Do you know how to perform CPR on your dog? How do you treat a cut on a paw? If a cat is limping, can you evaluate the injury? Louisville-area pet insurance company PetFirst Pet Insurance is helping you and your furry friends stay #HealthyatHome with these tips for pet first aid.
These are the kinds of questions you should be asking during National Pet First Aid Awareness Month this month. A PetFirst Pet Insurance poll of members last year indicated that for many families, the answers to those questions are “no.”
Less than a third of policyholders said they have a pet First Aid Kit, and less than ten percent have taken a First Aid class that focused on pets.
“No one wants to think about bad things happening to their family – including their pets,” said PetFirst Pet Insurance CEO Katie Blakeley. “But thinking about emergencies before they happen is the only way to really prepare yourself.”
Pet First Aid classes are a good investment, but you can also learn a lot at home. The American Veterinary Medical Association provides several online resources. Lessons are also available online, including this one from the ACE Academy for Canine Educators.
One positive note involving preparedness: Even before people began preparing for COVID-19 related quarantines, nearly 80 percent of people said they keep a two-week supply of food and medicine on hand for their pets.
Purchasing pet insurance is another way to prepare for an emergency, because it can help ease the financial concerns associated with getting emergency and specialty care for your pets.
“Of course, we all hope that we never need to perform CPR or rescue a drowning animal,” Blakeley said. “But small emergencies can and do happen. Learning pet First Aid means you are prepared for events like minor scrapes at the dog park. At PetFirst we urge everyone to think now about ways they can safeguard their pets in the future.”
