[Dailydrool] May with our Elsinore and young Charlie, part 1 of 3

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

What a month this has been! We were on holiday in Florida the week of  
Nashville's flood and torrential rains (four months' worth in two  
days). Our Elsinore was staying with Friend Jennifer while young  
Charlie was at his favorite doggie daycare in another part of town.  
Fortunately neither locations flooded, though Jennifer was watching a  
nearby creek very closely and would have had to evacuate four dogs if  
what had spilled the banks had headed in her direction. Too many of  
our near neighbors left their homes in rowboats and canoes, not  
always with all of their pets. Cats are especially hard to corral  
into a boat, and many opted to hide in high spots in their homes,  
giving their humans no choice but to leave them behind. Metro Animal  
Control still has a number of animals who've been displaced by the  
flood, and it's going to hold onto them for a few more weeks (before  
trying to adopt them out) so that their equally displaced families  
have more time to try to find them.

In addition to worrying about Elsinore and Charlie's safety, we  
worried about our house, which is located within a half mile of the  
Cumberland River. We can see the riverbank from our street, and we  
knew the river had crested at near record-breaking levels. The  
Weather Channel, which surprisingly had the best coverage, showed  
many photos of the roofs of businesses along the river on our side. I  
called my mother, who lives a block away from us, and she assured us  
there was no water on our street. But she doesn't get out of her  
house much, even on fair weather days, so I wasn't sure how much she  
really knew about what was going on even a block away.

We returned home fearing what we'd find. We envisioned a basement  
full of water, or really nasty stuff bubbling out of the toilets and  
drains. We were too ignorant at the time to know to worry about  
finding a flooded HVAC system or water heater that'd have to be  
replaced. However, we were incredibly fortunate. Our basement floor  
was damp, and that was it. Not even my garden had been washed away.  
Almost a month later, as many of our friends continue to deal with  
mud and mold and the loss of pets (I heard that Elsinore's dance  
teacher, who lives in the Bellevue area, lost some dogs and a cat to  
the flood), we're feeling just as fortunate. We were spared loss of  
property, employment, and life.

With the news of the widespread and horrific damage the flood had  
wrought playing in the background on the tv and in the newspaper, I  
began going through all the e-mails that had accumulated while we  
were gone. The neighborhood listserv detailed the flooding and  
evacuations block by block as they were happening, and the Drool  
detailed two devastating fires. Both my worlds quickly become very  
sad places to be. While most possessions can be replaced, pets  
cannot. My heart is heavy when I think of the humans, dogs, cats, and  
other pets who died, as well as those who lost their homes and  
everything they owned, in the Nashville flood and the Drool fires.

As I was going through the Drools, I saw the thread on fire  
prevention. Even though it's a bit late to be adding to it, here's a  
tip I came across: Make sure the bathroom exhaust fans are cleaned  
regularly. Lint and grime collects in those and can ignite,  
especially when the fan is run for extended periods of time. Actually  
it's best not to run those fans any longer than necessary.

We keep our hounds in crates at night, and I make sure all the crates  
have a leash lying on top, right by the crate door. That way, in the  
event of a fire, I won't have to go searching for a leash because  
it'll be right there when I open the door. I'm of two minds when it  
comes to dogs in crates during a fire. If dogs are in their crates  
when a fire starts, the humans trying to rescue them know exactly  
where they are and can find them immediately. No searching a smoky  
house for a dog who's trying to hide. At the same time, being in a  
crate means the dog's trapped and can't move away from a fire that's  
getting too close. I don't think there's any perfect solution, and  
luck plays a huge role in who survives and who doesn't. We keep "pet  
alert" stickers on the front and back doors, try to reduce the risk  
of fire, and hope for the best.

To be continued..... (Part 2, Young Charlie gets sick)

Elizabeth