USA : Monday, 17 January 2011 (Local Time)
Nearly two dozen people learned how to administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, better known as CPR (Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation), to dogs and cats at a recent American Red Cross training session.
Attendees came from many western communities, including pet owners as well as owners and employees of pet-sitting and daycare businesses and an animal rescue group.
“It’s a certified course, and it’s something people look for when they take their dog or cat to a place to board it and/or a daycare kind of facility,” said Ruth Glasmire, who helped organize the event in Bay Village and is a member of the Friends of the Bay Village Animal Kennel, a support group that works with the city’s animal warden.
The Red Cross has been offering the course in the Cleveland area for a couple of years, but this was the first time the class was offered in Bay Village.
Phil Trimble, with the American Red Cross in Cleveland, said the turnout in Bay Village was one of the largest the chapter has seen for the classes. Normally, five to 10 people turn out for a session. While many of the people taking the classes are animal sitters, many new pet owners also take the classes, Trimble said.
“I would say at least 50 percent of the people taking the classes are everyday people — pet owners — who want a richer experience with their pets and to know more about their pets,” he said.
“I got a cat about a year ago,” said Joe Fumic, a North Olmsted resident who attended the class. “We want to be as prepared as possible in case anything happens.”
Lisa Potocsnak, of Bay Village, said there have been occasions in the past where she wished she had a better understanding of how to care for a sick pet.
“I’ve had dogs all my life, and I didn’t know classes like this existed,” she said. “It’s a good idea.”
Christy Szoke, the Red Cross instructor who conducted the class, said the idea is to provide pet owners with enough information to provide temporary, immediate care for a sick dog or cat until the owner can get them to a vet.
Topics included how to move an injured pet, find a pet’s pulse, administer CPR, stop bleeding, and how to muzzle an injured animal to prevent them from biting an owner or Good Samaritan trying to administer aid.
Nancy Brown, owner of Hot Diggity Dog pet-sitting service and a member of the Friends of the Bay Village Animal Kennel, said she appreciated that the course also provided information on disaster planning for pet owners.
Story and Foto from : www.cleveland.com (reported by Bruce Geiselman)
