A pet owner couple could do nothing but watch as their four cats and four dogs reacted as an earthquake shook the foundations of their home.
In footage captured on a Ring security camera and later shared with Newsweek, four dogs, named Mikey, Bindi, Mocha Latte, and Radar, and their four cat companions, Otis, Sampson, Blackie, and Picadillo, can be seen reacting as the home around them momentarily begins shaking.
The clip was filmed at a property in Alpine, California, at around 10:08 a.m. on May 1, 2025 and was difficult to watch for homeowners Tracey and her husband at the time.
Tracey told Ring: “I was in Puerto Vallarta visiting my father when I got the Ring and earthquake app notifications. My husband, who was at work, got the alert too and sent me the video.”
When the couple first noticed the deep rumbling that could be heard on the video, they initially assumed it was the sound of low-flying military aircraft, which is not uncommon in Alpine.
However, as the video continues and the distinct sound of a crash can be heard, it becomes clear that something more serious was occurring.
“While we’ve felt quakes before, this was their first really intense, loud one,” Tracey said.
Ring
While the United States Geological Survey stresses that factors like the distance from the earthquake, type of soil a building is built on and construction design are all key factors, damage begins to occur if an earthquake reaches somewhere between 4 or 5 magnitude.
The earthquake that struck Alpine that day measured 5.2 magnitude, so Tracey and her husband were right to be concerned. The shaking is visibly strong on the clip and you can hear a jar breaking in the adjacent “catio.”
Though only one item appears to break, the video vividly captures the intensity of the earthquake and the panic it caused among the couple’s eight pets.
In the video the animals can be seen gathering together, as if associating the noise with the imminent arrival of a human.
However, when it becomes clear that something more serious is unfolding, the pet friends scatter in all directions, evidently seeking out some form of shelter from whatever was happening.
Though the pets were likely terrified, Tracey is pleased to confirm they were not alone for long. “My husband left work to check on them, and thankfully they were okay—just scared out of their minds,” she said.
But while all of the pets escaped the experience unscathed, the footage of them panicking and running in all directions remains hard for Tracey to watch. “Watching the video gave me chills thinking about how terrified they must’ve been,” she said.
One of the best steps anyone worried about the welfare of their dog or cat home alone in an earthquake can take is ensuring they are microchipped.
As animal welfare organization the Michelson Found Animals explains: “Should your pet escape and flee to safety during an earthquake, you have a much better chance of being reunited with them if they are microchipped and your information is up to date.”