The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
First aid for pets helps hedge animal lovers’ bets
Class teaches pet-parents, animal caretakers best ways to handle worst-case scenarios
People with pets are a special breed.
Not only are they willing to take another species or two into their homes, feed them, give them shelter and attention. They also take on the responsibilities that go along with keeping their animals safe and healthy. But what happens when an accident happens?
Thanks to a Carlsbad, Calif. company called Pet Tech, animal lovers around the world are thinking more about pet first aid and have the opportunity to become certified in its protocols.
One of the company’s representatives, enrollment coordinator Lisa Faust, paid a visit to Geauga County over the weekend to provide pet first-aid and CPR training at Cold Nose Companions, LLC Dog Training in Chardon.
“Why learn pet CPR and first aid? Because we cannot call 911 for our pets. We, as a society, don’t provide it,” she said at the start of the afternoon portion of the class April 2. “So — bottom line is: If a dog falls over and doesn’t have a heartbeat, someone’s gotta do first aid.”
An emergency medical technician herself, Faust said that, until last June, emergency medical service providers could lose their licensure if they rendered first aid to an animal on scene. That’s when House Bill 187 was signed into law, allowing first responders to provide care to injured pets.
But even with first responders
now being able to treat pets, they’re not always around right when we need them.
“Any longer than two minutes with no oxygen to the brain, brain cells start to die. The body shuts down and the heart stops. Somebody’s got to start CPR,” she told the class. “That’s why you’re all here — because we can’t call 911 for our pets.”
Between anecdotes about everything from police dogs dying at the hands of absentminded handlers who have left them unattended in hot vehicles, to how a 10-pound cat is equal to a 50-pound dog when it comes to temperament, Faust used slide and video presentations, textbook material, hands-on demonstrations and practice to teach students everything from how to muzzle an injured pet to the best way to restrain them in emergency situations.
Her class Sunday was comprised of both pet parents who want to be prepped for whatever might happen to their critters and folks who are either already pet firstaid instructors or want to become one for a variety of reasons.
“(Becoming an instructor) is a good thing for people who are pet sitters and people with boarding facilities for pets,” Faust said. “It makes sense because they may have employees they want to train, themselves, and there isn’t really an abundance of people who are certified in pet CPR in Ohio.”
As far as people who just want to know how to care for their pets in emergent situations, the class offers plenty of peace of mind, she said.
“As far as pet-parents’ reasons for taking the class, it just depends,” she said. “A lot of times, they’ve either had a bad experience with a pet and are like ‘I never want to feel that way again,’ or they’re simply conscientious pet owners who want to be able to care for their animals if anything bad ever happens.”
Christine Troutman, a Wayne County resident who owns and operates Troutman Kutz N Kennels, LLC, said she took the instructors’ course because she’d like to train her employees.
“Just because I own a facility, I feel like I can now better care for the animals — and not just (my clients’ pets), but my own dogs, as well,” she said, adding that she is already certified in pet CPR/ first aid.
Troutman also said she’s excited to bring her new training as an instructor to her community because there just aren’t any around there.
“Really, there are no instructors in my area,” she said. “So I think this answers a huge need.”
Participants in the $125, 8-hour certification class receive a certificate and a 40page handbook after completing the course, Faust said. The certification lasts two years.
Aside from the training Pet Tech offers all over the United States and in six other countries, the organization also established April as Pet First Aid Awareness Month, Faust said.