To think it's not worth risking your life to save a pet?

[Liketochat1]

A few weeks ago a young rugby star, his father and brother died after his dad jumped in a slurry pit to save the family dog. Earlier this week a mum and her partner died jumping into a river to save their dog. They died and the dog survived. Are pets worth this risk?

Nini,zukiecat,HolyAutumn and HazelNutt,
You are all saying that you would knowingly risk your lives for your pets.
Would your partners do the same?

if the person has kids then kids do come into it

because it becomes "would you risk leaving your child(ren) bereaved to save a pet"?

But goldship kids Involved if the person doing the risking us a parent. Having list 2 friends this year who left kids behind this thread is actually making me quite cross.

I really do love my dog. Totally and utterly. But I know that in an emergency situation, there'd be a little voice making me hesitate. That voice wouldn't get a chance to open her stupid, nasal gob if it were my DC. I in no way can compare my love for a pet I expect to outlive with that of a child.

I hope the people saying they love their cat/dog as much as their children have never said this to their children. That's a lifetime of therapy in that one sentence!

I've just asked OH, he says he thinks he would try and save the cat if he thought she could be saved (using the fire scenario), but that nobody really knows what they would do until faced with that situation. Which is what a lot of others here have already said.

twofalls be cross then. Maybe it's making people cross that you wont save your pet. You don't see anyone saying anything about that though

Why can't people just accept someone's opinion on the matter. It's a completely personal choice.

My DP would do for his cat, he's told me many times.

Good mental image, isn't it (to whoever said about the animals coming our two by two)?
In all seriousness, a few years ago there was a fire in the giraffe house at Paignton Zoo. A couple of the keepers had to be physically restrained from trying to get to the animals - there were three animals inside - a male, female and a young calf. Mum and baby died in the fire, Dad died a few days later. The staff were distraught. If you asked them in the cold light of day "Would you put yourself at risk for the animals you look after?" they'd probably say no. In that moment, with animals trapped, especially a baby, they just reacted and had to be held back.
I think that some people might find it hard to judge, in the emotion of the moment, where attempting to rescue tips into risking your own life. I'd definitely do the first, I wouldn't do the second. But then I may have impaired judgement if something I love is struggling for survival - I wouldn't go into it thinking "This may cost me my life" but I may also not be the best judge of that at that moment in time. And the impulse would be to act, not to stand by and watch. I'd assume I could get out. I'd guess most people would, but for some, it's the wrong assumption to make.

Nobody surely thinks that their pets life is more important than their children having a parent - but in an emergency situation people don't think things through rationally. Years and years ago my Uncle and a friend crawled across a frozen lake to save the friend's dog who had fallen through the ice. Luckily they were all OK - but they didn't rationally think things through and at no point would have considered what would have happened to their families if they had been killed.

Nobody surely thinks that their pets life is more important than their children having a parent - but in an emergency situation people don't think things through rationally. Years and years ago my Uncle and a friend crawled across a frozen lake to save the friend's dog who had fallen through the ice. Luckily they were all OK - but they didn't rationally think things through and at no point would have considered what would have happened to their families if they had been killed.

I would definitely try to save my dog , whatever the outcome. I have had this conversation with my OH as in if the house burnt down and getting out . Obviously I would ensure my DCs were out before I worried about the dog but there is no way I would leave without him . And no that doesn't mean I don't love my family just that my dog is a member of my family .

I have used the recent news to reiterate to my DCs that they must never go into water after our much-loved dog.
I would not risk my life to save a pet, I have young children, it would be selfish of me.

YANBU. I know people don't think in the heat of the moment, but what about the family that is left behind because someone put an animals life above their own. Its just stupid, and yes I love animals.

Gin I totally get that people act on instinct in emergency situations but there are posters on here who appear to be saying that their pets lives are as important as their children

Anyway, I'm diverging from the original question of this thread so will shut up and say no more!

I would try and save my cat, as would my DP.Always. We don't have any children. Our cat is part of our family. I totally understand where Zukiecat and the others are coming from.

I understand that pets are hugely important to some people,especially those who dont have many reliable people in their lives.
But I think I do need to say that risking your own life for the pet,and therefore potentially leaving your DC behind for their entire lives without ine of their parents is going too far.

No-one ever knows how they will be in an emergency.

Normally i'm quite calm in emergencies.
I have physically restrained a 6ft man from attacking a very young barman last summer (i'm a 5'3'' woman).
& worked hard at CPR & other tasks as part of a team trying to save the lives of patients on the ward where i work.

But when my cat had her retina scratched open so it was hanging out - i froze, my chest got tight & i actually couldn't move.
Luckily my sister was around to drive my cat to the emergency vets - who saved her eye (but not her sight); she's still very cute bless her.

My cat has saved my life when i've been very depressed - just by being herself & by giving me a reason to laugh & keep living.
So, unless i froze, i would definitely risk my life to save hers.

I will add that i don't have children though.
Not sure how i'd be then - i think it's hard to know unless you get in that situation.

I am trying to understand this.
I understand the caring for the pets,and being immensely grateful to them in some cases.
Oh and I have quite a lot of pets,always have done.

I think the point for me is that I know that my DC need me alive,soooo much more than pets do.

I think if the dog isnt going to get out alive, then a human has no chance. They dont suffer the same panic that we do for one so just instinctively do what they have to do to get out and they are much better equipped physically to do so. So whilst l understand that instinctive wanting to dive in and help your beloved pet, it is for the reasons above usually pointless and why it so often ends in human tragedy.

l used to live near Blackpool way back in the eighties and was there when three police officers and a member of the public were drowned off the prom after the man went in the sea after his Westie (l think) when the tide was in and the sea was very rough and the police officers all drowned trying to save him. I think two other police officers were very lucky to survive and one had to be revived. One of the dead was a policewoman There's a memorial on the prom at the spot where it happened. Actually on that occasion the dog didnt survive and l think it was a while before they discovered his body and that of two of the police officers.

There was actually a huge outcry as one police officer involved in the search for the bodies commented that the dog should be stuffed and mounted in a museum for all the misery and heartbreak caused. It was just an emotive knee jerk reaction really and l dont think he deserved all the backlash he received.

There was also a huge outcry when the local branch of the RSPCA suggested the dog owner should be posthumously awarded for his bravery in trying to rescue his pet ! That didnt go down too well either with many people ! The whole thing certainly split public opinion on who was to blame,the dog owner, even the dog itself or the local authorities for inadequet railings/signage etc etc and also people were split on whether you should or would go in after your dog..