I smelled a burning odor around 3 p.m. By 3:05, my wife and I stood across the street from our house—our first house, the one we planned to bring our first child home to in January—and watched thick clouds of black smoke pour out of the garage.

As we anxiously waited for the fire trucks to arrive, I tried to wrap my head around the situation. We were OK. The dogs were fine—we immediately called for them to go outside as we ran out ourselves—and were now running around in the neighbors’ yard, blissfully unaware of what was happening. But plenty of questions remained. Would the house survive? What about all of our wedding pictures, important paperwork, and family heirlooms? Where would we live? Who should we call?

As firefighters cut through the garage doors with giant saws, it became clear that our lives wouldn’t be back to normal any time soon. For starters, both of our cars were in the garage, where the fire started—in fact, it appears a defective part in my 1998 Ford Explorer caused the fire. The structure survived, but our belongings didn’t. Even today, 11 days after the fire, the smell permeates everything: clothes, furniture, electronics. Every surface in the house is covered with black soot.

I’ve discovered that it’s best not to think about the “What if?” possibilities. Sure, we could have been asleep and not woken up before the fire got out of hand. Or we could have left for the evening, leaving the dogs trapped in their kennels. But there’s no use in playing that mental game.

You can’t predict most natural disasters. One minute, you’re doing a little cleaning and admiring the sweat equity you’ve put into your house; the next, you’re living with your mother-in-law and driving a borrowed minivan. It’s going to be a long four months.

Still, I can’t help but feel a bit unprepared. We had no fire evacuation plan, other than holy-crap-let’s-get-the-dogs-and-get-out-of-here-quickly improvised escape route. To be honest, I had never even thought about what I’d do if my house were on fire.

Turns out, I’m not alone. According to a new study, just 54 percent of pet owners have a fire evacuation plan for their dog or cat, and only 20 percent kept a stocked pet first-aid kit in their home. These numbers may seem disturbingly low, but what about you? I’d be there are plenty of veterinary practices without disaster emergency plans. Do you know what to do in the case of an emergency?

Here are some helpful tips from the AVMA for both clients and veterinary practices:

First aid tips for pet owners

Disaster preparedness for veterinary practices

Saving the whole family

Encourage clients to prepare for a disaster—and practice what you preach. Make sure you have a plan for handling emergencies, and make sure all team members know what to do if the worst happens. After all, things can be replaced—but lives can’t.

One more note: If you drive a Ford vehicle made in the 1990s or early 2000s, PLEASE click here to see if your car is included in Ford’s recent recall. If it is, take it to a Ford dealer immediately to have the faulty part replaced. In the meantime, don’t park in a garage or near any other structures.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to call back my insurance adjuster. And my contractor. And the cleaning company. And the fire inspector. And…