It might just be April 1st but this certainly is no joke, we have entered Pet First Aid Awareness Month. It is terrific that there is a month dedicated to this, but every month and day should include pet first aid awareness. Just yesterday here in wonderful New England I found yet another blood-sucking tick on my boy Artie and I had to apply my first aid skills.

Being that it is Pet First Aid Awareness Month, this makes it a great opportunity for pet owners to brush up on tips and their skills they learned from the Pet First Aid & CPR Course they took, wait, what? You still haven't taken it?


The hot weather is around the corner and the bugs are already biting, you needed to know yesterday how to recognize signs of heat stroke, pesticide poisoning, and whether or not that white thing is a worm you saw in the litter box this morning. 

Heat Stroke/Hyperthermia 

Heat stroke, a condition of hyperthermia, is one of the most common problems pets face in the warmer weather when they are not yet used to the warm temperatures. I was tossing the Frisbee on a nice 60 degree day a couple of days ago and my Boxer was HOT! He certainly didn't last as long as he would had it been warmer for months and he needed tons of water to stay cool.

Also, I know we hear this every year but I will keep saying it until dogs and cats (and sadly children) stop dying in cars; the inside of a car can quickly reach 120 degrees in warm weather and animals SHOULD NOT BE LEFT IN THERE, even for short trips. The windows cannot be let down enough for adequate ventilation and when panic sets in, your pet's temperature goes up along with that of the car. This can all very quickly lead to heat stroke and death. 

Poisoning

The flowers are popping up through the soil (or snow in some areas) and with them come plenty of hazards. Many plants themselves like that beautiful azalea bush can be poisonous to our pets, let alone the chemicals your apartment complex just sprinkles all over the grass to make it green. That ant bait you set down the other day is yet another hazard. Visit the ASPCA Poison Control web site to find out which plants and flowers are poisonous to animals and also make yourself aware of how to help an animal that has come in contact with a suspected poison (click here). 

Parasites

Its that time when the worms, ticks, fleas and bees are out and about. Learn how to prevent, recognize and treat bites, stings or infestations before they happen. This will save your pet the stress, you the hassle and your wallet from depletion. 

Emergencies

Pet First Aid Awareness Month is a great time for people to learn how to protect their pets and keep them healthy. Its also a great time to blow the dust off your emergency preparedness kit that you have in the closet by the front hall. You know the one you have been meaning to put together and meaning to learn what to put in it. 

When a flood, fire, tornado or hurricane hits your home, what and where are you going and grabbing for you and your pets? 

When to Let Go

Tank at the beach

Sometimes being a pet’s hero means knowing when to let go. This road is the bumpiest, roughest and most gut-wrenching I have ever been down. The loss of my pets has hurt more, and still hurts more than losing some of my close relatives. I know that might be hard to hear for some, but for others, I know you are nodding in agreement. I’m not saying I loved my dog more than my grandmother; I’m saying that their loss took a greater emotional toll.

My dog, Tank, was a constant companion. In our 11 years together, I could guess we’d been apart less than 30 days; we went everywhere together. He knew all of my secrets, and the very best part was that he never judged me. We live in a world where no matter how many great people we share our lives with, at one time or another, they have judged us, wronged us, or made us feel badly. Our pets don’t do that. They may ruin our favorite shoes or chew the sticky note with an important phone number you needed, but they never hurt us; they truly loved us unconditionally.

Tankie all dressed up

There are many questions that arise when a pet’s end nears: How do I know when to do it? What if they could get better? Have I let them go to long? How will I tell my children? What will my life be without them? Will they know? The list goes on. Some of these can’t be answered. You just have to trust in your veterinarian, your friends, and your family. I can say my first dog I let go too long. As for my second, some would say I let go too soon. It was mine and my husband’s decision, as only those closest can make the decision they feel is best. My boy, Tank, didn’t judge me or look into my eyes and tell me I let him go too soon. He looked into my eyes and saw sadness; he saw an owner he could no longer make him happy because his disease had ravaged his body. It was unfair of me to keep him alive. It took everything in me to let that dog go, and I mean EVERYTHING. Your animal means the world to you and my Tank was no exception to me. He literally introduced me to my husband. Out of my love for Tank, I built a business to care for other peoples’ pets and he drove me to continue on to teach others how to save theirs. Tank was a part of every aspect of my life. As difficult as it was to let him go, it would have been cruel for me to perpetuate his life.

