If the smoke alarm goes off in your house, do you have a plan of action for your family? What about for your pets? When 911 has been contacted and the fire fighters are on their way we know they will be able to handle our human emergencies, but are they prepared to handle our pet emergencies as well?
Each year in the United States an estimated half a million pets are affected by fires. According to the Fetch Foundation, more than 40,000 of our family pets die from smoke inhalation alone. Once firefighters secure family from danger, what happens to your four-legged family members? First responders may not have the proper equipment or training to help out your pet. This is where the Fetch Foundation and the Fido Bag© program can help. With the proper tools and knowledge, your pets will have a much higher chance of survival.
Marie Peck is the founder and director of the Fetch Foundation and the Fido Bag program. Marie is the sister of a firefighter and the mother of another. With the stories she heard about pets dying from smoke inhalation or burns because fire fighters or other first responders didn’t have proper equipment to help, motivated her to take action.
Fido bags contain the necessary tools such as pet oxygen masks, burn sheets, bandages, protective restraints, rinsing saline, and other supplies all contained in a bag.
So, what can we do to help out our first responders in making sure they have access to this necessary instrument for pet life saving? Yes! The Fido Bag. You can sponsor a fire department by donating one. To learn more about the program and how you can help, visit the website: The Fetch Foundation.
If you don’t have a fire emergency plan for your family and pets, get one in place and stage a drill. Make sure your pets have proper identification in case of escape. Having a microchip implant for your pet is one of the best, fool proof methods of identification. Support your firefighters, and first responders by providing a Fido Bag. Hopefully you will never have a fire emergency, but if you do, and your pet’s need help, by providing these life saving tools it may one day save YOUR best friend’s life!
