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Ottawa Fire Services and the Ottawa Humane Society have teamed up to protect pets in an emergency with free stickers to show rescuers how many animals are in a home.
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The “Save our Pets” emergency sticker is free for anyone who wants one through the Humane Society website.
Place it somewhere in front of the home to show the firefighters the total number of pets inside.
“Our firefighters are highly trained and highly efficient when it comes to performing rescues in hazardous environments,” said Fire Department Public Information Officer Nicholas DeFazio.
“The more information they have, the greater the chance of a successful rescue.”
Labels like this have been launched before but were often not removed when they were no longer accurate because they were difficult to remove. The new label is vinyl that is easy to peel.
When practicing a home escape plan, keep in mind the pets and whose responsibility it is to bring them to the meeting place, DeFazio said.
If a pet can not be found or reached safely, never go back to rescue them. Warn the 911 sender and be ready to give them as much information as possible – such as where a pet can hide – to help firefighters. Dispatchers will ask the right questions and alert crews on the spot quickly.