Comments on: Shake it, baby! Tips to keep your pet safe in an earthquake

By: 2ittybittykitties

2ittybittykitties — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:23:04 +0000

Gina, no doubt that the crate is very sturdy. But to say the dog survived because of it is like saying the baby they found still strapped to a single seat in the midst of a plane crash was because of the seat belt. It was a fluke (a miracle?)and probably won’t happen again too many times.
The point I’m trying to make is that when an earthquake happens, and it’s strong enough, everything INSTANTLY starts flying around. It’s best to let the dogs and cats wherever they may be at that moment in time seek their own shelter under something close by. If it’s the crate, great. If not, they’ll find shelter. I wouldn’t give a dog a command to go into a crate unless it was right next to it. Dogs are smarter than that :)

By: Gina Spadafori

Gina Spadafori — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 15:09:55 +0000

The hard plastic crates are very sturdy. Years ago, I was working on the copy desk at the Sacramento Bee when my friend Morgan, one of the photo editors, brought me a picture off the wires.

A jet crash in Kenner, La., had killed almost everyone aboard. One of the survivors was a black Labrador puppy, shown in the picture smooching the rescue worker. He had survived the crash in the cargo hold, protected by his crate.

That picture made a big impression on me with regard to the use of crates, let me tell you.

By: KateH

KateH — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:51:24 +0000

What if your dog is in a crate and something falls on top of it? My extra-large wire crates wouldn’t hold up (and neither would any crate, I’m sure) to having big objects fall on it, and if it’s damaged it could be difficult or impossible to open. The prospect of a big earthquake (and foxtails, and the bad economy) make California a place I’m unsure about moving to, although the weather and the culture appeal to me a great deal.

By: 2ittybittykitties

2ittybittykitties — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:41:33 +0000

There are a lot of different scenarios that come into play depending on how big the quake is, how close you are to it, and how far the dog is from the crate. At 6.5 things definitely start flying around; but if the dog has to run across the house off a command it may be better to let it’s own instincts find a safe harbor immediately. At 7.5 or greater (I’ve been in 7.9) you can’t stand or run and you need to take care of YOU at that moment in time! Everything that possibly can will be flying around in every direction (up,down and sideways)at the same time. So I don’t think there’s one “right” way to keep your dogs safe. As soon as it starts shaking, you know right away if the quake is small, medium or “the big one.”

By: Kim Thornton

Kim Thornton — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:47:15 +0000

The biggest quake we’ve been in was a 6.7. With that one and the other “mid-range” quakes my main concern, as Gina notes, was that things would fly off shelves or fall over. For those, I’d be happiest if the dogs were under or inside something sturdy, and it never hurts to have them be in the habit of going there instantly on command. Re Quakehold, yes, that stuff is great.

By: Gina Spadafori

Gina Spadafori — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:24:15 +0000

Gwen, I would disagree. Even mild temblor — by California standards — can knock things off walls and shelves, and your dog is probably safer in a crate.

A really big one … yeah, all bets are off.

Sign me,

California native

By the way … speaking of things coming off shelves. While I prefer to recommend people put things they really like in displays with doors — so cats won’t knock them off shelves — I also recommend a product called QuakeHold, generically known as “museum putty.” It affixes items to shelves without damage to either.

By: Gwen Lebec

Gwen Lebec — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:25:22 +0000

Great intentions, but not really practical. Either the quake will be so mild that putting the dog into a crate is not really necessary. If it is really a serious one, this is impossible unless both the dog and the crate are already within arms reach. I have been through two big, serious quakes. In each case we were unable to even remotely stand up, let alone find our way to a doorframe and certainly not to take a dog to a crate while TV sets were flying over our heads, cabinets bursting open and all contents hurtled across the room. The real thing is not a walk-through. Our dogs raced for the back door but stopped in the hallway, the only place without flying projectiles.

By: Renee

Renee — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:19:41 +0000

I’m in Orange County and felt the earthquake. My guy Bryan, a 9 year old Siberian Husky, came running into the house with his tail tucked and sat on my feet during the quake. He then decided it was safer to hide under the desk in the den. He wouldn’t come out for a good 15-20 minutes. The big quake on Easter had him hiding in my closet for a couple of hours. Poor guy, he also hid in my closet on the 4th of July. He didn’t care much for the fireworks going off at the lake a couple of miles from the house. I’m definitely going through my earthquake supplies this weekend as we seem to be having several of these shakers lately.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:33:49 +0000

This story made me laugh—I was at work yesterday in OC when the quake hit, my two dogs both happened to be at work with me and were snoozing on the couch. They did not so much as stir while the quake was happening, what finally got them to lift their heads was all the commotion from my coworkers post-quake… And we thought they “predicted” these things… Erm, not so much in our pack!

Good call on using the crate command. It seems the majority of quakes are nighttime/early AM, so in our case the dogs should likely already be contained. Regardless, a solid “crate!” command is surely an invaluable tool.