Would you perform CPR on your pet? Do you know how to do it? These are just a few of the questions asked of pet owners in a recent poll.
In October 2009, Petside.com and the Associated Press sponsored a survey of pet owners about health care and emergency care. Nearly twelve hundred pet parents participated in the phone survey, answering questions about emergency plans, health care, and common owner boo-boos.
More than half of those surveyed would indeed try to perform CPR on their pets in the event of an emergency. (The number was higher in dog owners than in cat owners — sixty-three percent vs. fifty-three percent.) The intentions are good, but survey answers revealed that a lot of owners aren’t prepared for emergencies.
Do you have a pet first aid kit in your home? Only twenty percent of survey respondents did. If you have a regular first aid kit in your home, that’s a start — a lot of the items can do double duty for people and pets. But there are some pet-specific items you may want to keep on hand for emergencies. Learn more about pet first aid kits here!
Do you have a fire (or other disaster) evacuation plan for your pets? Just over half the survey respondents did — forty-six percent did not. If you live in an area that is prone to a particular type of disaster, it’s a good idea to make an evacuation plan. Back home in New Jersey, we had to worry about hurricanes. My grandmother’s house was far enough inland that we didn’t have to worry about flooding, but we would be the evacuation point for family members (human AND canine) who lived closer to the ocean.
The survey also uncovered a good number of owners who make unsafe choices for their pets — like letting pets ride in a car without some sort of restraint, or giving pets bones (from the table) that could splinter.
More than forty percent of owners surveyed have experienced at least one emergency situation — including eleven percent who had a pet get hit by a car. Accidents can and do happen. Being a responsible, watchful, mindful owner can help prevent many health issues and emergencies… but it may be impossible to protect our pets from everything.
A pet safety and CPR course can help you be prepared if an emergency does arise. The American Red Cross offers pet CPR courses; private companies offer pet safety and CPR training as well. I’d much rather know how to handle an emergency and never have to use the knowledge than to need the information and not have it!