Pet First Aid & CPR

You’re tasked with choosing a babysitter for your children and you have two wonderful 21-year old postgraduate students who are finishing their masters in elementary education as candidates. One is certified in first aid and CPR, the other is not, both the same price – who do you choose?

The option seems clear, you would choose the one with the skills to save your children should something happen, or at the very least – the one trained to apply first aid should they fall and hurt themselves.

Why would this be any different for your pets?

To many of us, pets are considered family members and therefore their care and well being is just as important as that of our children. We take them to the vet for annual checkups, or when something goes wrong, but just like the trained babysitter, do you know what to do when your pet has an emergency?

Yes, driving safely but quickly to the closest ER veterinary hospital is indeed a solid option but what if your pet needs immediate care, BEFORE you can get them to the vet?

While I have used first aid countless times with my pet sitting & dog walking clients from handling puncture wounds to finding cancerous tumors, I have used it almost as much with my own personal pets. My cat burned her ear on a radiator, my dogs have had cuts and abrasions from hikes and when my family chocolate Lab started having seizures, I knew exactly what to do.

We chose to bring these animals into our lives and therefore took on the responsibility of their well being. Part of loving your pets requires knowing how to help them, that’s where first aid comes in.

What is Pet First Aid?

Let’s quickly tackle what exactly “Pet First Aid” means. Quite simply it means the very first care given to an animal. First aid ranges from being the necessary attention to being the necessary first emergency attention given before the animal can receive emergency veterinary medical treatment.

The steps humans can take in using first aid whether or not the outcome leads to emergency care or not are still life-saving. Noticing a wound that you are able to treat at home and prevent an infection is certainly good first aid to apply to avoid a future issue. Resuscitating your cat after they chewed an electrical cord is certainly emergent first aid and will be followed up by emergency veterinary care.

First aid has the widest ranging applications but knowing what to look for – what to notice about your pet or an animal in your care is absolutely crucial to their safety.

April Is Pet First Aid Awareness Month

Happy Pet First Aid Awareness Month! I know it’s not really a holiday that one would celebrate, but I am excited to spread the message of pet health and safety as far as we can get it! Go learn how to save them now so you can be their hero for their future!

You have options in learning this valuable education and they don’t take much time. In just under two hours, you can be certified by an ER veterinarian on over 40 first aid topics up to and including learning pet CPR. Learn online, in your own time, at your own pace and with your own animals. Dr. Connor will even demonstrate life-saving skills on her live animals.

My goal and passion are to make this world safer one pet at a time and since April gives us an entire month to highlight companion animals’ well being, then that gives me more exposure to make more pet lives better. While it is the end of the month, that doesn’t mean it can’t be the beginning of getting the education your pet needs you to have.

If you would like tons of safety tips, health questions answered and even ideas for a pet-safe garden, definitely go to our blog.

For more information and to take our course, please go to www.propethero.com. Save 10% now through the end of April using the code CPR_PROPETHERO. Don’t delay on becoming your pet’s hero today!

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cara Armour, a native to Maryland grew up in Baltimore with a menagerie of dogs, cats and small animals. Her life-long love of pets turned into a dream career in 2003 with my husband Gerard Armour. They met that same year at a dog park just outside Boston where Cara had attended college at Boston University. Their pet care company was awarded Pet Sitter of the Year, the industry’s highest honor and in that same year the company was awarded the Angie’s List Super Service Award. Accolades followed for years which drove Cara to want to do more for the animals in her care and for her clients that loved them.

Since 2003, she has been trained by several veterinarians in Pet First Aid and CPR. In 2011 Cara was ready to teach her own classes so she completed an instructor training course and became a certified pet First Aid and CPR instructor. In 2016 when she discovered ProPetHero and how they were bringing ER veterinarian instructed training to anyone; Cara knew she had to be a part of that awesome. So she joined the ProTrainings family, creators of ProPetHero.

In her spare time she is a volunteer and foster home for The Boxer Rescue Inc, a health-conscious breeder of Boxers, as well as an active member in the Middlesex Boxer Club and Wachusett Kennel Clubs. She mentors many in the pet industry as well as those in the small business world.

When not working or volunteering she is competing nationally in dog agility, lure coursing and conformation trials. When not at a trial or finding a good home for a Boxer through the rescue, Care can be found training with her pups, hiking with them on trails or playing in her neglected garden.