I am a terrible worrier and always working out what I would do in worst case scenarios eg if the car crashed over into the water what is the best way to get the children and myself out and hundreds of other horrors. A new one has puzzled me if your car is stolen with your dogs in would you phone 999? Im sure you wouldnt for a stolen car or stolen dog seperately but if your dog was in immediate danger of being chucked out on the motorway or something would it then justify it??

yes

Yes.

Definitely

cant say it enoughtimes...yes yes yes yes

Yes!

yes

YES! without a doubt. 

No.

(No need to!! There's no way they'll get far with a Husky tongue stuck to their face avidly 'face washing' them and who'd want to nick a battered awld tempramental Landrover...but I live in hope ;))

Sorry to be flippant..... It's good to have contingency plans but pleeeeease tell me you don't let these worries get to you too much. The instances you mention are soo very rare, and if you take all due care and attention you really have nothing to worry about, save the energy for the here and now..not the 'ifs' and  'maybes'.

*Passes some chocolate* You'r seratonin levels are waaaaay to low ;) :)

Absolutely :)

think Ive got the general idea that I should phone 999! looks like Im the only person who didnt know that, thanks all that can now be safely filed in my memory with all the other junk. hi Huskygal- dont worry (although I probably would!) I do some other stuff apart from panicking, now I know the answer to this one I promise I wont think of it again, I think Ive got most disasters covered so like a good girl guide or is it scout? I am well prepared!

Yes I would.

glad I'm not the only one that passes water & has this flashing image of the car going off the road into it (we live near a lot of water too ;-))

ETA - off to get the toblerone out, that's very good advice HG

I live on the sea front but it never crosses my mind.

Worrying is bad for your health and lots more people suffer from that,than ever drive into water.

Actually the answer is no. You phone 999 if someones life is in danger or where an actual crime is being committed at the time.

I would, absolutely. :-)

I am with Huskygal. Take sensible precautions and then get on with life.

Pass the Galaxy .....

> Actually the answer is no. You phone 999 if someones life is in danger or where an actual crime is being committed at the time.

if your car has been stolen then a crime is being committed at the time (unless you leave your dogs out in the car overnight to sleep which is doubtful).

I do think 999 is over used.

A few weeks ago we phoned 999. We were on a walk in a country and our 9 year old went missing. We had not seen him for 2 hours when we called, it was almost dark and sleeting so we were very worried, we got an amazing fast blue light response and luckily he was found. Now I am trying hard not to worry too much and get really over protective! Re the original question I would absolutely call 999 because I think a quick response is needed. Actually this is something I have worried about too, don't care about the car much but hate leaving the dogs in it if I can't see the car at all times.

We had someone up here call 999 to report a theft - because homebase didn't deliver his stuff at the allotted time.  You wonder about some folk.

But in the case of dogs in a car being stolen, then yes definitely call 999.  A crime IS being committed and lives are at risk (especially if I got my mits on the bandits!) - driving with dogs can be dangerous as many people do not secure them.  But seriously,  if you have left the car for a moment then call 999, if you found out after the fact like a few hours or day later then call the non emergency number.

I had a wierd experience a few years ago. I was driving out of our small town at 2.15 in the morning (collecting husband from a 'do' - yes, I'm mad I know !). Anyway, just as I turned out of the town a cow was running up the middle of the road. I stopped the car - it just ran by, looked at me and carried on up the road. It then turned the corner and headed towards the town centre.
There were no farms nearby so I called 999. To me it was something which could have been dangerous - a car accident waiting to happen. I'm sure the 999 operator thought I was mucking about and was very 'off' with me. Had it been in daylight I would simply have tried to find help - but people would have been around to help anyway. I couldn't really go knocking on strangers doors at that time in the morning.
She asked me which service I wanted but I really didn't know - she was less than helpful and in the end she said she'd put me through to the police. The lady there was really nice and as far as I know it was sorted !.
I felt guilty afterwards though as the operator made me seem a fool.

I think cows on the road in daytime are completely different to cows in the dark, so I would say you were right calling 999.  You had no idea who was driving behind you, could have been someone going too fast and then they would have been killed.

> Sorry to be flippant..... It's good to have contingency plans but pleeeeease tell me you don't let these worries get to you too much. The instances you mention are soo very rare, and if you take all due care and attention you really have nothing to worry about, save the energy for the here and now..not the 'ifs' and  'maybes'.
>

i find myself worrying about that sort of mad stuff to (i know its nutty to do so though) so have started taking rescue remedy when i feel a bout coming on. working pretty well so far.

