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Emergency First Aid

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When an emergency strikes, a qualified veterinarian or Emergency Veterinary Hospital may not be readily available.  Sometimes every second counts and being prepared can mean the difference between life and death for your pet(s).  Caregivers can provide first aid or treat minor injuries IF they have the appropriate medications, tools, and equipment available.  First Aid is not to be given in lieu of professional medical care.  It is the first step in helping to relieve suffering, in preventing further physical injury, and in possibly saving a life until qualified medical care is available.

The American Red Cross offers pet first aid courses to teach you emergency care procedures like CPR, administering medications to dogs and cats, and how to perform first aid on your pet(s).  They also offer a 111-page book called Pet First Aid which can be purchased through their online store.  To order this book, or to locate your local chapter that is offering this first aid course, visit their website at http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/courses/pets.html

Supplies:¹

• Fresh bottled water for drinking and irrigation

• Gloves, both leather and latex

• Thermometer (rectal/digital)  A healthy dog's temperature is 101-102

• Gauze sponges (50 4x4-inch sponges)

• Q-tip swabs

• Cotton balls

• Kwik-stop styptic powder

• Triple antibiotic ointment (like Bacitracin or Neosporin)

• Rubbing alcohol

• Ear Syringe (2-oz capacity)

• Ace self-adhering athletic bandage (3-inches wide)

• White petroleum jelly (like Vaseline)

• Eye wash/sterile saline solution for irrigation

• Sterile, non-adherent pads

• Pepto Bismol tablets

• Hydrocortisone acetate (1% cream)

• Sterile stretch gauze bandage (3 inches by 4 yards)

• Buffered aspirin (like Ascriptin) (note: DO NOT give aspirin to cats)

• Hydrogen peroxide

• Imodium tablets (2mg)

• Bandage scissors

• Custom splints (in an emergency wooden paint sticks can be used)

• Vet wrap bandage

• Tweezers

• Dramamine

• Baby wipes

• Benadryl (25mg) (antihistamine)

• Syrup of Ipecac (induce vomiting)

• Self activating heat pack

• Self activating cold pack

• Knife

• Muzzle

Other suggested items:

• Blanket

• Ziploc bags

• Current paperwork, including pet's health record(s), medications, poison control phone numbers, addresses and directions for local veterinary centers

Many of these items are contained in first aid kits for people!  Be sure to periodically check the expiration dates of "perishable" items to ensure that they retain their maximum effectiveness.

Companies like MediPet offer a deluxe Pet First Aid Kit for under $50 that contains many of the items on the above list.  http://www.medipet.com/kit-delux.htm

¹GRRI volunteers are not veterinarians.  It is our strong recommendation that you review this listing with your veterinarian and determine the medication(s) and dosage(s) that are appropriate for your pet(s).  Don't wait for an emergency to happen; be prepared now.

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