Aspen the Yorkie

The Weather Channel is full of stories of Tornadoes causing historic damage, and as I update this, Hurricane Irene is coming up the coast.  There have been earthquakes, flooding and other natural disasters that are hard to imagine.

For rescue workers, people are on the top of the list to be rescued, and this is important.  But people who are rescued or who survive but have terribly damaged homes will tell you how important their pets are to them…they are like members of the family.

We don’t live in an area that has many hurricanes [but as I update this on 8/26/11, that is changing], dangerous flooding or tornadoes, but we have been looking around online for information about protecting your pet as well as sites that help pets after a disaster has happened.

Here are some thoughts for you to consider, as well as links that we hope you will find helpful:

• Do you have an emergency plan?  Your plan will depend upon what type of natural disaster is most likely to happen where you live, be it hurricane, tornado, brush or forest fire, flooding, earthquake…you know best what can happen in your area.
• Here is a FEMA link with information for pet owners in the event of a natural disaster.  There is a lot of information there, they emphasize that you DO NOT leave your pets behind when you evacuate your home.  Evacuate, yes, don’t stay behind because of a pet…this is where advance planning comes in.  Have a plan!
• Here is a link with many tips and many links to help you, Pets and Natural Disasters.
• To learn more about finding lost pets, and maybe more about why you should have a plan, visit Homeless Pets Lifeline
• Find an Emergency Dog Survival Kit here.
• Find a Cat Evacuation Kit or Emergency Cat Survival Kit
  here.
• I ask you again, do you have a plan?  Do you know what you’ll do if there is a flood, fire, earthquake, tornado, hurricane…you fill in the blank, and PLEASE, even though you may feel helpless in a natural disaster, pets are even more helpless and dependent upon you in natural disasters

I am not the only pet my owners have had…they’ve had gerbils, ferrets, a cat, box turtles, and other animals while their children were growing up.  One of those “other animals” was pet hamsters.  So this week, when my owner took part in a challenge on Squidoo about pets, she didn’t pick me to talk about, but teddy bear hamsters.

She even said that she’d like to get another one…now that is something she’s going to have to think about a bit, because it comes natural to us Yorkies to want to catch mice, and hamsters are in the rodent family.

If you want to see what she wrote, visit Cute Fuzzy Teddy Bear Hamsters.

Do you see this little Dachshund? (We did a page about Dachshunds if you’re interested…click here or look in the pages list.) I did last night…for the first time. One of the people who used to live here, and went away and got married, came to visit. I was really excited because I miss Heather, but guess what, when she and her husband walked in the door, they were holding this. The little puppy in the picture.

First, this is my “turf” so I wasn’t all excited about having another little dog come and visit, second, Heather now has another dog in her life…first a man comes along and marries her so she doesn’t live here anymore, then they decide to get this little dog. Yes, I’m jealous.

I heard Heather trying to figure out how I was related to the dog…she said that I was her sister. I can’t understand that one since I’m a dog and she’s a human, but I guess it’s because I’m like one of the owner’s children. (Humans really do think strangely). So she figures that I’m her dogs Aunt.

I don’t know whether I’m an Aunt or not, but do know that I have a LOT of adjusting to do.

P.S.  If you want to know where they got this puppy, I can ask, the breeders have a nice website.

Related Link:

About Dachshunds

Posts About Other Breeds:

Basset Hound

Dalmation

Greyhounds

Yorkshire Terrier

Last night was a sad night in our neighborhood.  It all started just after it got dark, we saw flashing lights, and looked out the window.  Across the street there was a police car and some smoke.  Before we knew it there were fire trucks and fire men all over.  No one was home…except the dogs, one a large labrador retreiver and the other a sweet grey pit bull that we’ve been watching grow up for the past few months. 

The neighbors that owned the dogs were out at the time, and drove in behind a fire engine knowing that someones house was on fire, but didn’t know it was theirs.  A neighbor stopped their car before it got up the street to warn them that it was their home.

It was so sad to watch the mother, daughter and her boyfriend as they wanted so much to get into the house to get the dogs, the firemen had to hold them back, and they just hugged and cried.  Moments later the house burst into flames that lept up into the trees, and the firemen had to get the fire under control.  It was a small cabin, so the damage was extensive.

Sadly, the two precious dogs were found later in the evening during the cleanup.  We heard that the firemen said that they were able to find the source of the fire because the young dog’s little body was faced right towards it.  Oh, it hurts to even tell the story, we are all so very sad about the whole thing, even though we’re happy that no people were in the house.

Neighbors have been giving and helping all day, and there is a little cross with flowers for both of the dogs out in front of the house, that is now all boarded up, no one can live in it now.

I don’t know that there is anything that anyone could have done to save the dogs or prevent this, it was just one of those things, and we are all mourning the loss, but no one more than the young woman and her boyfriend who were always out in the yard with their dog, training it and playing with it.

So give your dogs and extra hug tonight, and think about how safe your home is when you leave your dog alone in the house.