Leaving your pets behind in an emergency..

[Fox-Gal]

Originally posted by Pit Chick
There may not be a hotel that would take that many, but having that many critters is a responsibility you took. I'm not saying you should have stayed there and died, but if you have a pet the size of a goat, wouldn't that mean you have something big enough to transport it in? Living in hurricane prone areas is a good reason to have a game plan that also involves your pets. I'm not attacking you and I'm very sorry for your losses, but there really isn't a reason that anyone, people or pets should be left behind.

Some how I knew their would be at least one person to say something when I posted as I almost didn't just for this reason. There always has to be one person, I should have known better, then to share. I won't make that mistake again.

No reason huh? You where not here, I was. If we had stayed, more would have been lost, then there was. I would have had to put my pets in several different rooms for their safety, so when that wall came down, more then ChiChi would have died once the 130mile hour winds came through that room. If I took them, we would have been on the road, in a car, during a hurricane that covered the whole state of Florida, because there was no shelter for us. Yeah, that sounds like a safe and sound idea.

"living in a hurricane area" OK I live in central Florida, which has been know as the safe area of Florida till this last year. We are the county that people have always been sent to, when ever a hurricane comes. Hurricanes always hit the coast and break up and weaken before they ever came inland to me. Till last summer, first time in over 100 years central Florida got hit like this. So yeah I felt safer in my area and not hurricane prone.

So I guess now, I shouldn't have my pets because I live in a "hurricane area" I guess that means if someone lives in Ca. they shouldn't also, because they "might" have a earthquake or maybe a mudslide. Oh, oops maybe I shouldn't have any pets, because one day my house might catch on fire, or a tornado might come and take it down.

Something big enough to transport them in??? Sure...........BUT NOT ALL OF THEM AT ONE TIME!! Even if I had a horse trailer...........not big enough, for all. It not like we ever have to take ALL the pets to the vet at once, or for that matter take them ALL on a road trip. So I guess I'm just a bad person because I have so many pets and don't own 2 semi's to drive then around in So be it then!!!!!!!!! I'm a bad owner and person.

But at least I'm a good enough person, to know when someone opened up to clearly a very painfully time in their life, not to slap them in the face, by second guessing them or making them feel any worse by their choice.

For people to leave behind one dog just because they aren't allowed in hotels or shelters is even more inexcusible.

I haven't cried over this in a while.........but thanks to this the tears are back and I again feel like crap. So thank you for being so understanding and hurting me again, with a painfully choice I was forced to make. I'm an inexcusable pet owner, now. I'm done here.

[finn's mom]

Originally posted by Fox-Gal
Some how I knew their would be at least one person to say something when I posted as I almost didn't just for this reason. There always has to be one person, I should have known better, then to share. I won't make that mistake again.

I have never had to go through what you went through and I wouldn't wish that kind of tragedy on anyone. I understand why you made the choices you made. I was actually thinking that I would get negative feedback for what I said, too. I'm sorry that you were made to feel that way, but, I would have felt the same way if I'd posted my feelings the way you had. I hope you don't mean that you're done with pet talk.

[petslover]

Fox-Gal, I think you are doing a wonderful job raising your pets. You should be proud of yourself. I sure hope that your not done with Pet Talk either.

Raise your head high with pride that your doing such a good job here for your pets.

[Kfamr]

-sigh- I wish this wouldn't turn sour. It's the last thing I need right now. Please lets keep this a mature conversation without pointing fingers at anyone.

I can totally understand where everyone's coming from. With me having 3 dogs and 3 fish, I am fully capable of taking all of them with me. However, everyone has different lives and that's what makes each of us, us.


Libby, I'm sorry you've gotten picked on, I hope you decide to stay in contact. While Hurricanes can be predicted, there's no way they can be totally predictable. Anyone who lives in Florida knows that very well... Out of staters wouldn't understand unless they were glued to the television, and even then they can't experience the stress and stuff we do during Hurricane Season.