Euthanasia in Greek means “good death”. We are fortunate to be able to bestow the gift of a good death upon our best friends. In contrast, my grandmother did not have a good death; I wish we could have given that to her. So while we carry the burden of making that dreaded decision, we should take solace in the fact that we are giving a gift to our best friends, who have given their hearts to us. If you have ever heard of the story, “A dog’s purpose according to a 6-year old”, you will have an amazing insight from a young mind as to why our pets’ lives are so short.

Tank out for a stroll

As a professional pet care provider and pet first aid & CPR instructor, I have been exposed to far more deaths of peoples’ pets than I feel my heart can endure. There is a compounded issue when you care for pets. You not only love the animals that you spend your days with, but you get to know the people that love these pets too. Every time a pet-client passes, my heart aches twice; first, for the loss of that pet in my everyday life and second, for the loss of that pet in their owner’s lives. It’s awful, but each time I try to look ahead to the new chapters as a coping mechanism. Our relationship with each animal is unique, and we’re lucky to have so many future furry chapters to look forward to.

If you are contemplating “that time” for your beloved pet, or know someone that is, there are some great resources out there to help us help them. Take a few minutes to read about other peoples' experiences.  Although your situation is unique, there are many animal lovers who share the same concerns and you may find comfort and guidance in the following locations:

http://www.deathofmypet.com/

http://kelseybethcarpenter.blogspot.com/2015/12/5-things-i-wish-you-knew-before.html 

Be their hero, be strong, and be able to let them go. Give them a gift by taking all of your love and wrap their soul with it as you say goodbye.

The Top Holiday Pet Hazards and How to Avoid Them

The Holidays are here and while you might be stressing out about what to get your niece for Christmas, Fido and Max are stressing out because there are so many new changes and smells going on in and around your house. 

Ornaments on the tree, candles, tinsel, ribbons and wrapping paper. There's holly, mistletoe, poinsettias, and a tree in the living room! Grandma's creme de menthe brownies are resting on the counter and there are Christmas candies in every dish at dog-nose level!! The family will be over so Uncle Rob can feed his Turkey scraps and basically everywhere your pets turn, there is another hazard staring them in the face, or worse, taunting them.

Be smart this holiday season and make certain you, your pets, and your wallet stay out of the ER vet. Here are some things to keep in mind when you are soaking in the holiday spirit:

Decorations & wrapping material like ornaments, candles, tinsel, ribbons, and wrapping paper are fun toys. Even worse, homemade ornaments from flower and salt can become a tempting treat as this family tragically learned.

Picture from Facebook of Hope Pospisil with her family and dog Lexi who they lost to her consuming a handmade ornament of salt and flower.

My cat has already been batting around the bell hanging low on our tree but that's OK because we hung the dangerous ones up higher.When my family starts opening gifts we have a designated ribbon roller and any tinsel goes right in a trash bag.

Our tree is fake but if you have a real one please avoid putting any tree additives in the water and change the water frequently, this is just another bowl from which your pets will drink. The tree preservatives that can be added to the water will definitely have you off to the ER, or inducing vomiting and hoping you got it all up.

Poinsettia's are beautiful but they are very toxic to our friends, consider the silk variety, definitely more expensive up front but they last longer and never need to be watered!

When uncle Rob tries to sneak his turkey skin to Fido from under the table go ahead and ask him up front for $1000, and his car keys, that's the minimum it will cost to handle the pancreatitis that it could cause, and that is hoping your dog makes it through. Stash the brownies in a pet safe container (or in my house, the microwave becomes a safe storage place).

Hide your electrical cords or spray them with some vinegar and cayenne pepper to deter any chewing.

Your home can still host the holiday spirit but just put some thought into how each change, addition or family member could be a hazard to your furry family members. 

#NotAllHeroesAreHuman

At Pet Health Academy, our goal is to teach humans how to be a pet's hero by teaching the skills and knowledge needed to save their lives. However, sometimes we need to step back and recognize the pets that are humans' heroes. 

Without many of our canine counterparts in the line of duty, we would be less effective at search and rescue, a thousands times less effective given a dog's nose alone. These animals deserve to be recognized and celebrated. In fact we recently just celebrated the 16th birthday of a 9/11 Golden Search and Rescue Dog named Bretagne, who traveled all the way from Texas to help search for the thousands of people buried in the rubble.