Yes i would definitley call 999  happened to my father at a petrol station with his bt in the car , they stole it and tried to run dad over , 2 days later ben was found tied up in a park in birmingham , but the car was never recovered , i suppose at least they tied him up and didnt just let him go.

YES and id try to chase the car!!!

Yes, definitely, the sooner the better.  I too am a natural worrier and a small part of me would worry that I was wasting police time but at the end of the day I'm sure they prioritise the calls anyway.

Without a doubt!
If my car was stolen.. its a crime. If my dogs were in it at the time... god help the thief!!
I know someone who takes emergency calls, and there are some stupid people out there who call for nothing.. i.e a chat on the way home from the pub. Unbelievable!!
Donna x
(and my boysxx)

I totally agree Donnax.

My job involves ringing emergency services all the time and the things that people call them about is truly shocking.  Its not just kids doing hoax calls, you would be surprised at the amount of elderly people who know how to work the system and tell you they have chest pain when really, all they want is a nice ambulance man to pass them their tv controller (seriously).  Anyway, they do prioritise their calls but for those who know how to abuse the system, they take away emergency help for someone who really does need it.

Lisa

I wouldn't dial 999. Would certainly report it to the police as a matter of urgency but it wouldn't constitute grounds for a 999 call - those are for a matter of life and death and my call could be delaying getting help to someone in desperate need.

I'm not saying my dogs aren't important to me because they are - but they aren't important to others and human life has to take priority place every time as far as I am concerned. Having been in a situation where someone's  life was at risk I fully realise how every second counts.

> but it wouldn't constitute grounds for a 999 call - those are for a matter of life and death

999 is also for crimes that are in progress as a rapid response has more chance of catching the criminals in the act.
You can see on the list here that 'loitering' constitutes dialling 999, I would definately call 999 if my car was stolen with my dog in it - the crime is in progress (as my dog would not have been left for a long period the theft would have to be within minutes of me discovering it).

I most definatly would call 999 if my car was stolen with my dogs in.
Im sure some people call for a lot less than that.

Now my hubby just come in and i asked him and he disagreeded with me...he said he would call the police but not on a 999.

> Now my hubby just come in and i asked him and he disagreeded with me...he said he would call the police but not on a 999

I've just asked my hubby what he did when he was left stranded after his his car got stolen (he was on a fishing trip, no dogs in the car) - he dialed 999. The police responded without any problems and without telling him he should have called non-emerency police. :)

i would as it seems to not be much of an emergency response anyway- my BIL's nose was broken by some guy and was left lying in the street-BIL was walking home from the shop eating an ice cream minding his own business- the police arrived the next day.

ETA: it also took about 2 hours for them to come see me when i thought i witnessed a stabbing.

> it also took about 2 hours for them to come see me when i thought i witnessed a stabbing.

Oh my word!!! That's frighteneing :(

I used to be an operator on 999 many reams ago some of the nutcases with stupid requests made me sometimes want to slit my wrists..LOL

I actually know the number of my local police  direct line,  I think everyone should memorise thiers to for situations when you are not sure whether to dial 999 or not if they think it it something that should be dealt with speedily they connect you direct to the services , this way you are not clogging up the emergency lines if you are not sure what to do.

HTH

Roni

I've only ever rang 999 once. My father had breathing difficulty and I rang and followed the instructions to let dog out and open front door.
Went back to find my father had died in those few seconds and I put the phone on loud speaker and started to resuscitate him while telling the young lady on the phone what I was doing.
Within 3 mins an ambulance turned up and the pair came upstairs and went through what  I had done then another ambulance turned up and they tried very hard to get him back but sadly he had gone. He had suffered a blood clot between his lung and heart and even now I still feel guilt that I was unable to save him.
Hardest part was coming back and cleaning up his room and the fluid. 
The ambulance crews were fantastic and I can't say enough about them. I was told by 3 lovely nurses at the hospital that the ambulance crew told them I had done everything I could and should be proud which was lovely.
It's the job I do that trained me up for this situation but you never think it will be your family.

I would say if its just happened or you witnessed it then yes call 999 as there is a high chance of catching the criminals, especially if you have witnesses and also direction of travel. I know where i live a stolen motor vehicle is something which most officers love to respond to if its just happened. The sooner the call comes through the quicker the vehicle registration can be added to the ANPR system and then if they go through a camera if will flag up. Catches a lot of people out.
If you have left the dogs in the car for said period of time and its been a while then a non emergency number can be called.
If the call taker deems it not to be an emergency they can transfer your call to the non emergency line.