Tornados, lighting, and Pet Safety question? (apartment)?
With this recent outbreak of storms, producing strong winds, lighting and tornados coming into the Eastern US and South.
It got me thinking about my pets and their safety especially when we aren’t home.
In our state it seems our worst storms come in Fall, Winter, and Early Spring. That is when we get the most tornadoes (the most dangerous ones seem to hit in the Winter and usually at night), lighting, flooding, and hail.
So when our pets are going to be home alone and they are predicting bad storms what precautions should we take.
And what precautions should we take in general to keep our family (including our pets) safe no matter if we are here for the storm or not?
For example: We live in a second story apartment. So we have no basement, no storm room. The safest room in our apartment is our bathroom.
During the fall/winter season especially if they are calling for strong storms we crate our dogs and have them in our safe area, regardless if anything is going on at the time we leave.
We never leave their crates near a window, especially the all metal ones due to severe lighting, windows breaking due to wind (those metal crates like my larger dog uses don’t offer much protection. The pet taxis (like my smaller dog uses )offer a bit more though.
We also always make sure that in the case of a storm disaster we always have a plan. Whoever is closest if we aren’t home will try to get to the dogs, but we also have a friend or relative on standby that can always get to them quicker. We have a meeting point set up if our place has been hit, hopefully we retriever our dogs or we are with our dogs and we take them, load them up and head to the meeting point to meet the rest of the family.
What is your Storm Safety Advice and disaster plan?
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4 comments
Julie on October 31, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Well, we have a basement so we just take all of our pets down there during tornado warnings. The weather is almost never severe enough to do that where I live though. I’m not sure if you have cats or not, but cats have a very strong self-preservation instinct. A cat will be able to survive almost any natural disaster just because they can sense it coming and they go find the safest spot for themselves.
For your dogs, make sure they have a permanent ID (such as a microchip or a tattoo). If there is a severe disaster and your building is destroyed, a microchip can help reunite you with your pet. After hurricane Katrina, almost all of the pets with microchips were taken to the shelter and found their owners. Those without microchips hardly ever found their old owners.
You could also get a sticker like this and put it on your window…
http://www.poochieheaven.com/images/products/petalertdecal.jpg
They’re intended for fires, but during any other disaster they could help save your pet.
Kelli H on October 31, 2009 at 6:49 pm
My dogs have a dog door and can get out in case of an emergency. I would NEVER have dogs in an apartment.
Chigirl *Love A Chihuahua* on October 31, 2009 at 6:49 pm
You must not live too far from me.
I can admit that I am deeply scared of severe storms. I have a phobia, you could say. I have a basement, so my family, animals, & I go down there before it unleashes….lol, the storm.
I wouldn’t really know what kind of advice to share, it sounds like you are already doing what you can, given your living situation. Putting them in the safest room of your building would be the best option for you I would think.
Messykatt on October 31, 2009 at 6:49 pm
This is a really great question! And I’ve thought about it often myself, since I live in a part of the country where the tornado warning sirens have gone off about once a month this year. I admit, I love big storms! But I also live in a condo with 2 cats and a yorkie.
Since we’re under so many watches and warnings, I don’t generally change anything when I’m not home, because many don’t pan out. However, I’m a weather junkie and I’m always checking radar. If anything looks real, I get back home quickly, and then both cats and the dog get crated where I can keep an eye on them. I learned this the hard way a couple years ago when my kitchen door blew open during a tornado and I saw one of my kitties on the balcony staring back at me. I freaked! So I got her to safety and then couldn’t immediately find her brother. I was having a heart attack until I located him in a closet, and that’s when I learned they have to be crated where I can see them.
In big weather messes, I also have the option of going to my sister’s large safe home about 20 minutes away. It’s a hassle, but I’ve been known to gather up all 3 of them and head out if needed.