Emergency Care for Your Pet- Living and Learning

 

Emergency Care for Your Pet

Photo by Mikhail Nilov: https://www.pexels.com

Unfortunately, incidents do occur. Pet parents may find it challenging to make logical judgments when a medical emergency affects their furry pals, especially if it happens in the middle of the night. Because of this, having an emergency plan in place before you need one is essential.

Locating Emergency Care for Your Pet 24 hours a day

Consult your pet's veterinarian about an emergency plan. Does your veterinarian offer round-the-clock assistance or does he or she collaborate with a nearby urgent care facility? Some practises employ many veterinarians who alternate after-hours on-call duties. Find out whether your primary veterinarian has any partners who could respond to an emergency call. Additionally, it's a good idea to maintain your local emergency clinic's name, phone number, and address written on the refrigerator or saved in your cell phone for quick access.

How to Tell If Your Pet Needs Emergency Care

Due to serious trauma—resulting from an accident or fall—choking, heatstroke, an insect bite, home poisoning, or other life-threatening circumstances, your dog may need emergency care. Here are a few indicators that someone needs emergency care:

• White gums
• quickly breathing
• weak or rapid heartbeat
• alteration in body temperature
• Having trouble standing
• a seeming paralysis
• consciousness loss
• Seizures
• a lot of blood

Future Steps

Serious injuries can lead to aggressive behaviour in pets, therefore it's crucial to first safeguard oneself from harm.

For dogs, kneel down, quietly approach your dog, and then call him by name. Make an assistance request if the dog acts aggressively. Create a temporary stretcher and gently hoist him onto it if he is unresponsive. In case he has sustained any spinal injuries, be sure to brace his neck and back.

For cats, gently cover the cat's head with a blanket or towel to prevent biting, then softly remove the cat and put her in a box or carrier with an open top. In case the cat has spinal damage, be careful to hold her head and prevent neck twisting.

Bring your pet as soon as you are comfortable and secure doing so to an emergency care centre. To let the staff know you and your pet are coming, ask a friend or family member to call the clinic.

Treatments for First Aid at Home

The majority of crises call for rapid veterinarian care, however basic first aid techniques might enable you to stabilise your pet for travel.

Try elevating the wound and applying pressure if your pet has external bleeding as a result of trauma.

If your pet is choking, try removing the obstruction with your fingers in his mouth.

Perform a modified Heimlich manoeuvre by giving him a quick smack on the chest to dislodge the foreign item if you are unable to remove it.

How to Give CPR to Your Pet

If your pet is still unconscious after you have removed the choking object, CPR may be required. First, make sure he is breathing. In the event that not, lay him on his side and execute artificial respiration by stretching out his head and neck, keeping his jaws closed, and blowing into his nostrils once every three seconds. (Check that there is no air leak between your mouth and the animal's nose.) If you don't feel a heartbeat, add cardiac massage to the artificial respiration you're giving your dog—three short, forceful chest compressions for each respiration—until he starts breathing normally again.

How to Respond If Your Pet Consumes Poison

Call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center's 24-hour hotline if you believe your pet has consumed a poison. Trained toxicologists will evaluate your pet's age, health, diet, and other factors before recommending a course of action, such as whether to induce vomiting, based on their findings.