In a pet emergency, preparation can make the difference between life or death. If you know what to do to respond and how to deliver your pet first aid then they have a much higher chance of survival.

There is a protocol called DR ABC to remember when arriving on the scene of an emergency.

This stands for :

Danger – keep yourself and the pet out of harms way by making sure you are out of traffic and away from people. A pet that is in an emergency or placed into pain by applying bandages or wound cleaning can and will bite. Make sure that you muzzle the pet to protect yourself from bites before providing first aid.

Response – check if the pet is responsive calling their name and by touching them. Make sure you have visual contact before touching as you don’t want to startle them. This will identify if they are conscious or unconscious

Airway – is the airway clear. Put your hand under the chin of the pet and extend the head back to open the airway. Check in the mouth to see if you can see any foreign objects.

Breathing – is the pet breathing. You can check this by watching their chest to see the rise and fall, listening close to the mouth for air movement, and feeling for air movement.

Circulation – check to see if the pet has a pulse by placing two fingers on the inside of pets leg to feel for the femoral artery.

One you have determined the physical state of the pet – then you can move on to determine the next step. If the pet has a pulse and are breathing then your next step is first aid for another condition such as bleeding, heat stress or an insect or snake bite. If they have a pulse but are not breathing, then the next step is rescue breathing. If they have neither pulse or breath then the next step will be delivering CPR to the pet.

There are many pre-assembled pet first aid kits available on the market to purchase but you can easily create your own from items found at your local pharmacy.

Your basic first aid kit should contain the following items:

• Storage container to keep your other supplies inside
• Muzzle
• Bandages – roll and square gauze for applying pressure to wounds and absorbing fluids
• Blunt-ended scissors for cutting bandages, tape or to cut fur away from wound sites
• Sterile saline solution for washing out wounds or flushing eyes, ears or mouth
• Tweezers to remove embedded objects from wounds
• Cotton wool balls for bathing wounds or applying pressure
• Self-adhesive tape for keeping bandaging in place
• Vinyl gloves for your protection
• Antiseptic wipes
• A blanket to use as a stretcher or to put under your pet for comfort
• Pocket torch for easier inspection of ears, nose or mouth

It’s a good idea to keep a pet first aid kit in your home and a smaller kit in your car.

In an emergency you also want to have your vets number close at hand. It’s a good idea to keep your vet’s number stored in your phone, in your first aid kit and on your fridge.

Once you have administered first aid to your pet it’s always a good idea to have them checked over by your vet. This is especially important if they have symptoms of shock, seizures, choking, unconsciousness or arterial bleeding.

In the future we will be running pet first aid classes for our House and Pet Sitters clients. These will show you practical skills such as applying bandages, delivering rescue breathing and CPR and discuss how to respond to bites, heat stress, shock, and fractures.