More often than not Pool Fence is the last thought on the minds of a home buyers list of things to take care of . Children are excited by the prospect of having a new home with a pool and having their new bedroom and what color it will be painted and all of the other associated excitement surrounding the move.

As parents, we must all remember that pool safety comes first. Not second, third or fourth. It takes seconds for a child to fall into a pool and the end result can be from bad to fatal. Removable pool safety fence is not a law in Puerto Rico. It should be but we all know the politics surrounding just getting the "common sense" laws passed in the Commonwealth.

As a first step it is recommended to put door alarms on all doors leading to the backyard from inside the house. These can be purchased online and are very economical. The second layer of protection you would want to add to your property is to make sure all gates leading to the back yard are lockable and self closing. The most important layer of protection is the pool safety fence. This protects children when you are looking and when you are not looking. The importance of a self closing, self latching and lockable gate are self explanatory especially when you have a pool service person (the gate closes itself so the exposure to the pool is reduced).

Whatever your priorities are when it comes to acquiring a new house with a pool, make sure that pool safety fence is one of them because it can truly make the difference !     

Pool safety is certainly a topic that should be taken very seriously for children and pets. Pets? Yes pets. We had a client last week that had a black Labrador retriever for 7 years and some how the dog got into a large plastic back and while trying to remove the bag from his head, he managed to fall into the pool resulting in him drowning. These types of incidents are not reported in Puerto Rico because...well I really do not know why not. The dog in this case was the only dog the kids had ever had (the kids are a little older than the dog by a year or two). This tragedy occurred six months ago. The emotional sensitivity has gotten a little better about the topic and a new lab has been adopted to the family (puppy) but the difference this time around is that the owner has elected to have a pool safety fence installed for the dogs and even for other kids that may come to visit.