Published: March 30, 2007 02:33 pm      

Stickers could save your pet's life

Decals available to alert firefighters to your fluffy friend in case of an emergency

Nearly 20 years ago, Diane Kircher borrowed a Cat Fancy magazine from a friend and, inside, found just what she had been looking for.

“When I saw it, I thought ‘that’s exactly what I need,’” the 60-year-old Jeffersonville resident said.

Having a firefighter for a husband and being the owner of several cats, Kircher had long been looking for a way to protect her animals in the event of a fire. What she found in the magazine was an advertisement for stickers that could be placed on a home’s windows or doors and would tell responding firefighters that animals were trapped inside.

“I ordered a packet of them and I gave them out to my friends and daughter,” Kircher said. “I put one on my back door. I just thought they were great, because I knew with having a husband on the fire department that they rescued a lot of animals.”

Today, these stickers are sold at most area pet stores, including Petsmart along Veterans Parkway in Clarksville, Superpetz along State Street in New Albany and all Feeders Supply locations for less than $4.

Jamey Noel, chief of New Chapel and Utica’s Volunteer fire departments, said he has seen the stickers become more popular in the last few years, but hasn’t seen one on an actual burning home. He said while his firefighters know they exist and look for them on homes, he said saving a human life is much higher on the priority list.

“We’re definitely going to try to honor them if we see them, but not to the extent that you would a human life,” Noel said. “We’re not going to risk a firefighter’s life if (a pet is) all that’s in there.”

Chief Clark Miles with the Jeffersonville Police Department said he, too, had never actually seen one of the stickers, but had heard of their rising popularity. He said he thought the stickers a good idea, and an even asset to firefighters.

“Any information that we can get is important in a situation like that,” Miles said. “We’ll pay attention to a whole lot of things when we get to a scene, and anything that can warn us ahead of time about what’s inside the house is important.

“The more we know about the situation we’re entering, the better job we can do,” he continued. “We may take more of a chance to make sure we take care of what’s inside.”

Stan Mason, deputy chief with the New Albany Fire Department said he also encourages pet owners to put the stickers near their main door.

“We will probably notice them,” Mason said. “We have seen them before, and we make every attempt to get both animals and humans out, but not in that particular order, mind you.”

Recently, Mason said firefighters responded to a home along Eighth Street where they discovered three dogs waiting just beyond the front door.

“We administered oxygen to all three dogs,” Mason said. “Our guys actually put the oxygen masks on them.”

It’s that kind of generosity to animals that convinced Kircher to put the sticker on her home.

“I feel like if (firefighters) know that (my cats) are in here then they’ll be looking for them,” she said. “I know sometimes they feel like they have to fight the fire from outside the house, but I feel like, in my heart, if somebody knew there was a cat in there, they’d be in there looking for them.”



How to prepare your pet for a natural disaster

• Always keep your pet’s vaccinations current

• Take photos of each animal, including distinguishing marks, and store in plastic bags along with other important papers

• Prepare a disaster kit for each pet that includes a pet carrier, a two-week supply of food and water, bowls, toys, medications, medical records, cat litter and pan

• Keep a properly fitted collar on your pet with current license, rabies and identification tags. Birds should have leg bands.

• Consider permanent microchip identification

• Start a neighborhood buddy system to check on one another’s pets during a disaster. Also exchange vet information and include a permission slip authorizing your “buddy” to get necessary treatment for your pet.

• Determine the best place to leave your pet in case of a disaster. Identify a place in your home as well as an off-site location in the event of an evacuation.

— Indiana Veterinary Medical Association