Firehouse Pets

[Michelle Latham]

What are some of your official and/or unofficial firehouse pets?

Up here in Alaska it's Dogs, Dogs, and more Dogs! It seems that every firefighter has an assortment of huskies and they bring them to the firehouse on occasion where we spoil them rotten! :D

[skeester1]

We don't have any offical firehouse pets. But, believe or not, some folks living near the station actually asked us to get their kitten out of a tree yesterday. My first thought was, of course, no cat skeletons have ever been found in a tree...and my second thought was, somethings never change....Anyway, the kitten climbed down on his own while we all stood and watched. That was the extent of our Thanksgiving morning.

[EC116]

Unofficially we have a dog. A german Shepherd that hangs around. He belongs to one of the guys who lives alone and hates to leave the dog home alone for 24 hours so he brings him to work with him. He's a great dog. He's learned to get out of the way when the tones go off so we don't have to worry about running him over. He's great with the kids too when we have field trips that come in or whatever. He even kept a cop from coming into the station one night...Good dog..lol We woke up to the dog barking and growling and an officer on top of one of the trucks screaming at him. Hey buddy...ya should have called first...lol

A neighboring department has an old, mangy looking sheepdog that needs a bath. He's supposed to be grey and white but looks almost black. He was a stray that made his home behind the fire station. The guys started feeding him and felt bad for him in the wintertime so they let him in, using the excuse that they were going to find a home from him. He's been there about 10 years now.

[resqueboy]

The chief's son. :cool:

[Michelle Latham]

The Chief's son?? HAHAHAHAHA!!

[FD55]

I go on a lot of ride-alongs and about a year ago I was introduced to the firehouse pet. One of the ff's said they had a dalmation at the station and asked if I wanted to see it. Of course I said yes and it turned out to be a black and white spotted fish. That was the firehouse dalmation. :D

[NCRSQ751]

We don't have a pet. We used to have a neighborhood dog we called 'Buddy' that came around a lot. He was a black lab and as friendly as could be. He was a bit of a thief though, he'd pick up helmets/gloves/safety glasses and bring them home with him.

We liked having him around, it seemed his owners weren't home much. Problem was that since they didn't keep him in a fence or chained he ran wild. One night he came to visit and on his way back home (across the road) a van ran him over and took off - if I'd have had the opportunity I'd have gone after the guy but it was a choice between that and getting him to the vet ER. It was very sad.

[Michelle Latham]

My fire Chief has a life-size plastic dalmation in his office. Over halloween I walked in and asked Chief a question just as my eyes focused on "Spot" and a string of fake bloody bones hanging out of his mouth. I said, "Gee Chief I'm glad your dog is .. uh .. friendly." Without looking up from his paperwork Chief told me, "That's what happened to the last person that came in here asking questions." I beat a hasty retreat while everyone laughed.
Another firefighter brings his "pack" to training or to the station. You'll walk by his POV and see four wet noses pressed against a window and four happy tails waving in the air. When he lets them out to visit they speed around the station begging for pets and treats. One of our firefighters lives nearby and his dogs often show up for a visit. They are so big and strong that I have to have Chief walk them home - otherwise I'd go belly-surfing across town! This firefighter would always drive his pick-up truck around with his two huskies and his big goose riding in the back. I dubbed it his "Truck of Creatures" and we always got a laugh as they'd go sailing by the station honking and barking.
We've adopted the neighborhood llamas since they are always escaping from their pens and we go and chase them down. It's not uncommon to return from a call and see a big wooly llama standing by the station munching grass. We've adopted Chief's horse and we've dubbed her "Horse 42" - the number used for all of our rigs. (Engine 42, Medic 42, etc.) I found several birthday cards in my mail box at the station and one was signed "Chief and Horse 42". My bunkers are always coated in fur after Horse 42 visits the station.
Down in Delta Junction I always bring my big huge huskies to the fire station because I hate walking home alone in the dark. (They go to church with me too and wait patiently outside the doors until Mass is over. They are such nice dogs!) We joke that I'm going to mount a light bar on the dog sled so I can respond POV from home. :D

I like the spotted dalmation fish! Maybe we should get one for our firehouse. I don't think the fish would chase cops up onto rigs though... hehehe