Just wanted everyone to know that the American Red Cross is addressing
the needs of pets and their families.  Some chapters now offer a four
hour Pet First Aid course.  The course covers choking emergencies, rescue
breathing, CPR, bleeding, etc.  While dog and cat manikins are used in
the course to train participants, the principles can be applied to other
fuzzies if one knows the resting respiration and pulse rate of their pets.
Yes, I work for the Red Cross in Burlington County, NJ, as Coordinator of
Community Programming/Specialized Initiatives, and we have a ferret mascot
named Velcro, who comes to our exhibits and publicizes our pet disaster
planning project in our area.  (By the way, if anyone knows where I can
get a ferret manikin that has a simulated lung and trachea, let me know.
I could use it in our pet first aid classes.)  I have realized that pet
owners, like myself, can influence others to recognize pets in community
disaster planning.
 
If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [log in to unmask]
 
Thanks,
Kim Kukis
[Posted in FML issue 3686]