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[Deleted]

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[dearprudence]

I guess I'm confused - why do you think you won't be able to keep a handle on them if they're on leashes?

We haven't had a fire, but we did have an earthquake we had to evacuate for. We threw a leash on our dog and headed out.

[niemand88f]

If they're in a pen at the foot of your bed at night, it shouldn't take too long to leash them. I would buy some really cheap leashes to keep in your room- maybe the slip lead kind in case they don't have collars on.

[luvmygsp]

I have laid awake many nights fearing & planning for the exact same thing....ugh totally an irrational fear I know...but it Does happen. I'd mostly panic about it on nights when MH was OOT for work. It got so bad one night I set a bra, pants, a sweatshirt, & a leash on my dresser just in case....

This was my plan pre Taylor, now that we have her I dont know what I would do if I was alone & trapped in my bedroom....(I better not have nightmares about this tonight!! Lol)
Put on glasses, bra, pants, sweatshirt, grab cell phone (on nightstand), leash on Cooper, take screen off window, bust through glass w/shoe, hop up on H's nightstand & balance on that & our bed, get Coop on the bed & (somehow) lift him up (65lbs to neck high) & toss him out the window, praying he doesnt break anything...maybe use his leash to support his butt so I can lower him closer to the ground...Jump out myself, run like hell, call 911, try not to bawl.

Not sure how that helps you at all...just wanted you to know you arent the only one who worries about that stuff! Now that I habe my night plan I worry about what will happen to them if Im Not at home

[chessie]

Our dogs normally are sleeping in the same room, and if something does happen they normally follow us no problem. Could you work on recall commands? My dogs are great, and I probably could call them out with us to follow. All my dogs have their collars on all the time though.

[SallySparrow]

We keep leashes in the bedroom. So the dogs would be okay. The cats, on the other hand...we have three, and God knows if we could get them all round up in time. Even if we left a window open and they got out, I am 90% certain that one would freak out so much that we'd just never see her again. The other two MIGHT stick close to home, but they're all spoiled house cats, so who knows. I don't like to think about it.

I do have a window decal from the ASPCA on our front door though, in case something would happen when we're not home, to alert rescue workers that there are pets in the home.

[luvmygsp]

Jan 29, 2013 17:19:58 GMT -5 SallySparrow said:

Ido have a window decal from the ASPCA on our front door though, in case something would happen when we're not home, to alert rescue workers that there are pets in the home.

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention we have these too! One on each entry door, it has room to put our pets names & known hiding places.

& our dogs have their collars on at all times as well..unless they just had a bath & are drying

[msmerymac]

We got the window decals at PetSmart. They're orange and say, "Firefighter, please save our pets. We have ___ cats ___ dogs."

Otherwise, I keep broken-down carriers in my car trunk so if I had to grab the cats, one under each arm, and run, I could in theory have a place to put them once I got outside. We don't have a garage and the car isn't next to the house.