I looking at my last post I would like to emphasise that I'm really not trying to be a jerk. I just want people with kids or eldery family members or others who truely depend on them for their safety and survival to think about the possibility of having to make that choice. Again, I'm not trying to be a jerk and I do love my dog (just not as much as my son). In my specific situation my dog also has a much better chance of surviving without my help than my son ever would, although that isn't really the point here.

The point is that I would just hate for someone to devise an unrealistic plan with no contingency plan and then realize that they have to make that difficult decision after the SHTF or while it is hitting the fan. Best to deal with the harsh possibilities ahead of time IMHO so that you can react quickly, concisely and accurately when placed in an emergency situation. This applies to lots of tough decisions and moral judgement calls that may need to be made in a survival situation especially large scale natural or man-made disaster situations. The possibility of abandoning a pet is really just one example.

Short answer is NO. It's far to late to train anyone to do anything usefull at that point. All the trainers are busy"doing" . Generally names are taken and afterwards everyone is contacted and training is set up. ARC gets flooded with well meaning people after every disaster, just not much you can do with them at the time. That's why trained people are flown flown in from all over for large scale disasters.
So if you are interested, contact your local Chapter and get started. I was able to get some good training at the Chapter and Mini Universities ,went to a couple Expos and even got to spend a week at The Ca. Specialized Training Institute. They actually flew a guy in from NYC to talk to us for 1 lecture, then he flew back. I can also recomend the FEMA self study Emergency Response to Terrorism as well as free publiucations from FEMA.
FEMA
Po Box 2012
Jessup, MD
20794-2012
Ask for FEMA Publications Catalog

Of special note : Emergency Response Guidebook 8-0660.
This allows you to look up chemicals by the placard # on trucks. Nice for long drives, and usefull to see what gets trucked thru you area.
OK, that's probably enough from me.

Dave

I wonder what items might be "prohibited." Being a flashaholic, I have enough trouble finding room on my person to carry all the SureFires, Inovas, and Photons I want to have with me.

Don't own any firearms. The biggest thing I carry is my Victorinox SwissTool R/S. People might have a problem with my Mouse Lite from Blade-Tech , but I can't imagine they would. I rarely use it in public, it looks non-threatening, and its blade is less than two inches long.

-- Craig

Prohibited items. Guns, alcohol, drugs, pets. I don't think a SAK in your pocket would be a problem, unless you were waving it around. On the other hand, someone that shows up with a sword, battle axe and spear might be a problem. Flashlights (like most items in a BOB) are fine, they actually lessen the burden on the shelter.
Dave

I wish I HAD a sword, battle axe, or spear.

Now THAT would be cool. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Wouldn't that kind of thing to a shelter, though.

When you say drugs, I presume you mean the illegal sort. The kind you see in 1970s cop movies. I have plenty of prescription meds for my daily headaches and migraines.

-- Craig

That is exactly how I feel. I will do everything I can to save my birds and spiders, but my kids come first. I just found out I am having another grandkid. My kids are my legacy, they come before me and always will.

I would sacrifice my life to save my kids and I would hope that one of my animals would do the same if they were given the chance. I would risk my life to save one of my animals if it were in harms way. We are a big family but the kids are always number one.

I am sure there are things you can do in the shelter to help out, if not gather up some of the kids and play games to keep them occupied. That will also get you in with the parents and they will help you out anything you need when they can. You can also read to the elderly people. Candy and I helped a neighbor out for a while a couple of years back because we are kind people, after he died the lawyer called and said he put us in his will. We didn't think much of it until he told us we got a house, car and a whole lot of money. It was cool of him to do that but we never knew anything, we thought he was a poor old man with no family.

I think I probably come into the "jerk" category. I am not sentimental about animals. I would never risk my life, or anyone else's, to save a pet.

(I keep cats; they're pretty independent.)

I think maybe it is more a question of reasonableness. I have invested a certain amount of time, money, and care into my dog. He serves a useful purpose (goes out into the cold water to get the birds I shoot), and he is a companion. I would, based on my need, take a certain risk to save his life. I would expect the rest of the family to do likewise, mindful that our needs exceed those of the pet.