apartment dogs and fire alarms

I just had a thought.

I know a few people here who had dogs in their apartments.

I was wondering if any of you are concerned about fire alarms? What if one goes off when you aren't home? Does your land lord have a list of animals in apartments in case there actually is a fire? The fire alarms in our building are VERY loud, and I'm afraid if something happened and the dog freaked, and I wasn't there.

I used to live in an apartment. Myself & my friend. Her St. Bernard, Her 2 cats & my Whinnie.
The landlord had a list of our pets and thier names and obviously a key to our apartment. Since we lived there for quite sometime, we spent the time letting the landlords get to know our girls, so if need be, they could get into the apartment. Inquire with the landlord, what their policy & procedures are when it comes to animals and situations such as those. I'd also recommend, if possible to try and stay as low to the ground as possible. In case of emergency, they are usually the easiest to access and escape from.
Presently, Whin, Boo & I live in an upper level, same story. I rent, my landlord comes by once and a while and drops things off, or checks to see how things are, or just sticks his head in the door to say "HI" to Whin & Boo. Neighbours are also a good resource for emergencies, if you trust them with a key, and they know your animals.

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately our landlord is only there during business hours, and it's a large building (12 apartments per floor, 11 floors).

I just worry because the last fire alarm we had rang for almost 15 minutes. It was driving us nuts, and I can't imagine how a dog would feel if that happened and he were all alone!

What are the chances of it just going off though????I have never had that happen

true, but I'm sure it has happened while I'm not there (during the day). It's like...when a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?

My parents have this great answering machine where you can call in and listen to your house...

I was actually thinking of setting up a private website with a webcam of my apartment to check on things during the day.

That is an awesome idea, I have to look into that. I'd love to know what goes on in the day while Mommy is at work :cool:

That is a great idea................

Not in an apartment but own a RV and I work for the resort right now.

This is an excellent question Raingirl..

Most people with pet's here have a sign in their window.."In case of emergency, please rescue my pets." then they list the pets. Most with pets also leave us a key in the office or, like me, leave my door unlocked at all times in case of an emergency. We are a gated community so we have very few security issues. This also comes in handy in the hot summer months. If the power should go off, pet's can die in a short period of time in an RV, much like a car. Many times we have opened windows for people and have taken their pets outside to cool off. The first week of my employment here we lost power, and someone staying for only a week left their two dogs alone all day while visiting a sick relative in Gainesville. We did not even know they had dogs, both were lost due to the heat.
It is now a standard practice to ask at registration if they have pets and a contact phone number.We now even offer dog walking and pet sitting too. (Me)


It's going to be a busy season.

Thank you RainGirl! I have the sign in my window and it reminded me that it's starting to look a bit ratty and I need to find a new one. I found it years ago in a small pet grooming/supply shop. Hmmm - printed in USA (1982) by Royce International, Reseda, CA. Wonder if they have a website? I've reduced this in size; it's actually about 5 1/2" square.

OK,I am a dork i thought she meant if the alarm went off for no reason,not if there was a fire,..............

I have 3 breed specific stickers on my front door.

www.sundogdecals.com

They have the most awesome pet products

1) this premises is guarded by an American Pitbull Terrier

2) In case of emergecy please rescue my American Pit-Bull terriers inside (2)

3) Pit-bulls are like potato chips......you can never have just one

I recommend these decals to everyone, the have them for every breed, if they don't have your's I'm certin they would be more then willing to make one for you. I have mine air mailed from the us and rec'd them in 2 days. You can also fine them on EBAY.

But, buying direct is better.

Well, I meant for fire and false alarms (there are a LOT of kids in my building, and they pull the alarms at least once a month, and that's when I'm home). I can't imagine how many times it happens during the day when I'm not there!!

Treat all alarms as real. Fires can happen too quick to judge if it's real or a false alarm...the time it takes to decide could result in the loss of life and all your property.

My .02 cents.

Oh My God I am really really blonde,now i get it,i am thinking of the one in your apt...................

We got one of those stickers from our vet, ours reads something like :
Dear fireman I have 1 dog and 1 cat. Please save them and bring them to (then it had our vets name, address, phone number, and after hours number)

Its stuck to our front door and we know where to pick up our pets incase of a fire.

I have stickers on both front,side and backdoor saying"In case of fire please save me" and 3 cats.I talked to a fire-man while on vacation at one time and I asked him about saving cats,he simply said"Hell no!!"
After that I keep all 3 carriers in my bed-room closet,although I was told cats panic and would more than likely hide and die from smoke-inhalation :sad:
I've read about soooo many house-fires where cats have died... :sad:

Raingirl
Since you are in a commerical hi-rise, they may not like you putting the sticker on your front door. If so, frame it and hang it on your front door. 3M have some great hooks that are removable. (I know how fussy some supers can get).

Also, it sounds like crate training may be especially good in your circumstances. As dogs tend to view their crates as "safe" places, it is more likely he/she will go there if they sense an emergency/danger. Easier to find them when you have to.

We lived on the 12th floor once and did have an emergency. Smoke came under our door (fire in the furnace room). Very scary with an arthritic golden who could not do stairs. Glad I did not have to climb down 12 floors trying to carry her.

Good luck

Oh my gosh, this is so scary! I never even thought of this situation. My bf lives in a fourth floor condo. I'm going to make my own sign to put in the window!

In case of fire, please rescue Sadie! (with her picture, so they know she's a dog) :)

Do you think that a fire alarm would cause a dog to freak out though? Especially if they were home alone?

Some people when making their own signs for their windows. Also put the normal hidding of their animals. This will help the fire dept know where to start looking.

It has saved many animal lives.

Since dogs ears are so much more sensitive then ours, it obviously would be quite an unpleasant sound.
It used to happen quite often in our old apartment building. The landlord would post signs in the lobby if the alarm had gone off advising for how long, so you knew why your kids were a little strung out when you walked through the door.
Hopefully, it isn't a regular occurance, and though stressful, they should be fine if there is a false alarm while they are alone.

Do you think that a fire alarm would cause a dog to freak out though? Especially if they were home alone?

I lived in a small town and every Thursday night, the town fire alarm would go, to signal the volunteer firefighters practice. The siren was across the street from our house, so fairly loud. All of my dogs growing up would howl and bark at the siren. Our Dachsie would totally freak and run and hide under the bed. I lived in an apt. and had the alarm go off, and it is quite a bit louder than the siren. I can only imagine what dogs think and feel when they hear that. We would go and calm her down, but she was still freaked out. If she was alone, she'd have just stayed under the bed shivering until it stopped.