Pets can now get the breath of life

Stephen Curran

Friday, Aug. 30, 2002 | 2:59 a.m.

LABOR DAY EDITION: Sept. 2, 2002

When emergency strikes a family member, many people know exactly what to do -- call 911, begin emergency procedures and wait for help.

But when the family member is of the four-legged variety, many of those same people are at a loss.

For that reason the American Red Cross, an agency well-known for teaching life-saving techniques for humans, has launched a program to teach pet owners how to save their beloved dogs and cats in the case of an emergency.

The classes will teach Las Vegas-area pet owners CPR using a "mouth-to-snout" technique similar to its human counterpart. Pet owners will also learn how to find a pulse on their pet and how to treat a broken bone, Sharon Tutrone, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross, said.

The course costs $35 and includes a book on pet first aid.

"You can even learn the Heimlich," Tutrone said. "All of that stuff is in there."

These techniques can be vital in the time before getting to a veterinarian, since paramedics are not trained to respond to animal emergencies, Tutrone said.

Asa Marie Davis, who also works as a sales and marketing consultant for the Red Cross of Southern Nevada, has taught the class since its inception five years ago at the Los Angeles branch. Since then the program has grown, but is still only at a "handful" of the agency's more than 1,000 branches, Tutrone said.

In order to teach the class, Davis had to pass an eight-hour class taught by another instructor. She now teaches other would-be instructors.

The job is one of Davis' many duties, ranging from her paid administrative position to volunteer teaching everything except aquatic courses, she said.

Because the local branch lacks funding to provide canine and feline-specific mannequins, owners are encouraged to bring in stuffed animals for practice, although they are not allowed to bring in their actual pets, she said.

Despite the fact that they're practicing on toys, Davis said the students who take the class generally take it seriously.

"The general public is usually quite pleased, because they're all pet owners," Davis said. "I've never had a person take the class who didn't have pets."

Although owners who go through the program have generally been happy, it has yet to catch on locally, Tutrone said. Currently there are only 10 people enrolled in the class, which has yet to determine a time and location, she said.

"Unfortunately, I don't think people know about it yet," Tutrone said. "We have the class here, so it's just a matter of getting the information out."

For more information on the Pet First Aid classes, call the American Red Cross at 791-3311.