Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Fay

Benny getting an update on TS Fay

We didn’t really start to feel the effects of TS Fay until last night. But since last night we have gotten rain, rain and more rain with a little bit of wind thrown in there. Luckily, nothing too bad at this point. However, Fay is a bit fickle and it has been difficult for forecasters to really pin down her path. Right now it looks like she is going to skirt right by us out on the Atlantic and then turn back and hit Florida again. We have been keeping a watch on the weather and Benny has been more than happy to help us out. He was getting an updated report this morning as we were eating breakfast.

TS Fay reminded me of a question that was sent in a while back by a blog reader that wanted to know how we prepare for hurricanes. I’d be more than happy to share, but first let me preface this with we have never actually been through a hurricane. We are relatively newcomers to the state of Florida and have been lucky enough not to have to ride out a storm. With that being said here are some of the preparations we make each year with a focus on the pugs and the cat.

Water, batteries and other staples

We stock up on all these things. Many have told us all about being without electricity for several days so we make sure we have plenty of batteries on hand to power our flashlights and little lanterns for a good long time. We make sure we have enough water not only for us, but also for the pugs and the cats.

Crates

We make sure the dog crate that fits in the car along with the cat’s carrier are handy in the garage. If we are ever forced to evacuate or go to a shelter, I like to have a crate with me if for some reason we would need to keep the pugs contained. We also have 6 foot leashes and harnesses handy.

Food

One of the biggest problems with the pugs is that their food must be refrigerated. If we lose electricity for several days it is likely their meals will spoil. So we always keep a big bag of Wellness kibble on hand during hurricane season. During that time we give them kibble as treats and we mix some in with their food so it would not be a complete shock to their digestive system if they had to switch to an all kibble diet suddenly.

In all honesty, with 3 dogs and a cat, if a serious hurricane threatened our area we would most likely evacuate. So we try to keep a list of our essentials. For example, Luna’s eye drops. Can’t forget those.

Hopefully, our lucky streak over the last 3 years will continue.

Comment Page 1 of 1 pages

Heather

08/20/2008

Praying that Fay stays away!!!!

Benny: Mom…can I get a little pumpkin bread and some morning coffee to go with the weather update??

Kim

08/20/2008

Benny looks very snug and sound - safe in the house.
I’ve lived in FL most of my life and only evacuated once (with 7 dogs split between two cars). My best advice to anyone is that if you think you are going to evacuate go early. The longer you wait the worse the traffic gets. It took us 8 1/2 hours to go 75 miles when we did it.

Christina

08/20/2008

I think Benny is doubting the forecasters info. How many times have those guys been wrong? Let’s hope they are wrong again about silly ole Fay hitting FL.

Christina

08/20/2008

OBP-is this your new entertainment center? The one that keep the kids up past their bedtimes? Very nice indeed. Looks like the late night was worth it!

Sue VDB

08/20/2008

Wow, I don’t envy you the preparations and the wondering, the constant watchfullness. I have said my prayers that everything will be ok. It’s bad enough waiting out a tornado warning in Kansas. God bless you, your husband, the puggies and Valentine.

judi

08/20/2008

We’ve made Southwest Florida (Lee County) our home for the past 22 years and(thankfully) never evacuated. We always have extra supplies during “hurricane season”... food, water, medications and (of course) treats. The pugs records are included in the “important paper” carrier, too. My boys were thrilled to have us home from work yesterday!

Martha

08/20/2008

We used to live in Florida, and you’re doing everything there is to do. With the experience I have, I would offer the opinion that I’d much prefer the huge inconvenience of evacuation when it turns out to have been unnecessary to the much, much worse situation of staying and regretting not evacuating. Oh, with your preparations, don’t forget to keep your gas tank full.

And good thoughts and prayers are with you and your puggies. Fay…....BAH!!!

Sophie and Dixie

08/20/2008

We are sure thinking of you!!!! We hope that Fay won’t stay much longer.

Pat

08/20/2008

I was reading an article in our local paper once, and it said that everyone, no matter where they live, should have emergency supplies on hand, just in case something was to happen, and that included extra meds for everyone, pets included, and extra food & water… I think it would be a good idea to have everything together, pet carriers, leash/harness all together for an unexpected emergency.
We sometimes get power outages in the winter due to storms. Then we have heating issues to contend with.

I hope Fay passes by with minimal effects to everyone. Sometimes we received the tail end of hurricanes as they come up the atlantic and pass us on the southwestern tip of NS… we usually get the rain!

Carla

08/20/2008

I grew up in Apalachicola, Florida where, I think there is a big bullseye painted somewhere that says “here we are, come this way.” It seems most all the ‘canes in the gulf seem to head our way at some point, seemingly for a direct hit at some point, but fortunately, missing the mark slightly. But we did have direct hits, too and believe me, even a near miss can be really scary.

