Comet is a mixed-breed boy who is only 1 but has been at the shelter for almost five months. The comet is outgoing and loves other dogs and people. If you are interested in this amazing fellow, please contact the Tehama County Animal Care Center at 530-527-3439. (contributed)
First aid, simply put, is the initial treatment given to any medical emergency. Its ultimate goal is to preserve life, reduce pain, and help reduce the risk of permanent disability.
As the weather warms, families and their pets will participate in more outdoor activities, increasing the risk of accidents and unwanted injuries. That’s why April has been designated “National Pet First Aid Awareness Month”, an opportune time for pet owners to learn about providing emergency care for their animals. Will Fido or Fluffy suddenly start choking, get hit by a car, get stung or bitten, or ingest one of the hundreds of readily available poisons?
They probably won’t, but if you have a cat or dog that has suffered a life-threatening event, the odds on you are negligible. What you do, or don’t do, in those first critical moments can often be the difference between life and death for your furry companion. You may not always be close to your family veterinarian and may find that there is a situation where the nearest veterinary office is miles away or closed. The only alternative is to give your pet any necessary emergency treatment yourself. There is no valid reason why you should not prepare for an emergency.
Prevention is the first step in any plan. Become familiar with the things that can cause accidental poisoning, which is one of the leading causes of emergency vet visits each year. The online ASPCA Poison Control Center (https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control ) provides information to help protect pets from poisonous substances. In addition, the Pet Poison Helpline website (https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poisons/ ) lists many common pet poisons.
Prepare a basic pet first aid kit and keep it ready to go with you whenever you and your pet travel. Both the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) (https://www.avma.org/resources/pet-owners/emergencycare/first-aid-tips-pet-owners ) and the ASPCAPro site (https://www.aspcapro .org/resource/saving-lives-shelter-health-poison-control/how-make-pet-first-aid-kit ) offers great suggestions for putting together your own kit. If you already have it, be sure to check that supplies haven’t expired. You might also consider adding a small pocket reference “what to do” guide such as “Pet First Aid and CPR Quick Reference: For Dog and Cat Parents and Pet Professionals” by Denise Fleck or “First Aid for Dogs: What to do When Emergencies Happen” by Bruce Fogle. Include inside the kit a list of any medications the pet is taking (include drug name, dose, and dose frequency) and a photocopy of his medical records, with proof of all vaccinations. In cases of critical emergencies, it is imperative that all of your pet’s medical history is readily available you need to go to an unfamiliar emergency veterinarian, they can provide better care if they know the animal’s history.
Be sure to keep other items handy for taking your pet to an emergency facility, such as two blankets, some towels, a leash, and a cat or dog carrier. You probably won’t have time to scramble for these items when an unexpected emergency comes up, so keep everything you might need in one convenient location where everything can be accessed quickly and easily.
Once you’ve assembled the kit and gathered additional items, familiarize yourself with how and when to use the supplies, as well as common emergency procedures such as the Heimlich maneuver and CPR. Your veterinarian should always be the first resource to ask for “how to” instructions regarding your pet. However, there are also online tutorials available such as AVMA TV’s CPR video (https://youtu.be/3JHdrojxzSw) and PetMD’s Heimlich video (https://www.petmd.com/dog/emergency/common -emergencies/ e_dg_choking).
To work effectively in any emergency, the hardest and most important thing to do is to stay calm and assess the entire situation. Be sure to keep the animal as still as possible, and their movements to a minimum. Remember that the stress of being hurt can cause a friendly dog to become disoriented, panic, or act aggressively. Although most animals will respond to a calm, soothing voice, it is important to maintain your personal safety and use caution when handling any injured animal. The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, through its media site, presents a lecture by Dr. Simon Hagley, who offers some basic first-aid tips for cats and dogs, as well as what to do in an emergency situation to help your pet ( https://healthtopics.vetmed.ucdavis .edu/health-topics/canine/first-aid-cats-and-dogs-lecture-video ) best. I highly recommend watching it.
While you may be prepared to deal with a human emergency, you may be less prepared for your pets. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that one day your pet may develop some type of medical emergency that will require immediate attention such as severe bleeding, suffocation, eye injuries, suspected broken bones, inability to move limbs, bites, snake bites, seizures, heatstroke, hypothermia, etc. (https://www.merckvetmanual.com/special-pet-topics/emergencies/emergency-care-for-dogs-and-cats ). So, during National Pet First Aid Awareness Month, it’s important to learn what to do, ahead of time, and to prepare for unplanned, and very scary situations.
