Jennifer Leary, founder of Red Paw, is our guest blogger this week. Valentine’s Day is a time to look at all those around you who are special in your life, which includes your Fuzzy, Feathered, Fishy or Lizard-Skinned Valentine.  Making year-round emergency preparedness plans should include your pets too. Jen is a former Philadelphia Firefighter whose career altered slightly when she established Red Paw, a non-profit partner organization to the City of Philadelphia, that focuses on rescuing people’s pets during emergencies. 

by Jennifer Leary | Red Paw Emergency Relief Team, Founder     February 13, 2017

One beautiful summer night I was walking home from the Broad Street Line after a Phillies game. Standing right in the middle of the street at Broad and South was the prettiest girl I had ever seen! People were out of their cars, stopping traffic, and trying to get her onto the sidewalk. But she wouldn’t budge. She was just sitting there, chillin. Being the emergency responder that I am, I jumped into action! I grabbed a piece of rope that was wrapped around a fence, tied it to her collar, and walked her swiftly to safety. Once we were on the sidewalk, she looked up at me with her sparkly little eyes and her giant ears that she hadn’t grown into yet, and it was love at first sight (cue the New Edition music)!

Ever since that night fifteen years ago, my dog Coda has been my Valentine.

Coda and I are inseparable. We’ve been through a lot together. When I was in the fire academy, I’d come home sore, tired, and cold. She’d lay right next to me to warm me up. While doing overnights at the firehouse, she’d wait for me to get home in the morning before she’d go up to bed. Now when I’m out on a Red Paw call, she’s there at the front door to greet me after every response, no matter what time of day.

How do I repay that kind of love and loyalty you ask? Well, since dogs aren’t supposed to eat chocolates, and every time I buy her jewelry (i.e., a new name tag with her name on one side and my name, our address and phone number on the other) she loses it at the dog park, I ensure that I do everything I can to make sure she is happy, healthy, and safe. Especially from a fire or disaster should anything happen in our home. As you can imagine, I’ve seen a lot of houses destroyed and pets affected by fires, so maybe it’s made me a bit over protective when it comes to fire safety and preparedness, but when it comes to keeping the love of my life safe, there’s no such thing I say!

So, how can you do the same for your pets?

For starters, make sure that every floor of our house, including the basement has working smoke alarms. Coda and I check them monthly (yes, together). We even practice our fire escape plan. It’s easy, especially if your dog or cat is food motivated. Just press the test button on your smoke alarm, then go to the front door and give them a treat. This ensures that they won’t be scared and hide when it goes off unexpectedly. Instead they’ll associate the noise with a treat and come to you at the exit.

Next, find two means of egress should the smoke alarm go off. I also keep a leash at both exits, so I’m not fumbling around looking for one during a fire. You can do this for cats as well. Just leave a carrier close to each exit. If you’re worried that cat carriers don’t really go with your home decor you can buy a soft carrier that folds up so it’s not in the way.

And although I hate leaving Coda, when I do, I make sure that all the doors to the bedrooms, basement, and bathroom are closed so that she’s contained to the first-floor common areas close to the front and back doors. If there was a fire, and firefighters had to come in, she’d be easy to find.

Lastly, I make sure that we regularly walk up and down the block introducing ourselves to new neighbors (at this point it’s about as far as she can make it without stopping for a nap), so that if something did happen when I was out, they’d know to inform first responders that she is inside.

And of course, I have an In Case of Fire Window cling on the front and back windows (again, slightly over protective) to notify neighbors and first responders that she is inside the house.

I stated earlier that Coda and I have been together for fifteen years. She was, by best guesses, around nine months to one year old when I found her. And while she still has her sparkly eyes, she just doesn’t see as well out of them as she used to. And, she still has her big adorable ears, they just don’t hear as well (truthfully, I think she has selective hearing). She’s an old dog and old dogs have lots of needs. So, when we are stocking up our Go Bags that we keep by our bedside in case we need to run out of the house quickly, I make sure to add updated copies of her medical and vaccination records, a three-day supply of the medications she is on, contact info for her doctors, three days’ worth of her special food, and a recent picture of her and I together (we usually take one every week on our date night anyway). Again, as a reminder, you can do this for your other pets as well. Cupid’s arrows know no species!

So, as all of you out there are making plans for your Valentines (whether they have two legs or four), remember: if you’re cooking a romantic dinner for that special someone, tails and open flames don’t mix! Use flameless candles for ambiance and never leave pets unattended while you are cooking, and leave the bubbly for later in the meal.

As for Coda and I, there are no worries about kitchen mishaps for us. She can’t drink alcohol with the medication’s that she’s on and neither one of us cook, so we’ll be ordering pizza (as usual) and practicing our fire escape plan, because nothing says, “I Love You” like being prepared together!

A simple, yet essential, way to be prepared is to stay informed. Get emergency alerts from OEM’s ReadyPhiladelphia program sent to your phone or email to keep you informed prior to and during an emergency.

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