The most recent events in Paris are what sparked me to take a step back and change the focus from human's as heroes to pets as heroes. Following the tragic attacks in Paris on Friday November 13th, the French were performing a raid on a suspects' home that following Wednesday. While they were able to capture 7 suspects, one took the life of a canine police officer, a 7 year old Malinois named Diesel. Before the human police went into the raid in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, Diesel had been sent into the apartment building before the humans to assess the situation. Several sources state that Diesel was killed when a woman detonated a suicide belt that killed both the terrorist and Diesel. People took to the internet posting pictures of their pets with the hashtags, #NotAllHeroesAreHuman and #JeSuisChien (“I am dog”) to honor Diesel's life. Without his devotion and skilled training, the French authorities would have lost more lives and would not have been able to apprehend the 7 suspects. 

There was a wonderful gesture that came from Russia regarding Diesel's heart-wrenching passing. The Russian Interior Ministry announced on social media that Russia will give the French government a puppy, “This dog will be handed to France in a testament of solidarity with the French people,” the tweet said. 

But there are thousands of pet heroes we should celebrate. Going back to WWII, in my Boxer club we recently just celebrated on Veteran's Day, Vittles who was the only dog to log more than 130 missions from Erding, Germany, to Berlin and back. He even had his own parachute, on orders from Air Force Gen. Curtis LeMay. Vittles brought comfort to his owner Lt. Clarence “Russ” Steber, a former Air Force pilot, who had acquired him in Germany. He realized he had nowhere to leave him during his missions so he started taking him on the planes with him. He boosted morale so much that Gen. Curtis LeMay made certain a parachute was made specifically for him so he could always be with the troops. 

So while it is crucial for us to know how to perform pet CPR & 1st aid to save our trained couch potatoes, let's never forget those pet heroes that save us. From search and rescue dogs to therapy cats, these animals have a greater purpose in life which includes saving ours.   

Pet First Aid Kit

The less obvious benefit of having a pet emergency kit within reach is many of the products arranged neatly in that portable container can be used on you! While this blog post is certainly about the benefits to your pets and what makes a pet 1st aid kit different from one built for humans, I wanted to first point out the human benefit. I have dove into my pet first aid kit to clean out a wound from a cat scratch with hydrogen peroxide and certainly used the pepcid to help combat tummy trouble when I had pets to visit and no time to be sick.

But the focus of this piece is not just why you should have a pet first aid kit, but what should be in it, what type of container, how to use it and its contents and where it should kept be so that in an emergency, you can use the contents to buy critical time needed to aid your pet before you can get them to the vet.

The why; accidents happen, its a cliche statement but certainly a fact of life. In my 12+ years of caring for other people's pets and my own I have used my kit to deal with puncture wounds, lacerations/deep cuts, allergic reactions, broken toes, foreign objects in pets' eyes, to check vitals on an out-of-sorts pet and a host of other issues. Many of these incidents ended with a trip to the vet but because I had performed some first aid techniques prior to getting to the vet, the recovery and care was made better. On a puncture or laceration, infection was better prevented by cleaning of the wound prior to bandaging, the broken toe was splinted so the dog had a much more comfortable ride to the vet, the Golden never had breathing difficulties and experienced decreased swelling from her allergic reaction within minutes and so on. Life was made a little better by having certain items in my kit for many pets.

What should be in your pet emergency kit; the complete pet emergency 1st aid kit that we built includes these items:

Pen light for pupils, Digital thermometer, Chemical ice pack, Blunt tip scissors, Metal Tweezers, Triangle bandage & safety pins, Rubber gloves, Tongue Depressors, Long handled Q-tips, 10 ml (2 tsp) Syringe, Roll of Poop bags, Roll Adhesive tape ½ inch, Standard gauze Pads, Non Stick gauze pads, ABD pads, Gauze rolls, Saline solution, Alcohol prep pads, Iodine prep pads, Styptic powder, Triple antibiotic gel, Hydrogen peroxide in a light block bottle, Packet of Vaseline, Emergency blanket, Antihistamine gel caps in blister packs, Pepcid tabs 10mg 

Rather than take the time to go through each item, I did want to take some time to highlight some kit contents that might not seem obvious as to why they are included or that have multiple uses in an emergency situation. A digital thermometer is a terrific gauge for a pet that seems off, lethargic or really just not themselves. If their temperature is high they could have a fever from an infection or exposure to heat, cold it could be shock, exposure to the cold or other issues. Either way it is one tool that can tell you if all is well inside or not in a very short time. Metal tweezers are not often found in any pet or human emergency kit, usually plastic ones, but metal are essential for tick removal, delicate splinter extraction and best for cleaning/keeping sterile. In the kit you will also find a 10ml syringe, this is wonderful for flushing wounds and of course administering hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting. Poop bags are pretty obvious but not just for the poop, they can act as an emergency glove or barrier between something that could transmit disease. An ABD pad, much like a large maxi pad does what it was built for, it absorbs large quantities of blood better than any gauze. Having hydrogen peroxide in a light block bottle is critical for cleaning superficial wounds or inducing vomiting, and almost never comes in a regular first aid kit. The last 2 items to point out are medications that can help avoid allergic reactions and tummy troubles. 