One really down side to Florida is the fact that it's so long, skinny, and juts out into the middle of the ocean. Take a while to get out of state, and usually in situations like this it takes MORE than a while to get out of state.


When I first created this thread I mainly thought of hurricanes - that's the only emergency type situation i've ever been through. Fires, and all of the others mentioned, however.. I haven't. So really, I have no clue how i'd react in a situation like that. Certainly i'd try my best to keep everyone in my family (family includes my dogs) safe.

[dukedogsmom]

Thanks for upsetting one of our most tender hearted people here. You can't say what you're going to do until it happens. Guess I should get rid of Duke, Flair and Doogie, too, since I live in a hurricane area. You can't take a zoo in a couple of vehicles and shouldn't be judged for not doing so. You don't know Libby so don't be making those hurtful remarks to her when you will probably never even be in her situation.

[finn's mom]

Originally posted by Kfamr
-sigh- I wish this wouldn't turn sour.

I don't think I've ever seen a thread about this type of thing ever go without debate. Unfortunately. It's just one of those topics.

[Kfamr]

Originally posted by finn's mom
I don't think I've ever seen a thread about this type of thing ever go without debate. Unfortunately. It's just one of those topics.

I am well aware of that. However, I wish we could "debate" without beating someone with words on a subject already sore, and that's what I mean by turning sour.

[finn's mom]

Originally posted by Kfamr
I am well aware of that. However, I wish we could "debate" without beating someone with words on a subject already sore, and that's what I mean by turning sour.

I'm aware of what you meant.

[Pit Chick]

I have so much I would like to say in reply, but it would probably only get more misconstrewed into a bigger mess. I did say I wasn't attacking you and I am truly sorry for your losses, you obviously did what you felt you had to do. IMO it's not what I would have done. Some natural disasters are more predictable than others and living in an area where they are known to happen is a good reason to plan ahead. (Maybe I should have worded it like that in the first place.) I'm sorry for hurting your feelings Fox-Gal, that wasn't my intention.

The second half of my comment was in response to the original post and no way directed towards anyone. That's just what I personally would do in a situation like a hurricane which I fear may be what I'll have to do in the near future.

The last comment about "leaving one dog behind is totally inexcusible" (I should have elaborated more) is directed towards those owners with only one dog who would choose to leave that one dog behind to fend for itself during a hurricane instead of packing it in the car with the rest of the family and getting the heck out of Dodge. After Tropical storm Allison hit us (which I was driving through ), the papers and news stories showed pics of these poor dogs that people had left behind to escape the flooding and the dogs are cowaring on top of their dog houses, some even chained there. There really was no reason those animals should have been left like that.

[DJFyrewolf36]

The only person who knows how you will react to an emergency is YOU. I don't think it is at all fair to judge others reactions to emergency situations even if you have experenced something similar.

Last summer, a wildfire broke out and it looked as if we were going to be evacuated. I already had Remus in the car and was preping a carrier for Dorian (my geko) and had a smaller cage for Cleo ready. I'll admit, I am hyper-paranoid and have arranged it so me and my pets can leave at a moments notice. Most people around here don't even think about having to leave as the only natural disasters that happen are earthquakes and fires and on very rare occasions, floods. I beleve though that ANYTHING can happen and I always try my hardest to prepare for it. I would never leave my pets behind unless it presented a risk of harming myself, my husband or my child. I figure if I die trying to save my pets, who will take care of them if they make it out?

As far as not having acomodations for my pets, I would gladly live out of my car if I had to. A minor discomfort for me is no reason to abandon the lives of creatures I swore to take care of.

[finn's mom]

Well said, DJFyrewolf36.

[Fox-Gal]

Originally posted by Pit Chick
I did say I wasn't attacking you and I am truly sorry for your losses, you obviously did what you felt you had to do. IMO it's not what I would have done. Some natural disasters are more predictable than others and living in an area where they are known to happen is a good reason to plan ahead. (Maybe I should have worded it like that in the first place.) I'm sorry for hurting your feelings Fox-Gal, that wasn't my intention.

