Families with pets offered free “pets inside” decals to alert rescuers to the presence of pets in the home
Pet parents can breathe a little easier now that local first responders have a special tool to help save family pets in home fires and other situations where your pets need emergency pet care. The Sleepy Hollow Ambulance Corps recently received a donation of two sets of life-saving pet oxygen masks from at-home pet services provider Canine Company.
The kits were requested by EMT Simon Cohen, who helped resuscitate a cat without a mask when he worked with another area ambulance corps. Thankfully, the cat survived. So when he learned about Canine Company’s campaign to outfit first responders with oxygen masks designed for pets, he contacted the company.
Pets are at special risk during a home fire because they are unable to leave the house without help. An estimated 40,000 pets die from smoke inhalation across the U.S. each year. The cone-shaped masks are designed for a pet’s snout, which human masks don’t fit. Each set includes masks in three sizes to fit pets from small mammals to giant breed dogs.
At least 14 pets have been saved so far this year by first responders using the donated masks.
“Our company mission is to help families keep their pets healthy, safe and happy. We do that with our products and services, and with our charitable programs,” said Renee Coughlin of Canine Company. “We are grateful that these first responders care about the well-being of family pets.”
Canine Company helps families across New York, New England and New Jersey keep their pets healthy, safe and happy at home with services like Invisible Fence pet containment systems and Manners dog obedience training. Over the past decade, Canine Company has donated masks to first responders in more than 500 communities across New England, New York and New Jersey.
To ensure rescuers know there are pets in a home, Canine Company provided free “Pets Inside” decals to the fire department for distribution to local pet parents. The stickers are available from the ambulance corps, or can be requested by mail through the Request a Decal form on the company’s website.
Other Westchester first responders that have requested and received masks donations from Canine Company in the past year include the Ardsley-Secor Volunteer Ambulance, the Hastings-on-Hudson Fire Department, the Millwood Fire Department, and the Mouth Kisco Volunteer Fire Department and the Valhalla Ambulance Corps.
The masks come in three sizes to fit a wide range of family pets, from small mammals to giant breed dogs.