The container: 

Pet first aid items should be kept in a water resistant container that is durable so if it will be in the car or your pack for hiking, it could withstand a tumble without causing the contents to be damaged by force or water.

How do you use what's in your pet first aid kit? The best way to learn how to use your kit and all about what's in it is to take a pet first aid and CPR class. A course that is specific to caring for pets in an emergency can mean the difference between life and death for your pet, it really can be that critical. If your pet has an allergic reaction to a bug bite and their airway swells to the point of near closure, just driving to the vet as quickly as you can may not be enough to save your pet's life. They could asphyxiate from the swelling so dosing them with antihistamine and removing their collar might just make that huge difference in their chance of survival. Never underestimate the importance in having the knowledge and skills of being certified in pet first aid and CPR.  

Where should you have a pet first aid kit? I have one in each car and have two at home, one that stays put and the other we use for traveling that goes in whatever bag we are using.

So hopefully I have provided you with the reasons why you should have a pet first aid kit. Remember, there is always space for a band-aid or too because even for humans, accidents happen. For more information on pet first aid kits, their contents and especially on how to use them, take a pet first aid and CPR course. 

Take a Pet CPR Course Online or In Person

Most cats cannot attend classrooms, due to the stress it puts on them.  A video demonstration is necessary to teach this method.  Here, Gerard Armour demonstrates a technique to safely restrain a cat.

Whether you are interested in taking a Pet CPR and First Aid Course because you're concerned about the health and safety of your pet, OR because you are earning a credential for your business, you'll have several choices in providers.  One of the key decisions you'll need to make before purchasing your education is whether to attend a class in person or to learn online.  There are important factors to consider listed in this blog, by Pet Health Academy.

As the world moves online, industries are following at a rapid pace.  Sometimes the technology gets ahead of itself and there is a disconnect between the technology and the user.  What this means is that either the technology isn't ready (which can lead to errors and bugs), or the user interface is too complicated, requiring high technical competency to use the product/service.  These factors can potentially cause the companies interested in using the technology to recoil and go back to the "tried and true" methods of the past.  Those companies will suffer as their customers will continue to demand better service, products, and access to them.  For example, forward-thinking companies like amazon.com have revolutionized the shipping industry by implementing high-level inventory management and order fulfillment software, thereby taking over a large percentage of retail sales.  Not only did they take market share from other online retailers, but also big box retailers who use conventional retail sales methods.  Amazon.com's customers can simply search for the products they desire, pay for them, and track the shipments.  The customers don't need to be tech savvy to gain access to the products they desire. Web browsers, search engines, and other software has become user-friendly and amazon.com has capitalized on that, making its products available to the masses.

Here is a thumbnail from a video of a Husky seizing.  This dramatic moment was captured on video in order to share it, helping other animal lovers to recognize seizures.

As is often the case, companies that offer more traditional services and products, with less access to capital, (like local small business) are behind the trend.  The pet care education industry, until recently, had been clinging to "the old way."  In order for pet care professionals to get access to high quality Pet CPR and First Aid Courses in the past, instructors would have to rent out rooms in local businesses, organize class schedules with individual students, as well as set up and break down equipment (like tables, chairs, projection screens, etc.).

Now that e-learning has been made popular, accessible, and credible, Pet CPR and First Aid Certification is available in its best form, online.  Instead of simply reading a document, watching a youtube video, and then taking a test, educators such as Pet Health Academy can create an engaging and interactive e-learning platform.  The earning management software they use is reliable, flexible, and highly customized. Instead of considering the limitations of e-learning, people are now touting the advantages of learning online.

See the video below which demonstrates how high-quality video content can provide a user experience unavailable in a traditional classroom setting.  This close-up gives a view unavailable when in a room full of students, not to mention the ability to pause, rewind, and watch the video repeatedly, until the student has mastered the skill and learned the material.

For those students who are uncertain about whether a high-quality, thorough education is attainable in an online format, need only search for online college degree programs.  Thanks to the innovation of software developers and universities throughout the world, education is accessible to a larger percentage of the population.  Pet CPR and First Aid Certification is just one example, but it is a clear example as it demonstrates the overall trend in the e-learning community.