Dogs and natural disasters

I am sure you have all been watching the awful images of the storm pummeling the East Coast of the United States. Whenever a disaster like this strikes, it always makes me think of Misha and how I would protect her if something like this happened.

I know that New York has laws that allow dogs on all public transportation and, I believe, in shelters during disasters. Other states do not. California was working on a piece of legislation that would help families with their pets during such emergencies, but I am not sure if it passed.

We don't have storms like those the rest of the country gets. We do get earthquakes though. I have Misha's crate easily accessible if something happens. I know I could not leave without her without being forcibly removed. Luckily, I have plenty of family all over this area. If we were displaced, I know me and my dog would have somewhere to go.

Do you ever think about what you would do it disaster struck?

 

Absolutely. I live high in a forest isolated by a rough 2 mile track. Every summer the authorities predict that it will be another bushfire disasters like the one that happened in 1967 when many people lost their lives and homes were destroyed. Today in fact is bushfire awareness day and we are expected to plan our escape and do some fire hazard reduction. I have no chance so I just have to grit my teeth and bear with it. I do have a fire shelter which I built 30 years ago but in need of some repair.
The problem will be in the anxious moments when a fire can come through at a million miles an hour will I have Mishka's safety at hand. I'm concerned that under stress she may disappear under the house and I wont be able to retrieve her.
Yes I have thought about it.

 

Yes, I often do.

A couple of years ago, typhoon Ondoy happened in our country. It was devastating. Here's a footage neighbors rescuing others from getting stuck in their own homes.



The flood reached up to 6 feet. And that night, there was a labrador paddling across the flood barking as if trying to ask for help. The next day, the dog was found out in the streets, more than a kilometer away from where they lived. Fortunately, that dog is still alive.

My brother-in-law literally tossed our dogs on top of the roof while we stayed at a neighbor's whose house had a second floor.

 

I remember that Cesar Milan did a special show on the dogs of Hurricane Katrina. They showed the rescue workers bringing dogs out of homes. Dogs survived several days alone which is incredible. There was a particularly touching ending. He took care of one of the dogs and was able to return to it to the family in the Gulf Coast. Can you imagine after you have lost everything to find that your dog survived? It would definitely help give you that glimmer of hope you need to recover.

I think of these things, too. I remember about 10 years ago we were startled by loud banging on the front door and a neighbor yelling fire. We had no clue where or if it was our house. My Dad ran out into the front yard immediately. I ran down the hall, got the leash, and then got Sierra. Maybe not the smartest thing, but she was the first thing on my mind. It turned out not to be our house, but the roofing company next door. It was a long night, but the fire fighters were able to prevent it from spreading to our homes.

 

In my area, we have floods sometimes - I live on the island surrounded by the river. During the worst flood I remember, I haven't had Homer yet. If the flood happened now, I wouldn't leave him - no matter what. I wouldn't care about the law or about what other people might think. I'd take him with me to the shelter if I had to go there.

 

Blimey. That was amazing to see people still laughing in the rain up to their chests in water.

 

Oh, that's rather common where I used to live. Floods are an annual affair and when the water rises, it becomes a festival. People will walk in the flooded parts of the town just for the fun of it.

As for my dogs, I don't have to think much about preparation for natural disasters because, about the worst that we have ever got is just a flood. Nothing serious, though. Just a couple of feet of water. Couple of days. Then everything's fine again.

 

I remember during Katrina, some people refused to evacuate their area because they were told they would have to leave their pet behind. I thought this was awful for them to be told, pets are part of your family and no one is going to abandon them. The state of Louisiana actually learned from the tragedy and in the years since 2005 during the two hurricanes that went through the state actually created shelters designed to house pets. The shelters also allowed one member of the family to stay with the pet during the evacuation. Its sad that this state had t o learn the hard way that pets owners are not going to leave their pets behind. I know I never would, and would make the same choice that the people in Louisiana made in 2005, because no one is going to tell me to leave my pet behind to fend for themselves or even die.

 

I think it's reasonable for dog owners not to abandon their pets to die. That's because I have yet to hear of any dogs abandoning their owners to die. All I have heard is that dogs have been known to stay by their owners even after the owners have died and have been buried.

 

Yes, they were laughing because the person assisting the frail woman towards the houses was saying "Think positive. Don't give up." In our country, there's this advertisement that kept on repeating that phrase in our native language. After hearing it a couple of times, it gets old but hearing it where it is genuinely needed was something people had to laugh about.

Actually, one of those men swam towards their home to do a canon ball dive.

That's amazing. We had to leave our pets behind too. We had them stay on the roofs of the house while we went to the neighbors. We were actually in a much worse predicament since our neighbor's second floor was also badly crowded, we were cramped like a bunch of sardines, getting wet in the rain while watching the men saving the other neighbors.

I think it is great that the state of Louisiana prepared a shelter designed for house pets. Although it's just too bad that something worse had to happen before it was implemented. I am glad all our dogs have lived through the tragedy of typhoon Ondoy.