Pet Fire Safety Day

Do you know what today is??? It's Pet Fire Safety Day! And if you know my story, you know how important fire safety is to me!

According to the NFPA an estimated 500,000 pets are affected annually by home fires and nearly 1,000 home fires are accidentally caused by the homeowners' pets!

Here are some tips to help protect your fur-kid from accidentally starting fires and to keep everyone safe in the event of a fire:

Prevent your pet from starting fires:

• Extinguish open flames - Pets are generally curious and will investigate cooking appliances, candles, or even a fire in your fireplace. Ensure your pet is not left unattended around an open flame and make sure to thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your home.
• Remove stove knobs - Be sure to remove stove knobs or protect them with covers before leaving the house. According to the National Fire Protection Association, a stove or cook top is the number one piece of equipment involved in your pet starting a fire.
• Invest in flameless candles - These candles contain a light bulb rather than an open flame, and take the danger out of your pet knocking over a candle. Cats are notorious for starting fires when their tails turn over lit candles.
• Beware of water bowls on wooden decks - Do not leave a glass water bowl for your pet outside on a wooden deck. The sun’s rays when filtered through the glass and water can actually heat up and ignite the wooden deck beneath it. Choose stainless steel or ceramic bowls instead.

Keep your pets safe

• Keep Pets Near Entrances When Away From Home - Keep collars on pets and leashes at the ready in case firefighters need to rescue your pet. When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them.
• Secure Young Pets - Especially with young puppies, keep them confined away from potential fire-starting hazards when you are away from home such as in crates or behind baby gates in secure areas.
• Since Pets Left Along Can't Escape a Burning Home - Consider using monitored smoke detectors which are connected to a monitoring center so emergency responders can be contacted when you’re not home. These systems provide an added layer of protection beyond battery-operated smoke alarms.
• Affix a Pet Alert Window Cling - Write down the number of pets inside your house and attach the static cling to a front window. This critical information saves rescuers time when locating your pets. Make sure to update the number of pets listed.

Other things to consider: 

Do you have a pet emergency kit?  If you don’t, the ASPCA has recommendations here that can help you work through the process of selecting one.

Do you have a fire escape plan? If you don't, the Red Cross has some tips to help you develop your plan. Click here to learn more.

And last but not least do you know you can provide CPR to your fur-kids if necessary? Click here to learn the basic steps to performing CPR on your pet. Mom will always be grateful to the neighbor who found me in the parking lot on the night of our devastating fire and performed life saving CPR on me. You can learn to provide CPR and First Aid on your pets too! Click here to find a class.

I hope you found the above information helpful! In closing, here is a pic of me a day after the fire and me now. As you can see I have a made a full recovery. 

Recovery from fire is possible! Take care pals!

April is Pet First Aid Awareness Month.

April is Pet First Aid Awareness Month!

I can't believe mom almost let the month pass without talking about this very important topic!

Pets are an important part of many families and Pet First Aid Awareness Month is the perfect time to ensure you have the skills needed to take care of your furry family member in an emergency.

Pet First Aid Tips

Do you know what to do during a pet emergency? Here are some common emergency tips:

• To determine if your cat or dog is dehydrated, pull up on the skin between the shoulder blades. It should spring right back; if it stays tented this is a sign of dehydration.
• Signs of poisoning include bleeding externally or internally, dilated pupils, drooling or foaming at the mouth, seizures or other abnormal mental state or behavior.
• If your pet has a seizure, make sure it is in a safe place, but do not restrain the animal. Keep your hands away from its mouth as your pet may not know who you are during a seizure and could bite you do to fear.
• Signs of heat stroke or heat exhaustion include collapse, body temperature of 104 degrees F or higher, bloody diarrhea or vomiting; wobbliness, excessive panting or difficulty breathing; increased heart rate; mucous membranes very red; and increased salivation.
• Pet bites by other animals need vet attention to prevent the wound from becoming infected (even if minor bite) and to check for internal wounds. Never break up a dogfight yourself because you could be bitten.
• If your pet is bleeding, apply direct pressure using gauze or clean cloth over the bleeding site. If blood soaks through, apply more gauze over the gauze already in place (do not remove soaked gauze as that will remove pressure from the wound). Take pet to veterinary hospital as soon as possible.

Pet First Aid App

More lifesaving information is available on the Red Cross Pet First Aid App that helps cat and dog owners to provide emergency care until veterinary assistance is available. Follow this link to download the app: http://www.redcross.org/mobile-apps/pet-first-aid-app. 

Pet owners may also take a Red Cross Pet First Aid course so they can practice the skills and receive feedback. Go to http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class for information and to register.

As many of my pals already know, I was saved during our apartment fire February 23, 2012 by a neighbor who was a V-E-T. She did CPR and got oxygen put on me right away. Her actions saved my life that night! Mom will always be grateful to the wonderful V-E-T lady and her husband for making the effort to help me until she arrived home and was able to race me to the Emergency V-E-T. Please take a few minutes to review Pet First Aid and CPR. You could save your fur-friends life!