By Arden Moore
With Mother Nature unleashing hurricane season upon South Florida this month, our dogs, cats and other pets depend on us for protection. I remember sitting in the bathtub with my two cats in Lantana while listening to the winds of Hurricane Andrew back in 1992. Back then, I relied on prayers but did not properly prepare for myself or my pets.
Lesson learned.
Since then, a slew of hurricanes going by the names of Charley, Frances, Jeanne, Ivan, Wilma, Dennis and Katrina have stormed through the Sunshine State. Yes, Mother Nature can put the “n” in nasty, but it is also important to acknowledge that our pets don’t live in protective bubbles. Just like us, they are out and about and that makes them prone to injuries and illnesses.
As I’ve discovered, showing true love for your pet can be as easy as A-B-C. I’m not talking about the alphabet, but rather these life-saving ABCs: airway, breathing and circulation. That’s why I encourage you to enroll in a pet first-aid/CPR class sponsored by the American Red Cross. I just completed a four-hour course and learned how to properly take a temperature, find a pulse, bandage a bloodied paw and perform CPR on cats and dogs. You would be surprised how similar the CPR techniques are for pets and for people.
The class taught me to prepare before disaster strikes.
Inside my SUV, I’ve stashed a backpack that contains a pet first-aid kit, three-day supply of food and water, spare leashes, blanket, photos of my four pets and more. My cell phone includes the phone numbers for my veterinarian, emergency vet clinic and pet-welcoming hotels.
Pet carriers are stacked on a garage shelf for easy access should I receive the order to evacuate. After learning that home fires rank top in the list of natural disasters, I’ve posted stickers on my front window that alert firefighters of the type and number of pets inside.
I also did a room-by-room inventory of my home that led to my storing antifreeze, household cleaners, medications and even chocolate candy out of a paw’s reach. I posted the phone number for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888-426-4435) on my refrigerator door.
“You need to be a voice for your pet — not only in the good times, but when they are in need,” says David Winters, lead health and safety instructor for the Greater Palm Beach Area Chapter of the American Red Cross. “The more you are prepared, the better you can address the needs of your pets.”
Winters emphasizes the need to keep people and pet first-aid kits on hand and up-to-date, to make an evacuation plan in advance and to pre-register at shelters if you are in an evacuation zone.
When a disaster occurs in South Florida, Winters will be among the Red Cross workers caring for displaced residents at shelters while his family — including Josie, an Australian shepherd, and two cats named Sassy and Sushi — head to a pre-arranged place of safety.
“Before I started my job at the Red Cross, I was not fully prepared, but now I am,” says Winters. “We have a plan and everything is ready just in case.”
Recently, a free pet first-aid class was offered at the Count & Countess de Hoernle Service Center of the American Red Cross in Boca Raton. The event drew several local vendors with pet ties, including Club Bow Wow of Boca Raton and Tri-County Humane Society. Attendance met expectations and plans are to offer more classes in the future.
We love our pets. We adore them and even pamper them with ultra-cushy pet beds, gourmet treats and yes, even designer outfits — if they tolerate wearing them. When I came home after completing the Red Cross pet first-aid course, I immediately hugged my dogs, Chipper and Cleo and my cats, Callie and Murphy — and then gently placed them on their sides, placed my fingers to their inner thigh to check their pulse rate. They responded with sloppy kisses and purrs.
When you know pet first-aid, delivering TLC to our pets is as easy as A-B-C.
Arden Moore, an animal behavior consultant, editor, author and professional speaker, happily shares her Oceanside, Calif., home with two cats, two dogs and one overworked vacuum cleaner. Tune in to her Oh Behave! show on Pet Life Radio.com and contact her at arden@ardenmoore.com.
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