Risking your life

[Laura]

I actually voted no

I would risk a LOT to save my babies, but in a my life/their life situation and I KNEW my life was definitely in danger, probably not. I feel horrible saying that, but how would I leave Steve to explain to my kids that they have to live without me, because I thought the cat was more important than living for them? I love my fur babies, but I love my kids more.

 

[Ashley]

I think the answer to that would depend greatly on wether or not there were human kids.

I know I would try to get my pets out, but I would have to consider at what point its to risky. I love my pets dearly and wouldnt want to lose them, however I dont think i could risk my life and potentially take that away from my kids. IF I didnt have kids, no doubt would I go in after my dogs.

 

[Sterling]

I have not read any of the replies yet. But I wanted to say...my animals are like children to us...especially the pups and I have been in certain situations before where a dog had been chasing my big horses and adrenaline kicked in and I confronted the dog...later ended up taking the owner to court.

If any of my animals were in danger and could not help themselves, knowing me, you bet I'd be in there, doing all I could do to protect them with all my being. Sometimes you end up reflecting on things that occurred and happend and what you would or would'nt do again....and, yes, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

 

[Taylor Jo]

Well our dogs go down to the "safe room" with us in case of a tornado and I take their beds in there and I have everything set up in there to keep them safe. IF I could bring all my mini's in I'd do that too. You bet your bippy, I'd do everything I could to save my animals. However, like someone say's you NEVER know what you'd do in a situation. I hope I never EVER have to cross that bridge.

My dogs have a doggy door so they can get out at night to go too the bathroom. My husband was shutting it for awhile cause our lab was barking at deer in the middle of the night and waking us up. I was FREAKED out that in case of fire they couldn't get out..... I MADE him open the doggy door back up, I didn't care if the dog barked or not, I wasn't putting my dogs in jepaordy. Talk about paranoid,,,,, That's me!!!!!! TJ

 

[hobbyhorse23]

You bet your buttons I would. I can't say I'd race into the depths of a burning building to get my pets (as others have said, you don't know what you'd do until you're faced with the situation) but I know I'd be right there at the door calling and calling and crying my eyes out while I coughed. I have unfortunately been in situations where my animals or friends were at risk and I'm proud to say that my first instinctive reaction was to get between them and harm and bristle like an angry cat at whatever is threatening them. It's that Mama Bear thing...you don't mess with something I love!

When Spyder panicked and tore through a fence into our wild back acreage a few years ago I looked at the thick wall of brambles and it seemed impenetrable. I thought there was no way I could get through there to go find him so I held his laminitic buddy to keep him from injuring himself while Dad went looking in his heavy work clothes. But when Dad came back, crying, to tell me that Spyder was down under a tree and he thought he had a broken leg those brambles might as well have evaporated.

All it took was getting close enough to hear my best friend screaming like he was in mortal agony and I was so adrenalized I didn't feel a thing as I shoved my way through to his side. I would have gone through heck or high water and never even noticed. I owed him that after all he's done for me. I was not going to let him suffer alone.

*sniff*

Nope, no question. I would risk my life for those I love, two or four-legged. I think there is a point where the risk would outweigh the gain in trying but it's a pretty high threshold.

Leia

P.S.- On a more cheerful note, I have to admit it's rather funny watching me get angry. I'm 5'3" and MAYBE 100lbs soaking wet...I suspect I look like a chihuahua facing down a Great Dane!

And most of the time the things I'm protecting are bigger and stronger than I am.

 

[Equuisize]

I know with absolute certainty that Chevy would lay his life down for me.

Without a doubt I would return that loyalty, for him.

 

[Leeana]

While i was at the barn tonight i really got to thinking about this, if it was a right then right there deal and i jumped in without thinking, yes i would. But, i think if i had to step back and was asked "okay...your life or the dogs", that would be a harder question to answer in all reality.

Leeana

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I agree I would find a way to help one of my animals if they needed me. I can say I have risked my life even for wildlife, stopping on mountain roads to rescue a turtle or what ever from the road. I try to be safe but if some one came hauling *ss around a corner and didn't stop well, it could happen. Even with that I don't think I can stop getting the animals out of the road if I KNOW I can save them. At least I usually have a team effort with Hubby or daughter.

Definitely in the YES category for this vote. Don't think I'd even think about it, if there was a chance I could save them!

MaxiMinis, don't mean to pick on you, and I actually responded on your other thread about this, but it does worry me that you are endangering other people's lives to save an injured animal. I don't think that's fair - I just picture some little baby in a car seat and their parent not being able to come to a stop in time with your vehicle on the road. . .

 

[MeadowRidge Farm]

I would do anything in my power to help/save my furbaby Angel (our dog) she is like a kid to us in every way possible. I dont think I could handle it if something happened to her and I might of been able to help her, she is always there for us..so we would have to be there for her. Same with my horses..not saying, I would run into a flamming barn, but I would do everything humanly possible to save whoever I could. YUP~~ I voted yes on this one! Its remarkable with the adrenalin (sp) rush running thru us, what we would be able to do to save our 4 legged kids. Corinne

 

[crponies]

Alright, I'll admit that I was one of the few no's as well. It's not that my furries aren't important to me, but if it came down to me or them, I would have to save me. I don't believe that is being selfish at all. I am made in the image of God and they are not. Are they important to me and to God? Yes, I firmly believe they are. However, I firmly believe also that people are of greater importance than animals.

