Sundae is 8 years old, sweet, gentle and laid back. She would make a lovely couch potato and would do best as an only dog in the household.

To help reduce the estimated 500,000 pets affected by home fires each year, the American Kennel Club and ADT Security Services launched “National Pet Fire Safety Day,” celebrated July 15. This nationwide awareness day educates pet owners about potential risks when pets are left home alone and provides them with proven prevention measures to ensure their safety.

“One of the hallmarks of responsible dog ownership is keeping pets safe and planning for unexpected emergencies, including house fires,” said AKC spokesperson Lisa Peterson. “Pet-proofing the home, developing pet-friendly escape routes and alerting rescuers of your pets’ presence with ‘window clings’ is the best way to keep your four-legged family member from harm.”

That’s something Lia Wentworth of Maryland knows well. One Sunday morning, she and her family left their Labrador retriever “Justice” home alone. They didn’t realize they had left a pot of boiling water with plastic baby bottles on the stove. When the water evaporated, the bottles began to emit a toxic smoke. No one knew Justice was in trouble, because there was no flame.

Luckily, the Wentworths had a monitored smoke detector and the firefighters were alerted. Their prompt response saved Justice’s life.

“Along with smoke alarms,” Wentworth said, “I encourage everyone to have a home fire monitoring system. Ours was there when we couldn’t be and called for help because Justice couldn’t.”

“National Pet Fire Safety Day” tips to keep pets safe from house fires include:

• Extinguish open flames — Pets are generally curious and will investigate cooking appliances, candles or even a fire in your fireplace. Ensure your pet is not left unattended around an open flame and make sure to thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your home;

• Pet-proof the home — Take a walk around your home and look for areas where pets might start fires inadvertently, such as the stove knobs, loose wires and other potential hazards;

• Secure young pets — Especially with young puppies, keep them confined away from potential fire-starting hazards when you are away from home;

• Keep pets near entrances — When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them;

• Practicing escape routes with pets — Keep collars and leashes at the ready in case you have to evacuate quickly with your pet or firefighters need to rescue your pet;

• Since pets left alone can’t escape a burning home — Use monitored smoke detectors which are connected to a monitoring center, providing an added layer of protection beyond battery-operated smoke alarms;

• Affix a pet alert window cling — Write down the number of pets inside your house and attach the static cling to a front window. This critical information saves rescuers time when locating your pets. You can visit www.adt.com/pets to obtain a free window cling; and

• Keep your information updated — Firefighters are familiar with pet alert window clings, so keep the number of pets listed on them updated. Knowing the accurate number of pets in the house aids rescuers in finding all of your pets.

— Pets and the People Who Love Them is brought to you on behalf of your friends at the Athens-Limestone Animal Shelter. To adopt a dog or cat, please visit www.limestonepets.org to view available animals and fill out an application. Call 256-771-7889 to make an appointment to visit the shelter and meet your new best friend at 1701 U.S. 72 (behind Limestone Veterinary Clinic).