Was there an 'animals procedure' if there was time?

[Arun Vajpey]

In 1912, was there any protocol about passengers' pets in case of an accident? Supposing a sinking ship had more than enough lifeboats for all on board AND lasted long enough for all humans to be evacuated to safety, would some crew then try and rescue the pet animals on board, assuming there was time to do so?

 

[Aaron_2016]

In 1912, was there any protocol about passengers' pets in case of an accident? Supposing a sinking ship had more than enough lifeboats for all on board AND lasted long enough for all humans to be evacuated to safety, would some crew then try and rescue the pet animals on board, assuming there was time to do so?

I don't recall any standard procedure or assigned responsibility to rescue the pets and animals aboard a sinking ship. It was really up to personal choice e.g. In 1920 the crew of a sinking schooner rowed back to their ship in rough weather to rescue two dogs that were left behind. The crew were willing to risk their lives to rescue the two pet dogs. As the old saying goes, a dog is a man's best friend.

June 19th 1920
Michigan Newspaper

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[SmileyGirl]

That’s lovely

 

[Michael H. Standart]

The protocol as I understand it was to keep the ship afloat long enough for a rescue vessel to arrived and transfer the passengers...and any pets...by way of the lifeboats. I doubt very much that anybody seriously considered that rapid and complete evacuation of the ship would be necessary.