 

[Field-of-Dreams]

All you have to do is read the last line on my signature.... yes, I would definitely risk my life for theirs.

Lucy

 

[Frankie]

Can I vote yes and no??

When reading here and asked the question, I have time to sit and think about it. When it comes to risking my life to save theirs, will I have the same time to think about it?

If I have the time to think about it, probably is a no. I have a 15 year old son who's father passed away when my son was an infant, I couldn't take away his last parent.

If I do not have time to think, like 2 years ago when the horses got out and I had a yearling freeze in the middle of the road with a car coming, yes, I would and did run into the road. No one was hit.

So my answer is yo!

 

[frekles93]

[SIZE=10pt] Sorry but I have to vote NO... as a single mother I HAVE to think about my 11 year old son and what would happen to him. I can replace a pet and god knows I love mine and it would be hard but my son can NOT replace his momma.....[/SIZE]

April

 

[Minimor]

However, I firmly believe also that people are of greater importance than animals.

Only sometimes would I agree with that statement.

I can think of more than one accident where, if I were the first person on the scene, particularly if I had witnessed the accident, I would have gone to the animals involved first. I have run to the aid of a neighbor's horse but if that same neighbor's house was on fire, I wouldn't notice it. That's one particular neighbor, doesn't apply to all of them...
I do have to clarify--I do know (and I hope that I would remember this in the heat of the moment, no matter how desperate I would be feeling) that sometimes it IS nothing less than foolish, and hopeless, to put your own life in jeopardy to try and save the animals. For instance, I'm thinking of a house or barn fire where the building is fully engulfed, or nearly so--the roof is very likely to fall in at any moment, and anything inside is almost certainly already dead or at least beyond saving--running into that cannot possibly have a good outcome. Sometimes a fire can be just as hopeless, but might not look like it's as bad as it is (thinking poor structure of some buildings combined with how fires burn....I have a friend whose husband is a fire investigator--former firefighter--, and I do get a lot of fire safety tips) and so I think in those situations people are more likely to try to get to any animals inside. Smoke of course is deadly too, and I think dogs & cats & horses are overcome by smoke even faster than humans are. I do love hearing news reports, though, of a firefighter carrying a cat out of a burning building and giving it oxygen or even mouth-to-snout resusitation.

I have a cat door in our house, so even if no one is home the cats have a chance if the house were to catch fire. I think if things got bad most of the cats would run for that exit--the smoke detector would probably send most of them running. I think we have a couple cats that, if fire broke out in the night, would come & jump up & down on my face to wake me up to tell me there is a problem...most would look after themselves and let the smoke detector wake me up!

 

[dangerranger]

I think on a site like this most will say yes! but the kind of person that would grab a big cat by its tail is the same kind that would jump into a bar fight to save a friend. if you thought about it first no one would do it . I grew up in a family where fighting was comon, when something happens you decide quickly to fight or flee. but still if you had time to think about it first no one would grab a cat by its tail! My hats off to her. DR.

 

[Sonya]

I didn't vote....probably yes in the heat of the momment, but if there was time to think about it, I'm not sure. It would depend upon the situation. Of course I love my dogs with all of my heart, but I do love my family more and would not want to put them through it.

 

[Shari]

It depends, I love my animals very much but it just depends on what is going on at the moment. I will not give my life for an animal because without me...the others would not be cared for.

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

.
On Reignmaker's cougar thread some suggest it would be stupid for anyone to try to save an animal from a cougar attack by grabbing the cougar by the tail. We were talking about this at work yesterday, and all agreed that in such a situation you have a few choices if you don't happen to have a gun handy...let the cat take the animal it is attacking, kick the cat in the nose or backside, or grab it by the tail...dangerous for sure, but with no other options I think it is desperation, not stupidity, that would make a person do such a thing. We've had wildlife problems here, and we've often asked each other what would you do if you went out & found that a cat/bear/wolf was attacking a pony....I'm afraid that if a shrieking, charging owner...with or without pitchfork...didn't frighten the predator away then I would resort to doing something desperate....or "stupid" some people would say.

I have to stick with 'stupid' or foolish, thoughtless, or any one of a number of other descriptions of her behaviour but.... I can't say for sure I wouldn't have done the same, if it were MY animal that was being attacked, all bets are off. I might have the presence of mind to think, I mean really THINK about the consequences. I have a special needs daughter who needs me very much at this stage of her life and a husband who would have difficulty looking after her and working and a grown son who would be devastated if the worst happened. Even my breaking a bone is a major burden on my family so if I could think I would stay safe. Still with adrenaline rushing through my veins and something I cared about threatened I might very well act first and question the sanity of the move later. Can't vote because I just don't know what I'd do for sure.

 

[Riverdance]

I would not have to think, I would just re-act. My animals come first.

I live alone and my animals are my family now. Just ask my daughter who complains that I do not see her and my grandsons as much as she would like me to in the summer. (I see them a lot, but I am very busy in the summer with the horses).

 

[sdmini]

I did vote no but I think it really depends on the situation. In the case of a burning building, no I really don't think I would. There are other instances where I bet I would in the case of a cougar/coyote attack I would bet I would be in the middle before I thought about it. Not quite the same but I've stepped in between a peeved cow and a hightailing dog on several occasions.