Another Summer Threat to Dogs and Pets

By Admin - Deanna, on June 28th, 2007 |

With the weather getting nicer and nicer all over, many people are opening their windows to let the fresh air in but this can pose a threat to our dogs and pets that people don’t think about too often. Screens which let the air in and keep bugs out may not offer adequate protection to keep our pet inside. A scratching dog or cat can potentially rip open a screen and a running dog could possible bust through. While this may not necessarily pose too much of a hazard with a low placed window, unless the pet is small, a second floor or higher window could be a death sentence.

The dog in this story, who fell from a second story apartment window in Boston, was lucky!

Dog Falls From Second Story Window – A South End dog survived a fall out of the front window of a second-story apartment at 435 Shawmut Ave. on June 18, but not without a few cuts and bruises.

Police responded to the incident after a caller who happened to be walking through Blackstone Square at around 1:40 p.m. saw the dog, a medium-sized Rhodesian ridgeback-terrier mix named Brody, fall through the window screen and land on the sidewalk in front of the building. According to the police report, the caller and several other witnesses were attending to the dog, which was bleeding from the chin and seemed to have injured its hind legs, when police arrived.

The Animal Rescue League’s (ARL) rescue services responded to the scene soon after with a veterinarian. Christopher Smalley, spokesperson for the League, said that the rescue team performed an on-site assessment and found no life-threatening injuries, but did transport the dog, in ARL’s specially outfitted animal ambulance, to Angell Memorial Animal Hospital at the request of his owner.

Despite the happy ending, Smalley cautioned pet owners that an open window can be a tempting and dangerous thing for a pet. “A dog can push through a screen, if given enough speed or pressure,” he said. “Especially where it’s hot these next few days, people should just be a little aware of their surroundings open windows and screens where an animal may be able to get out.”