Texas Dog Scouts Equip Firefighters with Pet Resuscitators

Dog Scouts helping Dallas-Fort Worth pets breathe easy during fires

12:00 AM CDT on Friday, July 18, 2008

By BRIDGET BARRY THIAS / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Bridget Barry Thias is a Carrollton-based freelance writer.

No one wants man's best friend to be injured in an unexpected house fire. Across the country, fire departments are recognizing that pets are often considered members of the family, and they are purchasing special equipment to help save them in a fire.

McKinney firefighter Michael Solorzano demonstrates how the $55 resuscitation device fits over the mouth of Duke. The kits fit both dogs and cats. " style="CURSOR: hand" onclick="return clickedImage(this);" height=128 alt="JUAN GARCIA/DMN" src="about:blank/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/07-18-2008.NCC_18mcfocus.GOM2EJDKL.1.jpg" width=175> JUAN GARCIA/DMNMcKinney firefighter Michael Solorzano demonstrates how the $55 resuscitation device fits over the mouth of Duke. The kits fit both dogs and cats.

The McKinney Fire Department recently received a gift of seven canine resuscitation kits from the Dog Scouts of America Troop 119. The kits are designed to revive dogs that have succumbed to excessive smoke inhalation.

"For years we just tried to use human oxygen masks. We tried to retrofit the mask to fit a dog, and that doesn't work well. We are not a mobile veterinary care unit, and these kits are strictly for use in a fire. Our top priority is saving human beings, but in our society, many people consider their pets to be their children and members of their family," said Keri Price Grant, fire and life safety coordinator with the McKinney Fire Department.

According to Ms. Grant, 40,000 pets are killed in fires nationwide every year. She attributes the high number to animals being scared during fires and hiding under beds and in closets. The majority of animals die of being overcome by smoke rather than burns.

Each resuscitation kit is equipped with three sizes of muzzle masks. The kits will be on Fire Department ambulances because they accompany firetrucks to the scene of a fire.

Mandy Hall of McKinney is a member of the Dog Scouts of America Troop 119. They have donated 85 kits to fire departments all over the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Dog Scouts of America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating people about responsible dog ownership.

The troop raised the money for the kits by participating in the Operation Kindness Dog Day Afternoon fundraiser. The kits cost $55 apiece, and the mask is attached to tubing that is connected to an oxygen tank. The mask is then placed over the animal's snout, Ms. Hall said.

She and her 120-pound Great Dane, Simon, presented the kits to McKinney firefighter and paramedic Greg Cox.

"We want to express our generosity to the group for providing us with this tool. Since the masks aren't reusable, the Dog Scout group said they would give us replacement masks as needed," Ms. Grant said.

Visit www.dogscouts1.com.

Bridget Barry Thias is a Carrollton-based freelance writer.