One of the greatest gifts of being involved in a pet blog is finding a greater sense of cause and community with like-minded people. Whether you are a cat person, dog person, bird person, ferret person- each with their own distinct personalities and interests- everyone is equally interested in improving the lives of animals across the world, and that is something I love.
Driven by the desire to bring community-minded bloggers together to make a difference, Kim Clune at This One Wild Life and Amy and Rod Burkert of Go Pet Friendly initiated the Blog the Change event, which starts today.
The link above will tell you all you need to know if you’d like to participate. The premise is simple: pick something you are passionate about and blog about it.
Ta daa!
Here is my contribution:
As an animal health care advocate and someone easily overwhelmed by life’s demands, I am all for safety tips that are easily implemented, convenient, and effective. I have seen the devastating effects of house fires, and I know how difficult it is in those emergency situations to get everyone out safely and quickly, particularly when you are trying to find a frightened pet.
The American Kennel Club, ADT, and the National Volunteer Fire Council have teamed up to declare July 15th Pet Fire Safety Day. With an estimated 500,000 pets affected by house fires each year, it’s an important issue to prepare for.
The above link has some tips for home preparedness, but even with the best pet-proofing accidents can happen. In those situations, something as simple as a window cling with your pets’ information can make the difference for those awesome, fantastic firefighter heroes who can and do regularly risk life and limb to help us, and our pets.
Participating fire stations across the US are offering these clings today for free; for those who are not close to a station where they are available, ADT also has these clings available online, free of charge.
It’s easy. It doesn’t cost you anything. And it just might save your pet’s life.
Appropriate that Pet Fire Safety Day falls on my birthday, really. It’s my biggest fear (living in condo with neighbors that smoke in our building) that our place will go up in flames and my poor dogs and cats aren’t rescued… I guess this comes from being a native southern Californian and having been through the wildfires.
Thank you for this. I had stickers on the windows of our old house. I like the idea of clings because it’s transportable. We are not allowed to put things permanently in this rental; but, we are planning on finding our own house soon.
Thank you for the terrific tips, Dr. V.! Fire is my biggest nightmare. Since moving to a mountaintop where the nearest fire hydrant is my neighbor’s pond 1000 feet below, we’re now planning a fire escape (shaped remarkably like a lovely upper deck with a patio underneath) due to my emphatic insistence on getting the animals out in the event that the main rout is blocked by flames. My husband was all, “I’ll lower them out the window and then climb out.” I’m all, “You have 3 minutes before the fumes kill you and 4 animals to deal with. Are you NUTS?” Yeah, we’ll be getting that cling-on too. I’m listing my husband on it. He won’t leave until the rest of us are out.
Thanks for Blogging the Change!
This is SO important! Nikki & I have several window clings but none are up. . . since we’re in a duplex with more animals than we should have. I need to figure out some way to still let firefighters know, though. Perhaps a cling at least acknowledging animals in the house. We do, however, keep our cats in one room and have a sticker on the outside of it stating how many cats are inside. Thanks, Dr. V for spreading such a lifesaving message!
I’m a HUGE fan of Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog who is doing a great job spreading the word about Fire Safety across North America. Thank you Dayna for all that you’re doing to help save lives. http://www.sparklesthefiresafetydog.com/
Stopping by with Be the Change for Animals. Thank you for all you do to help animals in need. Hope you will be able to visit us too.
Felissa, Davinia, and Indiana
http://www.twolittlecavaliers.blogspot.com
This is great. Thanks for blogging about it today! I am embarrassed to say I never thought of it, but I’ll be stopping by my fire station ASAP!
We have some of those very window clings! And your post has just reminded me that we’ve yet to put them up on our new house. Thanks for the tip, Dr. V! 😀
Thanks for blogging for a change! Fire is my biggest fear, especially if I am not around to get out all my beloved pets. Thanks for Sharing the tips.
Such a great cause to blog about today… thanks for the tips!
I’ve been wondering where I could get some of those window clings! Thanks for the tip and all the info about preparedness. I think in a past life I was a boy/girl scout because I never feel I can be too over prepared.
Thank you for the great fire safety tips, Dr. V. Fire is one of my nightmares as well. When I had my burglar alarm installed, the alarm company didn’t need to work too hard to convince me to put in monitored fire alarms also. But, still, I really need to get some of those clings.
(PS: I’m looking forward to meeting you at BlogPaws West :-))
Thanks so much for the tips. I never knew you could get those window clings! I have to get some now, as this is something I’m always concerned about ( and the thought of an earthquake) when leaving my cats in the house when I go out. Thanks so much 🙂
One of my biggest fears is losing my cat to a fire. He is a spoiled fat brat and I love him that way. I can imagine how lost and confused he would be. I can imagine how hurt I could get if it happened. I would put myself into danger to save my cat. No insurance plan, no promise of a friend or a relative could ever compare.
So yeah… great post Glad to see someone offering ideas.