I wanted to say, Yes you did say you where not attacking me, I understood that, but never the less you hurt with your words. I opened up to one of the worse times in my life and instead of realizing that, you second guessed me, by saying I should have had a plan, should have a means to transport all pets. I going to load Goats, dogs, cats and everything in one trailer? Do you realize what would have happened, just with the dogs and goats alone, that's sure death. As for a plan, first time in over 100 years central Florida got hit with a major hurricane, so it was not something we ever expected to hit us. One of the reasons we moved inland from the coast, safer. Predictable??? hardly, one hours notice and it turned from where we where safe to where the eye was heading toward us.

As for the rest of your post, how was I not to think it was aimed at me? No reason to leave pets behind you said, something I did. Rent a u-haul..somthing I didn't do and goes with the statement about having something big enough to transport my pets with. And my favorite "For people to leave behind one dog just because they aren't allowed in hotels or shelters is even more inexcusible"
I left behind more then one pet, I said there was not a hotel in the world that would take in my crew, so how could I not think that statement was for me.

I too always said I'd never leave a pet behind and if any one would have told me I would, I would have said they where wrong and meant it. My goal in posting was to say, never say never, not to be judged for my choice. Because as I found out, once the time comes and you are faced with it, never can change real fast. To remove all my pets, would have surely been a death to some, to stay would have also been death to some and even us, maybe. Plan are not, when you feel that death is a sure thing no matter what route you take, your thinking changes and you do what you can, with the best goal in mind, right or wrong. And in my case the death was a lot less, because of the choice we did make, I have no dough about that.

As it was said here, Florida in a long skinny state and even if we had decided to hit the road, with all our pets, driving your way out of a path of a storm bigger then the whole state, isn't likely to happen and the risk is to great to chance it.

So to you Pit Chick, thank you for saying your sorry, I appreciate that. The hurt of the words is still there, of course, but thats mine to deal with.

To finn's mom, petslover and Kay, thank you. As to leaving here, most likely not, not sure yet, but to ever opening up again, no, I won't do it again. Even thought Pit Chick did not mean to hurt me with her words, it did and I don't want to go through that again.

To Val and special thanks for you kind words.

[finn's mom]

Originally posted by Fox-Gal
To finn's mom, petslover and Kay, thank you. As to leaving here, most likely not, not sure yet, but to ever opening up again, no, I won't do it again. Even thought Pit Chick did not mean to hurt me with her words, it did and I don't want to go through that again.

You're welcome. I'm glad that you are staying. And, I completely understand the fear of opening up. It's hard being judged for things you have done, especially when you more than likely did the very best thing for your family. There are a few things I don't say in Pet Talk, I want to stick around for awhile, and, too many people have no tact when they are passionate about a subject, and, my feelings are sometimes very easily hurt. It's just not worth it to share everything. I'm sure that you have folks here that you can pm when you need to share things like this. That you can trust to be nonjudgemental. Again, I'm sorry that you had to make that decision in the first place, Libby, but, I am so so glad that you are not leaving Pet Talk.

[CagneyDog]

Since I only have one dog I would definitely be able to take him if there was ever a emergency. I would never be able to leave him behind.

Fox-gal, that must of been horrible...but I do understand your decision.

[animal_rescue]

I would like to say that I will never leave my pets behind but really I won't know until something happens. Say a fire if there was a fire in my home and there was a cage in my way, I would definity grab the cage with animal inside it, but I don't think I could go around the house looking for pets. The birds and the guinea pig are by windows so if we had to we could break the window and get them out of the cage into a cat carrier. If there was a tornado we would grab the cages and dogs, then look for the cats because they usually hide, most of the time they hide in the basement so that's good but we had notice about a storm or something no doubt in my mind that I would take them, I love all my pets and couldn't bear to see them die because of me.