I hinted HERE how Holly might have possibly saved our lives. Here's the story:
We normally don't have very many power outages, but for some reason, we recently had 5 within 4 days. All those power outages can really mess with your electronics and a/c units. We always turn our a/c off as soon as the power goes out. I've heard that you should do that because when the power comes back on, if everyone's a/c units automatically start back up, it can cause a surge and possibly another outage. I don't know if this is true or not, but we've always done this. So, the last time the power went out was Monday night. We turned our a/c off and waited patiently for the power to come back on. About 3 hours later at 10:30 PM it did. I waited for a few minutes, then turned the a/c back on. Right after that, we went to bed.
Here's the part where I should explain that Holly consistently sleeps every single night right smack dab in the middle of the hallway by my children's rooms. This puts her halfway between each room. We like to think she's protecting them and also that she doesn't want to show favoritism. :) She sleeps the entire night and every time I get up to check on the kids (yes, they're teenagers, but I still check on them if I wake up) she's always there. She's never gotten up in the night and started playing or anything like that.
Then all of a sudden, I smelled something burning. I woke my hubby up and he checked the air vents and there wasn't any air coming out of them, but the unit outside was still running. He checked the electrical box, then went into the attic to check the a/c unit and part of it was really hot. We could still smell something burning, and figured the recent outage must have blown a capacitor or something and that's why the unit kept trying to click on but couldn't. The burning smell was probably the motor trying to come on and overheating.
That's her paw. She can't stand a closed door. This happens every single time there's a closed door in the house. LOL! |
We decided to turn the unit off and go back to bed and try to sleep with no air until the morning when I could call someone to come fix it. Best. Decision. Ever.
In the morning, I called the repairmen to come fix it. They were already booked up for the morning, but said they could come that evening. That meant we'd have to go all day with no a/c. Keep in mind, it was 100 degrees outside with 80% humidity, and we had turned our a/c off. Ugh.
About 5:30 PM, the guy came to fix it. We told him what had happened and he went into the attic to check out the unit. When he came back down he said that it's a good thing our cat woke us up and we decided to turn the unit off. As it turns out, the power outage DID blow a capacitor and the unit kept trying to click on, but couldn't. He said if we hadn't been woken up by Holly and had left the unit on, it quite possibly could have started a fire! Oh my goodness.
I recently dug out this old teepee that used to belong to my kids. Holly sure enjoys it. :) |
She's a girly girl and likes to brush her hair. LOL! |
~Lisa
This is an incredible story, Lisa...I'm so glad that all of you came out of it safely. I would bet money on the fact that Holly could smell it, even before you could. She is an amazing kitty, but you already know that! :)
ReplyDeleteXO,
Jane
Hooray for Holly! What a fantastic story; thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGood kitty!!
ReplyDeleteYay for Holly! You guys were so lucky!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for Holly! So glad your story had a happy ending and your family is safe.
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