alone at home, and telling hospital staff

The worst outcome is an animal alone in a house with no one aware of it. The safeguard is a note in the window² and a carer who has been told to check. If you are advised to stay indoors during an incident, keep your pets indoors with you⁹. If you must leave and cannot take them, the police or council take responsibility once next of kin cannot be reached⁶.

Tell the people treating you. Ambulance crews ask for pets to be in a separate room¹⁸, and in Wales to be locked away⁵, so the conversation starts at the door. Once on the ward, say that you have a pet at home and give the name and number of your carer. Hospital staff cannot arrange care themselves, but they can help you make a call, and a discharge team may know what is available locally.

For a long stay, ask about support. In Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, hospital discharge support includes dog walking for people who are unable to get out of the house²¹. Arrangements differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so ask the ward what exists where you live. If you are a carer and become ill with no one to fill in, contact your council or trust straight away and explain the situation²².

Where to get help if you have no one to ask

Start with the people you already know but did not think to ask. Contact family or friends who you do not live with to see if you could stay with them in an emergency or if they could look after your pets if you were unable to⁷. Distance is less of a barrier than it seems: a relative two hours away can still collect a cat and its paperwork.

Then work through the local options:

• Your vet. Ring ahead so they can prepare for an emergency case¹³, and ask whether they know of a client or local scheme that helps in your situation.
• Your council. Councils plan for pets in emergencies and can tell you what is available locally⁹. If you are a carer who has become ill, contact your council or trust straight away²².
• Charities. The Cinnamon Trust helps older and terminally ill people care for their pets⁸. The National Animal Welfare Trust provides templates for choosing a boarding kennel¹.
• Volunteer schemes. The NHS CARE Volunteer Responders scheme may be able to provide help for those who are eligible, including picking up food and medication for people who cannot leave the house²⁴. Check whether you qualify.

If you find an animal rather than lose one, the same networks help. Call local vets and rescue centres and give them your number so they can call if the pet is handed in²⁵. All vets will provide emergency first aid care to a pet or wildlife in need, at no charge to the person that finds them²⁵.

For the wider picture, see Pets and Animals in an Emergency: A Household Guide and Including Your Pets in a Household Emergency Plan. If your concern is what happens during a flood rather than a hospital stay, Keeping Pets Safe Before, During and After a Flood covers evacuation and rest centres in more detail.