First aid for your pet
If your pet is injured or choking, there’s an action plan you can follow, as DR ERICA STEPPAT outlines here, to help her survive before you get to the vet
What do you do if your cat is choking on a fur ball, or your dog is hit by a car? So many times I see my clients fall in a heap when something goes wrong with their pet. And yet the bodies of animals are essentially the same as those of humans.
Most of the first aid steps we are taught to apply to people can be applied to pets, using the same principles. I recently completed a first aid course for humans and was astounded by the similarities.
The St John DRSABCD Action Plan stands for Danger, Response, Send for help, Airway, Breathing, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and Defibrillation. The differences are that ‘send for help’ means calling 000, and it’s unlikely that defibrillation will be available unless you are at a specialist vet clinic. Here’s the DR ABC action plan for an animal emergency.
DAre you in danger by attending to this pet? Is the pet in danger where it is lying? It is common for animals to be on or near a road. Can you safely move the animal off the road? Are there other circumstances that will prevent you from moving the animal to safety? Always consider your safety first, followed by whether you can move the animal to safety. No-one expects you to risk your life trying to save an animal or a person. It’s also important for you to be aware that animals may bite when they are fearful, or in pain or shock. Biting isn’t usually a concern when humans are injured, but for vets and vet nurses, this is often our biggest hindrance.
Is the animal conscious? This is often difficult to assess in the animal world, but when injuries are painful, we can gauge their level of consciousness by how much they try to bite us. We may also touch the corner of the inner eye, close to the nose, and see if it provides us with a blink reflex. If we see no response (such as crying or biting) to an injury we judge must be painful, this will often be a good indicator of loss of, or poor, consciousness.
RAAre the airways patent? This means ‘open’. Is there something obstructing the animal’s ability to breathe, such as blood, mucus, vomit, water or a foreign body? Many pets, especially dogs, swallow odd things, even more so than children. Things can get caught in the airways, resulting in great distress for the pet. An owner often needs to remove the cause of the choke, as there is not enough time to get to the vet clinic. Tipping the animal upside down, if it’s safe to do so, and giving a reasonable thump on the chest wall may help to dislodge any foreign body from the airways. Otherwise, it is important to remove whatever is obstructing the airways by hand, using paper towel or tissues to absorb any excess fluids. It may help to lower the animal’s head, so that gravity helps to drain away any fluid.
BIs the animal breathing? If the animal is not able to breathe by itself, the next step determines whether CPR needs to be commenced. Take your pet to a vet clinic immediately.