I’ve seen too many people with the attitude that it’s not big deal, we’ll weather it out here and they end up on the evening news crying after they got pulled out of the wreakage of their “not as strong as they thought” house.

I still have family in Florida, and a mobile home there, so I keep an ear out for news on the storms. It would be nice to watch the weather on a cozy couch full of pugs, with coffee and pumpkin bread.

Y’all are in my prayers.

Karen B

08/20/2008

Greetings from earthquake country! Hurricanes are never on California’s agenda and I truly feel for those in the wake of them. Could you please just send us some of your rain? We are drought stricken and the wells are literally running dry. I have friends that are having to pay thousands to have new wells drilled…

I do have relatives in Florida and I pray that you will all be spared any major damage. Stay safe!!!

Nevis

08/20/2008

My prayers are with you and yours.

Sue VDB

08/20/2008

I came back to look at the site, noticed the entertainment center and Christina’s comment. I can see why it took so long to put that center today, and it is beautiful.

P.S. Christian, hugs to you and Sleighbelle.

Carla

08/20/2008

Karen, I’ve always said I’d rather have hurricanes than earthquakes and mudslides and canyons of raging forest fires. With hurracanes, you have some warning time at least. And, although we have our share of tornadoes, it’s not like living in kansas and visiting the wizard. lol I guess everybody has their own unique set of weather, just like life’s other problems. I often look around and tell myself I’ll gladly keep my own problems rather than swap with some other people.

Punchbugpug

08/20/2008

All our paws are crossed here that the storm goes away and does not come back.

Lex

08/20/2008

We have had everything here earthquakes, mud/rock/land slides and wind storms but hurricanes (knock on wood). My favorite was the tsunami alert that they gave out prematurally last year.

It is scary especially since it is so out of our control.

I learned the hard way about being prepared one morning when the fire alarm went off in my building. The crates weren’t assembled and the cats took off and hid in the box spring of my bed. Thank god it was a false alarm. Now my crates are always together but the box spring thing is another issue.

Good luck and we will be thinking of you guys!!

Dee

08/20/2008

Go away FAY! Stay away from our pug friends!
I’m a back east girl but only experienced ice storms and some really scary thunder and lightening storms but nothing that did more than knock out power (we had a fireplace and always had candles and flashlights)
I experienced my first earthquake and it wasn’t anything like the Northridge one but it scared me enough to make sure I have everything I need for me and the boys. They eat home cooked food so they would have to eat whatever I did if it got that bad.

Patty

08/20/2008

Please, all of you in FL who are OBP or other pets, stay safe, dry and warm and don’t wait to evacuate if need be. The one thing no one mentioned is something I ordered online and think is essential for the safety of your pets should you not be home when an emergency strikes. It’s a sticker that you can adhere to the inside of the front window in your home or adhere to a garage door or an inside door going from the garage into your house. The sticker has a picture of a Fawn Pug (or two pugs, if you like) and it states: “In case of emergency, please rescue my two Pugs (or Pug) inside” If you’re interested,the website is: www.greatpetstuffonline.com

Christina

08/20/2008

Patty,
thanks for a great suggestion. I have a friend that has two corgis - I know, I’m trying to bring them over to the pug side - and she has a sticker on her front window that just says she has 2 pets inside.
I’m going to that website now.

Ana

08/20/2008

You sound very prepared. Good for you. I am gla d I live in California because those storms always have given me a fright just to think about. I don’t know what I would do, but you sound very prepared and I am glad you are for you, your husband and your animals. Keep up the great blog! Benny, you are doing a great job of keeping up on the weather.

Carla

08/20/2008

Well, OBP, I hope you are doing ok. Hopefully, your property isn’t prone to flooding with all that rain you’re getting/will get. I had the rather unpleasant opportunity to clean up a pool that had been flooded with lots of dirt included…not fun. lol.

I’ve checked out the current projected path and looks like it will be moving very close to where my trailer and my daughter are. (No she doesn’t live in the trailer) That county has a very low water table and just a nice day or so of rain will cause flooding :-( and the kids just started back to school on Mon. and I’ll be they will have several buses that won’t be able to make their route and lots of families that won’t be able to make it down their dirt roads (not much of an urban area. lol) I’m lucky though. As long as the wind doesn’t get the trailer it will be ok. It’s way up off the ground.

Stay dry puggies!

judi

08/21/2008

FYI… the “Save My Pets” stickers are available FREE at the Banfield Clinics at your local Petsmart. They have room for the number of dogs, cats, birds, etc.

One more thing… make sure that you have enough drinking water for your “babies”, too. Plus… some for bathing if the electricity is out for a period of time… with no a/c, it becomes mighty HOT in Florida.

Karen B

08/21/2008

Patty, thanks for the FYI. I just ordered my “rescue my pugs” window clings. They’re cute enough even if there is no emergency!

I’ll put one on the front window and one on the back slider for emergency personnel.

OBP, stay dry as possible. Looks like Fay is going to hang around for awhile!!!

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