Here's Why We Ask Where the Dog Will Be Kept At Night

We had record rainstorms here in the Chicago area over the weekend. 7 or 8 inches fell in one 24 period, most of it Friday night. We broke current records by more than double.

I just read this article in the local paper:

Winnetka Family Mourns Loss of Dogs Submerged in Flooded Basement

From the article:

The weekend storm didn’t wake Jim and Alex Cravens.

But when the Winnetka couple looked down the basement stairs Saturday morning, their hearts sank. Eight feet of water had submerged everything, including the three kennels containing their pets: Wickham, a Havanese; Emma, a Maltese; and Oscar, an English bulldog.

While the couple and their two sons slept upstairs, the basement filled with water until it nearly reached the top step. The family never heard a bark.

“We all loved them. It’s not losing a child, but it sure feels like it,” Jim Cravens said Monday, as crews worked downstairs.

“They were my babies,” Alex Cravens added, holding a tissue to her nose and trying to keep back the tears.

I am so sickened by this, I could spit. What possible reason could there be to keep dogs in a basement at night? The crates aren't enough to contain them? The crates don't "go" with the decor?

They were her "babies"?????? Did she put her human babies to bed in the basement????

Those dogs wouldn't have stood a chance even if they hadn't been crated. Tiny little dogs like a Maltese or a Havanese? A bracheocephalic, clumsy dog like an English Bulldog?

This may or may not have anything to do with it, but those unfamiliar with Winnetka, IL should know that it is ranked as the 29th highest income location in the United States.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest-income_places_in_the_United_St...

I hope anyone who keeps pets in the basement reads this article. Maybe they will wake up.