If you woke up in the middle of the night and your house was on fire, could you escape with your dogs? I read this linked news story and have to admire the man who thought quickly and was able to throw a mattress out his bedroom window – on the second story of his home – and then throw his dog, a hefty-looking adult Labrador, onto the mattress. Only then did he jump onto the mattress to escape. Both man and dog suffered some soreness but were otherwise okay.
If I had to make an escape through my bedroom window – assuming the rest of the house was on fire and Otto alerted me to the flames — I don’t know whether I *could* heave Otto up to my windowsill and push him out. (At least we live in a ground-floor house and I wouldn’t have to do the mattress thing – although maybe we should relocate those cacti that are under the window.) Otto is good at going up ramps, though; maybe I’ll stash a plank in the corner of the bedroom (I’m *sure* my husband won’t mind) and practice this with Otto from time to time.
In northern California where I live, fires and earthquakes are the biggest environmental threat to our safety. But those of you who live in tornado- or flood-prone areas have even greater challenges in case of natural disaster. Do you have a disaster evacuation plan for yourself and your family (human, canine, and feline)?
