Locked Out With A Child Or Pet Inside — What To Do First

If a child or pet is locked inside and you are outside, call us and say so when you ring — it changes how the call is handled. Do not force a window or door yourself while you wait; forcing entry is slower than it looks and risks hurting whoever is on the other side of it.

This is the one lockout that does not feel like a lockout. It feels like an emergency, because it is one, even when nobody is in danger. The instinct to do something — shoulder the door, pry a window, call anyone who will pick up — is normal and usually makes things worse.

What to do in the first minute

• Check if the child can reach a door handle or window latch themselves. Talking a child through unlocking a door is often faster than any locksmith.
• Look for an unlocked point of entry — a side door, a window left cracked, a garage code.
• Call and say a child or pet is inside. We move calls like this to the front of the queue.
• Do not force anything. A forced door or window creates a second problem — injury risk and a repair bill — on top of the one you already have.

Why we do not treat every lockout the same

Most house lockouts are genuinely not urgent in the way they feel urgent. Keys inside, nobody in danger, thirty minutes either way makes no real difference. A child or a pet inside changes that, and we prioritise accordingly. Say it plainly when you call rather than assuming we can tell from the address.

Getting in without damage

Non-destructive entry is the default for a reason beyond cost — on a call like this, it is also faster than forcing anything, because picking or bypassing a standard residential lock takes minutes, while a forced door often does not open cleanly even once you have broken something.

There is more on how that actually works in house lockout.

Afterwards

If this happens more than once, it is worth asking why. A door that swings shut on its own, a lock that engages too easily, or a habit of leaving keys in a specific spot are all fixable. Spare key storage covers a safer system than hiding one outside, and if this happened in a car rather than a house, see child or pet locked in the car, and a smart keypad removes the whole problem — no key to lock inside in the first place.

If it happens again

Tell us on the call, every time, if a child or pet is inside. It is not a detail we can guess, and it is the one thing that changes how fast we move. Ranges are on the prices page.