Scott Cressman
Independent staff
Animal lovers in Wilmot ? and their pets ? can breathe a little easier now, with the Baden fire station set to receive new oxygen masks designed to help dogs, cats, and other pets after a fire.
The new equipment is the work of the Baden Veterinary Hospital, which received the masks in exchange for a donation to the Farley Foundation, an organization that helps people in need pay for their pets? healthcare.
A fire truck in Baden will soon be equipped with three different mask sizes, designed in a cone shape to fit over the snouts of various cats and dogs, or even birds and guinea pigs or other rodents.
The mask kit will boost first responders? abilities to give oxygen to distressed pets after an emergency, said Rebecca Ricker, owner and vet at the Baden Veterinary Hospital. The masks will attach to the same oxygen tanks that fire fighters use to help people.
For many people, pets are like family, she said.
?These poor people who have had their lives destroyed by fires? to lose a family member on top of it all is devastating,? Ricker said. ?Proper equipment is essential.?
As a vet, Ricker has seen first-hand the injuries pets can sustain in a blaze. In a frightening situation like a fire, an animal?s instinct is often to hide somewhere, she explained. A scared pet doesn?t leave the house, which leads to breathing toxic smoke or carbon monoxide.
?They?re typically in there longer and can suffer smoke inhalation,? Ricker said. ?They don?t really realize what?s going on.?
The Baden fire department will get the new equipment at an open house at the Baden Vet Hospital on June 22 at 11 a.m. The open house will also celebrate the local animal clinic?s first five years in business.
These masks are provided by Project Breathe, an initiative of the Invisible Fence Brand company, in exchange for the Baden Vet Hospital?s donation to the Farley Foundation.
?It?s quite a wonderful undertaking,? Ricker said. ?It?s a win-win situation.?
Since it started in 2008, Project Breathe has donated more than?10,000 masks to North America fire stations, with over 1,500 donated in Canada and more being added each month. Fire stations in six different provinces currently have these pet oxygen masks.
The company says that an estimated 40,000 to 150,000 pets die each year in fire in the U.S., mostly due to smoke inhalation.
The project aims to equip all fire stations across North America, said Susan Thompson, director of dealer relations at Invisible Fence Brand. Residents or fire chiefs are encouraged to be in touch to get their own kits.
The Farley Foundation was established by the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association to help people in need pay for their pet?s health costs.
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