Howllo Fellow Basset Hound and lifesaving gear for dogs and cat lovers! Wow, I was reading my daily basset hound news this morning and ran across this really cool story out of Wyoming!

Bob Fawcett, a fire investigator with Casper Fire-EMS, demonstrates on Tuesday afternoon how an oxygen recovery mask fits on Boogie, a basset hound belonging to Charlie Vogel. Vogel belongs to the Central Wyoming Kennel Club, which organized the donation of 12 mask kits to local emergency responders. (Kerry Huller/Star-Tribune)

The Casper Fire Department’s newest lifesaving gear will be reserved for patients with four legs.

City firefighters, along with the rest of Natrona County’s fire agencies, will begin carrying pet oxygen masks this week. Fire officials say they’ll use the new gear to treat dogs and cats for smoke inhalation.

“We’ve had to do mouth-to-mouth in the past,” said Casper Fire-EMS Chief Mark Young. “This will be much better.”

Firefighters already use human masks on injured pets. But those masks don’t deliver oxygen efficiently to animals, which is essential for treating smoke inhalation, said Casper Fire Capt. Patrick McJunkin.

“These are designed to deliver a higher concentration to the animal because it is shaped appropriately,” he said.

The pet masks work with existing oxygen equipment and won’t require additional training for firefighters, he added.

It’s not uncommon for pets to be injured in fires, said Casper Fire Investigator Bob Fawcett. While people know to escape, animals usually hide somewhere in the house.

Fawcett demonstrated the masks Tuesday at a downtown fire station. A glass mask fit easily over the snout of Boogie, a 2-year-old bassett hound, and a rubber seal kept it from sliding off. While Boogie didn’t appear bothered by the gear, Moose, a 2-year-old Beauceron, squirmed when Fawcett covered his snout.

“Normally in the situations we are using this, he probably would not be conscious, so he wouldn’t be fighting this,” Fawcett said.

Nora Pridham of the Central Wyoming Kennel Club began looking into pet oxygen masks last fall while discussing fires with other members of the group. She eventually found the Invisible Fence Company, which agreed to donate $3,000 worth of gear to Casper area fire departments.

The masks come in three different sizes, meaning they can be used on a variety of animals, she said.

“It’s important to have one for your pet,” she said. “The furniture, the house, can be replaced.”

McJunkin said he didn’t know of any other fire agencies in Wyoming that carried pet-specific gear.

“Human life is obviously the priority, but we take this very seriously as well,” he said. “If we have the right tools for a pet to survive, absolutely it’s worth it.”

Reach reporter Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com

End of article….

I just love that idea. Anyway you can help a fire fighter I am all for it. This is what I have on my front door in plain sight!

You can click on the image and drag it to your desk top. Then you can print it for yourself. I laminated mine.

More, you can never be too safe later…..Love, Cat, Chaps and Emma

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