FIRST-AID TECHNIQUES ON PETS BEING TAUGHT

Judy Gregory's beagle-basset hound was severely shocked while chewing on an electrical cord. Fortunately she is married to quick-thinking East Prairie Police Chief Richard Gregory, who restarted the dog's heart with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The dog lived, and has only a ruptured eardrum to show for the experience. But Gregory, who has four other dogs and three cats, feels unprepared to handle an emergency situation herself.

"When something happens to one of them I just start crying and screaming," she says.

Gregory was one of five people who earlier this week took the first-ever First Aid for Cats and Dogs class offered by the Southeast Missouri Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Choking and cardiac arrest are the primary concerns of the course, but it also covers what to do for a cut pad or pulled toenail. There is a section on helping your animal give birth.

"This is not meant to take over what the vet does," instructor Stacy Busch said. "You're out to sustain life until you can get the animal to the vet."

Red Cross chapters across the country are offering the class because the welfare of pets often becomes a concern during disasters.

The class is based on the first-aid training the Red Cross gives for helping human. The instructional manual is a book, "Pet First Aid," that is a collaboration between the National American Red Cross and the Humane Society of the United States.

Students are taught CPR and rescue breathing techniques very similar to those used on humans. Breathing ratios vary according to the size of the dog.

Busch also showed the students where to locate a pulse on a dog or cat. They practiced on stuffed animals, but animal mannequins have been developed that actually have a pulse.

A technique based on the Heimlich maneuver can be used on an animal that is choking.

Busch went over capture techniques and methods for clearing the animal's airway.

CPR is used if the animal has no pulse and is not breathing. Rescue breathing is used if the animal is not breathing but still has a pulse.

CPR actually can harm an animal that has a pulse. "You have to know which way to go," Busch said.

Also taking the class were Teresa Litwiller and Belinda Park, who work for a Sikeston veterinarian.

Sherry Holstein of Cape Girardeau is a volunteer at the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri. Ken Waldron of Jackson owns a number of bird dogs that participate in field trials.

He said it isn't uncommon for the dogs to run into a sharp object during a field trial. One of his dogs went into shock after being hit by a vehicle. Waldron didn't know what to do. "I was saying, Oh my God."

A woman who turned out to be a veterinarian rushed up and saved the dog's life by giving him an injection.

A part-time lifeguard at the Central Pool, Busch has not yet had to use her CPR training in an emergency situation -- on either a human or animal.

Busch works for the Red Cross as an instructor trainer in Health and Safety Services, but her parents own Busch's Kennel. "I've been around dogs since I was born," she says.

The next class will be held May 27. Phone 335-9471 for more information.