It's roughly a 2-3 day kit that includes things she'll need if we have to evacuate our house. My goal was to pack all her necessities into her own pack and still have it be plausible for her to carry (10-20% of her body weight). As it is, I think it weighs 5-6 lbs. A breakdown of what I have packed:
Mountainsmith Dog Pack (Small)Food and Water
-Stella & Chewy's Freeze-Dried Dinners - 17 patties vacuum packed in 5 bags
-Emergency Water Packets - 4 @ 125ml/packet
-Nalgene Collapsible Cantene - 32oz. (compact and empty, but option of carrying water)
Gear
-Dog Identification Card
-6ft. Leash
-Harness
-Dog Travel Bowl
-Poop Bags - 1 roll
-Tempo Paper Towels - 2 packs
-Ziploc Bags - 2 1-gallon and 2 1-quart
-Duct Tape
-Nylon Cordage - 11ft.
-Emergency Survival Blanket
-Emergency Glow Stick
-Dog Toy
-Water Treatment Tablets - 5
-Elastic Bandage Wrap
Even though Lilah and Ritter get fed traditional kibble, I opted to pack the freeze-dried raw meat patties into their packs because of the shelf life (1 year) and the space/weight. I read that a simple method to gauge a dog's daily water requirement is .5-1oz of water per pound. Lilah weighs about 30 lbs. and each packet is 4.224 oz. (125 ml.) She most definitely needs more water than is packed, however I intend to share my water with her. Which is where the collapsible cantene comes in. It's compact, but allows me the option of packing more water for Lilah.
Her gear list seems pretty standard to me. Maybe throw in a roll of Ace bandage material or a muzzle and if I had extra cash to spare, a set of dog booties. I also have an animal first aid booklet, but that's probably going to be packed in my pack.
One important thing though is I made a laminated card, roughly 5" x 7", with Lilah's identification information like her Los Angeles animal license registration information and her microchip information along with a shrunk copy of her rabies vaccination. Of course included is my contact information. In my own kit I have a copy of that same card along with pictures of her and Ritter, and me with Lilah. Hmm, maybe I should include a picture of me and my mom in her kit too...
Not too bulgy or cumbersome either.
This kit was made with the intention that we have to evacuate our home and possibly walk to our next destination, wherever it might be. That's why I put a heavy emphasis on keeping the weight down and having Lilah carry her own things because I'll have my own pack to carry too.
The most expensive item was the pack itself at $30 on sale at REI. The food typically is expensive, but I had a great coupon at Centinela. With that in mind, this whole kit cost roughly $60 to put together as some things I already had on hand.
Ritter's pack isn't as complete as Lilah's because hers was more of an experimental thing, to see how viable it was. Now buying Ritter's gear will be a snap!
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