News broke yesterday that a dog (NOT my dog pictured left) was hanged by the lift when its leash was caught by the lift doors. The human was in the lift and the dog was outside when the doors closed. When the lift proceeded to move up, the dog was dragged upwards on its lead and hanged.
Dog hanged by lift – Safety tips
So for apartment dogs like Donna who have to take the lift everyday when going for walks, here are some ideas Donna’s human has about what can be done to make it safer for dogs to take the lift.
- Always keep your finger on the Door Open button when you are able to, to make sure the door does not close on you and your dog unexpectedly when coming in and going out of the lift.
- If your dog is small, pick it up and carry it when taking the lift. It will be safest since sometimes humans entering and leaving the lift may not detect the small dog and may accidentally step on it.
- If your small dog is not toilet trained, carrying it may also help prevent an embarrassing/mortifying loo break in the lift as well. :P
- If your dog is too heavy to carry, keep them on a short leash so they walk by the side of the human to prevent the scenario where one is in the lift and the other is outside of it.
- If a retractable leash is used, keep retractable leads locked at the shortest length when in the apartment building. Other humans with a fear of strange dogs approaching them will likely thank you for it.
- Train your dog to heel/walk by your side to lessen incidents of them suddenly pulling away from you because they are attracted by something outside the lift.
- Train your dog to wait and not rush to go in or out of the lift ahead of you.
- Be aware that your dog may not behave exactly the same with you as with everyone else. So if you have to have someone new handling your dog to walk it, such as a relative with less experience walking a dog, you may want to supervise a couple of times until you are comfortable with leaving your dog with the new handler.
As for Donna, she is trained to move to stand parallel to the side of the lift, and usually the human stands in front of Donna. Donna is usually given a stay command and we usually wait 1-2s after the lift door is completely open. This is so that we can make sure there are no humans or dogs rushing in, and that the humans outside the lift see Donna so that they are not startled by the “big dog”, before we head out of the lift. We do the same thing on the way into the lift as well.
Dog death by hanging on the lift door may sound like a freak accident, but Google it and you’ll find other cases of similar death or near death cases involving lift doors. Stay safe, apartment dogs! :)
Donna dog usually stands quietly along the wall to the back of the lift. Sometimes, the humans coming in and going out don’t even realise she is there! :P
Do you think our ideas above are applicable? What other ways so you have to make taking the lift safe and a good experience for everyone involved?
lensandpensbysally
Oh, that’s such a tragedy. Good for you for posting tips for safety–even though one would think it was commonsense.
weliveinaflat
A lot of times common sense only happens when we pay attention to it :)… it least, that’s how it is with me :P
Sonel
That is very sad news indeed Mrs. P. An accident like this can happen so quickly and luckily for Donna you are a great owner who are very careful when it comes to things like that. Love the photo’s of Donna. She is just so adorable. Great tips on the safety measure and I agree with Sally – it should be common sense. :D *big hugs* to both of you. xxx
weliveinaflat
Actually what we do really boils down to just wanting to not make a nuisance to ourselves to others :P I would not have expected that this sort of tragic accident could happen with the lift, if it hadn’t occurred :) But I thank you for thinking so kindly of us Sonel :) I hope you are all better in health.
Sonel
I’ve seen accidents worse than that happening in lifts hon and to humans, so it’s always better to be careful and alert and especially if you have animals or children with you. Accidents do happen very fast and animals and kids are faster. ;)
We are all fine thanks hon. Take care and have a lovely day. :D *hugs*
Kyla
I’ve been on them in hotels. None at home-a one-story house.
weliveinaflat
Do you sometimes have the urge to climb stairs? Donna seems to sometimes be overly enthusiastic about them.
Kyla
No-stairs are a problem with stubby little legs.
Linda Trunell
Such a tragedy! Thanks for sharing the good advice as a reminder because even though it seems like common sense, people get lax or distracted. So happy to hear it was not Donna.
weliveinaflat
No problem at all. We are sometimes lax and distracted ourselves… a personal blog seems to be the right place to let off some opinions without getting on anyone’s toes :P Let it never happen to Donna… the tragedy, I mean. Good health to you and Max, Linda!
ThatJenK
Horrible story. Cinch up on the leash – super important advice!
For us, our trick is getting the dogs onto the elevator and turned around quick enough so tails don’t get caught in the doors. If no one else is on the elevator, we can hang back to hold the door while the dogs get on. if someone is… usually they’re nice enough to hold the open-doors button, but if not, it’s a bit of a race. Shocking… elevators aren’t built to contemplate carrying 2 giant dogs and their owners…
kuujinbo
Such a sad story. Wouldn’t have thought something like that could happen. :(
Jessica @ Life with Duke
Oh my gosh, this is so sad. Duke has never been in an elevator with us, but if we ever do go in with him we’ll probably just pick him up after hearing this story. So heartbreaking.