Man’s best friend needs first aid, too

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By Kurt Allemeier | Friday, May 9, 2008 9:06 AM CDT | () comments

Veterinarian Jennifer Ewoldt with the Scott County Animal Hospital demonstrates the proper way to approach an injured animal during a training session on Animal First Aid with members of the Eldridge Fire Department Tuesday May 6, 2008. (Kevin Schmidt/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo

ELDRIDGE, Iowa — Holding an oxygen mask to the snout of a dog rescued from a smoky house fire is common-sense first aid for any firefighter.

Trying to wrangle cows or horses from a barn fire requires more ingenuity. Livestock can be injured in a vehicle accident or afraid of the commotion.

Veterinarian Jennifer Ewoldt offers animal first-aid instruction she hopes allow rural firefighters to look at their many tools in ways that can help injured or frightened animals.

“I’m just trying to teach firemen a few things that might be useful on fire calls and what might be useful at home with their own animals,” Ewoldt said during a presentation this week to Eldridge volunteer firefighters. “It is the matter of what type of materials they have on their truck to protect the animal and themselves.

“We tell them to look around and consider what can be used in these types of situations,” she said. “A ladder can be used to herd and corral large animals.”

Ewoldt, who practices at Scott County Veterinary Hospital in Eldridge, says the best way to approach an injured animal is from the rear or the side.

She made her first presentation to the Blue Grass Fire Department where her husband, Rob, is a member. Along with the Eldridge firefighters, Ewoldt also gave a lesson to the Long Grove Fire Department. She is willing to speak to other volunteer fire departments.

A live animal can be distracting and difficult to demonstrate on, so she uses a handful of props, including a stuffed dog, to demonstrate pet CPR. She shows firefighters how to splint a leg, treat for smoke inhalation, as well as burns, overheating and hypothermia.

Statistics on vehicle crashes or barn fires involving livestock are tough to find, but many volunteer firefighters have a story that involves rescuing family pets or trying to corral livestock on the loose.

“Over the years, we’ve had to deal with pigs where a barn was on fire,” said Long Grove Fire Chief Bob Warren, a 25-year department veteran. “Cats and dogs in a house — you run into that a lot.”

In November, a Clarence man was injured when he hit several horses that got loose on a stretch of road between New Liberty and Plainview. Four horses were killed.

That type of situation requires caution on the part of emergency responders, Ewoldt said.

“It can be very very dangerous,” she said. “Injured horses have a tendency to strike out at people trying to help them.”

Although many volunteer firefighters in the area have grown up around livestock, a refresher course helps, Blue Grass Fire Chief Larry Guy said.

“Calls go out for horses on the roadway, cattle on the roadway — it is even applicable to a deer,” Guy said. “If something is hit by a vehicle, you don’t just approach them.

“They will be very defensive,” he said. “I think for some guys, it was eye-opening.”

Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com.

If you go

What: Pet first-aid class

When: May 17, from 9-11 a.m.

Where: Quad-City Animal Welfare Center, 724 W. 2nd St., Milan, Ill.

Who: Must be older than 14, or older than 12 and accompanied by an adult.

How to enroll: Call (309) 743-2166. Cost is $20 per person or $30 for a couple.