Originally Posted by Starburst:
And that's your choice but to me they are a member of my family (probably more-so than most of my family members) that can't just be "replaced" like a lost pair of earrings. Heck, my brother once caused a kitchen fire that lead my mom in the hospital for smoke inhalation and I was mad because they left the cats in the house (they opened the windows {screened} but still). Pets maybe 'replaceable' to you but to me there are living being with unique personalities just as humans are (though, not many people are all that "unique" IMHO). It may seem silly to you but sometimes it seems like everyone I have ever cared about has either left me or continued to disappoint me time and time again- except them.
But the reason why I brought up my pets is that I'm not 100% sure what I am doing with my cats during daycare hours- If I'm going to have them in my room or a closed off section during daycare hours or let them free roam. I am not going to just leave them in a locked area, trapped with no exit to be put to their death either by being tortured and burned to death or slowly asphyxiated by smoke inhalation (which ever gets them first). As a HSP who has dealt with depression, I know personally I would not be able to live with that guilt and that no matter what the start of the fire was that I would always blame myself and never find inner peace. Just thinking about it right now is reducing me to tears.
So you would go back in a burning building/house to save animals? Have you ever had a house fire? We had one about 2yrs ago and while it was outside, it was a room attached to our house. A man came running up before the fire truck got there and was trying to extinguish the the fire with a hose which I appreciated but jeeze, don't risk your life for our possessions! Seriously! Looking back, while I didn't think it would reach our house when we went out, it was possible. I didn't even think of where my cat was because I was worried about my 6 kids and dh. I love my cat and would never want him to die but I was NOT risking my life and potentially leave my kids motherless to save our cat. I would have hard time sleeping at night if the man who was helping us was hurt let alone killed! Everyone values life differently and some live recklessly but the lost life of a human adult or child and that of a cat is much different to me.