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How to: Protect your pets from house fires

By American Kennel Club, American Kennel Club, Source: MCT News Service

What would you do if your beloved pet were caught in a fire?

Each year nearly half-a-million pets are affected by home fires that leave their owners devastated. To educate dog and cat owners and protect pets from becoming victims of deadly house fires, the American Kennel Club, the National Volunteer Fire Council, and ADT Security Services offer the following tips to protect your pets from house fires.

_ Extinguish Open Flames _ Pets are generally curious and will investigate cooking appliances, candles, or even a fire in your fireplace. Ensure your pet is not left unattended around an open flame and make sure to thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your home.

_ Pet Proof the Home _ Take a walk around your home and look for areas where pets might start fires inadvertently, such as the stove knobs, loose wires and other potential hazards.

_ Secure Young Pets _ Especially with young puppies, keep them confined away from potential fire-starting hazards when you are away from home.

_ Keep Pets Near Entrances – When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them.

_ Practicing Escape Routes with Pets – Keep collars and leashes at the ready in case you have to evacuate quickly with your pet or firefighters need to rescue your pet.

_ Affix a Pet Alert Window Cling – Write down the number of pets inside your house and attach the static cling to a front window. This critical information saves rescuers time when locating your pets. You can obtain a free window cling by going to www.adt.com/pets.

_ Keep Your Information Updated _ Firefighters are familiar with pet alert window clings so keep the number of pets listed on them updated. Knowing the accurate number of pets in the house aids rescuers in finding all of your pets and provides important information so that firefighters do not put themselves or others in danger when rescuing pets.

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Additional tips can be found on the American Kennel Club Web site at www.akc.org.

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(c) 2009, The American Kennel Club, Inc., www.akc.org

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services

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