Does your fire department have what it takes to save your pets?

A story from the Associated Press today, on a cat trapped in a burning building that was saved by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from a firefighter, points to something most of us don't think about:

I don't mean the determination or the training. I'm talking about the right gear:

Animal-sized oxygen masks.

People-sized masks don't properly fit dogs and cats. So firefighters must try to revive pets with "mouth-to-snout" breathing or by waving a regular oxygen mask under the animal's nose. Pet-sized masks, however, are the most effective way of delivering life-saving oxygen. And more departments are getting them, with one in three American households now having pets.

But they are expensive. So in some cases, local animal welfare groups or breed clubs have stepped up and donated the equipment.

Best Friends Pet Care, a Connecticut-based company, has started a matching grant program that has placed thousands of masks in fire stations around the country. There are no Best Friends franchises here in South Florida. But click here for their Web site and information about starting a fundraising drive for masks on your own.

Here's today's story on the "mouth-to-meow-th" rescue in Massachusetts.

And keep reading for a 2005 story I did on animal oxygen masks and how a Boynton Beach firefighter saved a dog with one.

Mouth to Meow-th: Mass. firefighter revives cat with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation By Associated Press 11:26 AM EDT, September 11, 2008 NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) _ A lucky cat owes one of its nine lives to a firefighter who revived it with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Al Machado rescued the cat from a burning apartment Tuesday, telling The Standard Times of New Bedford that he saw immediately that it needed air.
Machado began performing mouth to mouth on the animal as he carried it outside.

Video shot at the scene shows Machado bent over, breathing into the cat's mouth several times. The cat, a tiger angora, was revived and resting comfortably soon after.

No humans were injured in the fire. A man and woman whose last known address was the building that burned were arrested and charged with arson, authorities said.
Two other cats died in the second-floor apartment, but two dogs there were saved with the help of oxygen from paramedics and animal rescue personnel. Pets on the other two floors — including a ferret and even some frogs on the first floor — were all saved.

Asked what it tasted like to give mouth-to-mouth to a cat, Machado laughed, grimaced and said: "Like fur."

SAVING LIVES BECOMES A PET PROJECT
EQUIPMENT AND TRAINING ENABLE RESCUERS TO DEAL WITH CATS AND DOGS.
Date: Friday, June 3, 2005
Byline: By Diane C. Lade

Boynton Beach Firefighter William Drumm, feeling his way through the smoke-filled house, finally found her unconscious in the master bathroom's shower, as far as she had been able to get away from the fire.
Her legs were stiff, her tongue protruded, and he thought she was dead -- until she suddenly drew a shallow breath.
Scooping her up, Drumm rushed outside and fitted an oxygen mask over her muzzle. By the time the ambulance was headed to the veterinarian, Diva the pit bull was recovered enough to snap playfully at her canine-sized mask.

Firefighters and other rescue personnel often find that human beings aren't the only accident victims. Like their human owners, pets also are injured or die in house fires, car crashes or falls.
With one out of every three U.S. households estimated to include a dog or cat, fire departments and rescue workers increasingly are likely to learn animal lifesaving techniques or carry emergency equipment such as pet-sized oxygen masks.

"We don't have any statistics. But it seems like there is more of this technology out there, and we definitely feel that it's helpful," said Sharon Granskog, spokeswoman for the American Veterinary Medical Association, a professional organization with 72,000 national members.
Incidents involving pets have become common enough that several fire-rescue units in Palm Beach County now are carrying the animal oxygen masks.

Pet owner clubs and animal-rescue groups are raising money so they can purchase the equipment for their local fire departments. The Cause for Paws campaign, started in July by Best Friends Pet Care, a Connecticut company, has raised almost $10,000 and has placed more than 1,224 pet masks in 60 fire departments across nine states.

The Boca Raton Dog Club donated the masks carried by Boca Raton Fire-Rescue units.
"Luckily, we haven't had to use them yet, since no pets have needed our help. It was a nice gift," Public Information Officer Frank Correggio said.
Correggio said several medics on the city's SWAT team have been trained in animal emergency medicine, as the team uses police dogs that could be injured on duty.

During the past three months, the Boynton Beach Fire Department has three times responded to fires that involved animals, including Diva's April 27 rescue.
"She was completely overcome by smoke. A couple more minutes, and she would have been gone," Drumm said.
It was the first time he had used the special masks, donated to the department about a year ago.

"When we first go in, we concentrate on human life," said Steve Lewis, the department's public relations officer. "But if it's safe for us to do so, we'll go back in for a pet."
Firefighters say pet owners are often so frantic, they sometimes risk their own safety to save their four-legged companions.

Lauren Bond, disaster response program coordinator for the Humane Society of the United States, has been a volunteer firefighter in Maryland for six years. She remembers one woman who ran back into her house five times to save her boxer puppies.
"The dogs were fine, but we took her to the hospital for smoke inhalation," Bond said.

The Humane Society has a new course that teaches first responders, such as police officers and firefighters, how to deal with animals. The program discusses ways responders can protect themselves from bites or attacks, as well as how to help pets and their owners in emergencies and disasters, Bond said.

Pet oxygen masks come three to a set; small, medium and large. Previously, firefighters would try to revive pets by waving a regular oxygen mask near the animal's nose or by "mouth to snout" resuscitation, holding the animal's mouth closed and breathing into its nostrils.
The animal masks, however, fit snugly over the muzzle. "It's the most effective for delivering 100 percent oxygen," said Tim Fry, captain of the Boca Raton Ocean Rescue unit. If the animal isn't breathing, however, mouth-to-snout still is preferable, he said.

Fry, an animal lover who lives with four adopted dogs and one adopted rabbit, also is certified to teach the Red Cross pet CPR and first-aid course. First offered three years ago, Fry now has a class every month in south Palm Beach County.
Covered are basic CPR and resuscitation, the "doggie Heimlich" maneuver, wound care and how to spot life-threatening medical problems such as hypoglycemia.

Some might question why professionals would spend time trying to save pets or animals. But it makes perfect sense to many paramedics and firefighters, especially those who have their own pets.
"People love their animals a lot. For some of them, it's like their family, especially the older people," Drumm said. "They lose them, and it's pretty traumatic."

For more information about animal safety and planning for your pet in disasters, go to the Humane Society of the United States Web site at www.hsus.org or the American Veterinary Medical Association Web site at www.avma.org.For information about local American Red Cross classes on pet first aid and CPR, go to www.redcross-pbc.org,or call 561-833-7711.