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Basic Small Animal Life Support - Do you know how to do pooch CPR?
Basic Small Animal Life Support - Could you save a pooch?
My background as a paramedic never included training on how to deal with small animals that were found in a structure fire unconscious and not breathing. Using the FFN and it's international membership, my hopes here are to identify and post guidelines for providing basic life support for small animals. I would appreciate any additional information and case studies to both educate others and identify an obvious missing component for firefighter EMS training.
Are dogs people? No, but don't try arguing the point with a dog owner... Attempts on our part to do more than expected is always very much appreciated. If you live in Minnesota, then your fire department already has been trained in Basic Animal Rescue Training. Through this post, I hope to identify and post lesson plans and course outlines to enable other firefighters to start similar programs for their communities. It all starts here...
Basic Small Animal Life Support
If the pet is unconscious and not breathing:
- Initiate mouth to nose ventilation
- Examine the back of the mouth for foreign
- Close the mouth and extend the head and neck
- Exhale 2-3 breaths from your mouth into their nostrils
- Continue mouth to nose breathing 15-20 times per minute
- Observe for movement of chest wall with ventilations
- Check for heart beat and pulse – if none, continue below
My pet does not have a heart beat or pulse!
- Initiate external cardiac compressions
- Place the pet on his side
- Place both hands on the highest point of the chest wall (for animals over 30 pounds) or on either side of the
middle of the chest (for small animals under 30 pounds). - Begin firm, rapid inward compressions at a rate of 80-100 compressions per minute
- Give 1-5 compressions before stopping to give 2 breaths if alone and repeat cycle
- Give continuous chest compressions while someone breaths if 2 people
- Discontinue chest compressions if the animal starts breathing or the heart starts beating.
- The pet should be immediately transported to the nearest veterinary facility.
CBz
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brian Mackie on
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As always Cap, excellent material you post. I have not been around much, but try and check in now and then, and this particular post is great.
I remember attempting "mouth to snout" resusition on some poor dogs caught up in the lifestyle of a slob (master). Even though I didn't have a clue how to do it properly, I felt I had to try. Must have been quite a site seeing the captain on his knees blowing into the snout of a dirty stinky & god only knows what..infested dog. But, I tried, failed, and was thankful I did at least try. I also remember the days when the bodies of animals were simply put into garbage bags without consideration for it's life, or the owner who might be watching. My only point that I can make is simple.. even if you don't know, or don't think the pet is alive or has a chance.. do not standby and do nothing. TRY! Something.. ANYTHING... especially if the owner is present. Media, rubber neckers with cell phone cams, blah blah blah..can really be a problem.. Always be professional. No joking or laughing on the scene, show genuine concern for others' loss. Like I told the crew .. "we may not be the best, we may not know what we are doing, and we might not be sucessfull,.. but we are damn well gonna look like we do trying"
When we get back to the station.. we learn and be ready next time.
Thanks Cap. Hope retirement is treating you great.
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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on
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Hey Mike,
Great post. I hope it catches on and generates more input from others.
I tried the link you added and it wasn't working. Maybe it's just me, but I thought I would let you know just in case.
Again, great post.
KSHF
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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on
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Awesome work BZY. This is such a good subject. I have revived two dogs due to fires. Your right, pet owners are a whole different group of our service. Anything we attempt or do on behalf of their pets is appreciated versus no effort at all.To these people that animal is like a child or family. It has always been that we are providing care to not only the patients but the loved ones as well. I have never heard or seen a specific class on this subject. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. We will share this with our troops. Good job BZY!
PS, any more info or additional educational stuff please pass it on Bro.
bsharp@brookings.or.us
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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First off, thank you and others for the encouragement. Please note that the correct address ends in org, not com.
www.basicanimalrescuetraining.org
What I have found out to date is that the program is currently only available in one state with plans to regionalize. Their program, Minnesota to be specific, got both the nod and funding from Homeland Security dollars. It's a working relationship between vets and firefighters.
My hopes here are that someone who has gone through the two-hour training can shed some light as to what is covered. In conjunction with the training is an additional rescue bag with ambubag compatible masks that fit over a small animals snout. You can either hook it up to an ambubag or run oxygen tubing from the oxygen bottle. The system, which includes a two-hour training session covers pet EMS and inhalator / resuscitator mask training that has already demonstrated saving a lot of animals lives.
Needless to say, the citizens (voters/tax payers) are happy.
CBz
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BZY, I'm thinking of contacting my good buddy Vet and ask him for some training help here.
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Developing a relationship with your local Veterinarian is a great way for you to start your own program in Oregon. You might consider having the Vet make direct contact with the BART folks in Minnesota or possibly veterinarians from Minnesota that they might know? Can't see reinventing the wheel here.
What we are looking for is a course agenda. It would be nice to get lesson plans and such, but any licensed veterinarian should have an exemplary idea of small animal BLS and ACLS. I am also looking for this training material.
Within the past three years, my department responded to a structure fire that resulted in some dead cats. A donation of pet "snout" masks were given to the communities engine company and I took some photos of them to point out some key points.
This mask, purchased through a veterinarian supply house may be the same as the masks used in the BART program, but I'm not 100% sure. The photo below shows the three sizes of pet masks.
One thing you want to take a look at is to ensure that your bag valve ambubag fits onto the pet mask.
If you have never done this before with the unit, it is a tight fit and something that should be done in a training scenario verses going through a learning curve at an incident. And we both know that worrying about how to use equipment when you pull up on scene with something like this is the last thing on your mind...
CBz
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