Emergencies

I've always been very safety conscious, I've kept earthquake kits at work and in the car. I've attended a pet first aid class and I have great friends who will always pitch in during an emergency. As prepared as I've always felt, I recently found out my emergency plan was totally ineffective.

A fire recently demolished the building in front of my apartment. It was the scariest experience of my life. Marley started growling and barking at the front door and I shushed her; she kept it up and I finally looked outside and all I saw was orange. I managed to shove a cat into the carrier and run out the door. I spent the next 4 hours outside while the fire department put out the fire. I am very lucky the fire only killed my plants, my neighbors lost windows and their doors were broken down.

I feel really good about the following things:

• Marley's leashes are by the front door and Marley was excited to see me pick up the leash.
• I didn't lock my front door on my way out; the fire dept didn't need to break down my door.
• I managed to remain calm and helped one of my neighbor stay calm.
  
• I was calm enough to grab the cat carrier and Mahone.

These are some things I need to work on:

• I need to keep the cat carrier by the front door. I startled Bob when I retrieved the cat carrier and he hid under the bed.
• I need to keep an emergency kit by my front door or replenish the one in my car. If my building had caught fire I would have been stuck without any pet paraphernalia.

I hope everybody remains safe and I hope my experience helps you avoid a similar situation. Marley is such a good girl, she remained calm. Actually, I think she thought we were having a midnight walk. Overall, I'm grateful everybody is fine and the only damage was to buildings and not people or pets.