A Well Spent $20
One brisk, Friday morning this past month, the Smith household awoke to a bit of a crisis. When Miss Chelsea went outside to do her business, her business included bloody diarrhea. My usual game plan for such a crisis would be practically throwing the poor dog into the Jeep and driving like a madwoman to the vet's office in an absolute panic.
However, on this particular morning I had the foresight to grab a baggie and go about the incredibly unappetizing task of collecting as much of a stool sample as possible. THEN I threw the dog in the Jeep and drove like a madwoman to the vet's office.
After diagnosing that Chelsea had eaten something that had irritated her intestinal lining and sending her home with a ton of medicine, my vet actually thanked me for bringing in my "gift". He said it was actually a big help.
But why, on this particular morning, did I, the world's biggest pet-hypochondriac, even think to go get that baggie? Because, as it so happens, just the evening before this happened, I took a pet first-aid class offered by my local Red Cross.
Pets are increasingly being seen as part of the family, and not just by their owners either. More and more organizations are also starting to recognize that special bond. And while they are prohibited from allowing pets in their emergency shelters, the Red Cross is one of those organizations.
In addition to offering several pet first-aid kits for sale, many local branches of the Red Cross also offer a 3 hour course in giving animals first aid. The class that I took cost $20, and in my opinion, it was a very good investment of both money and time.
Aside from the actual class, students were also given a spiral bound pet first-aid manual that is easily worth the enrolling fee alone. Furthermore, we also received a folder with information on local emergency clinics and phone numbers, a T-shirt, and a card acknowledging that we took the course.
Our course was taught by a long practicing veterinarian and her faithful Australian Shepherd, and the topics we covered were very useful. We had hands on practice in making emergency muzzles, as well as bandaging an "injured", plush animal. The Australian Shepherd served as a demo dog, as well. With his help, we got the feel of locating an actual canine pulse, and locating the best place give a dog CPR (Note - never actually give CPR to still beating heart, you could make the situation even worse).
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