This Coastal Connection is sponsored by Baths by Spicer Bros.
MILLSBORO, Del.- For pet owners, animals are more than companions, they’re family. That’s why one local neighborhood group is making sure first responders are prepared to help every member of the household, furry or feathered.
The Peninsula Lakes Animal Lovers group is donating pet oxygen masks to local fire departments with Indian River Fire Company receiving one of the first sets.
The effort is led by resident Pat Halko, who shares her home with her poodles Graycie and Kandi. She’s also the driving force behind the group’s latest mission: providing life-saving equipment to help first responders rescue pets from fires.
“Each kit comes complete,” Halko said. “There’s actually a set of three masks — a large, a small, a medium — all the tubing, training information, paperwork. Anything the department needs is in here.”
The masks are shaped to fit a pet’s snout and can be used on animals ranging from dogs and cats to birds and even pigs.
“They can be used on various species,” Halko said.
Pet oxygen masks displayed on stuffed animal dogs to demonstrate how they're used in emergencies.
Each kit costs about $130, and the group raises funds through bake sales, luncheons and other events.
“It’s something they have if they need it,” Halko said. “We wouldn’t want them to have to, you know, rely on it.”
But the Indian River Fire Company has relied on them, and with success.
“Over the last year we have had two instances,” said Fire Company President Patrick Miller. “One in Millsboro where there was a pet involved, where they were successful in resuscitating and bringing the dog back… and the second was a successful event.”
“They were beneficial,” Miller added. “It gives them a better quality of air delivery to their lungs and their body, as opposed to another device that we would have to makeshift.”
Thanks to the group's donations, fire departments in Lewes and Millsboro now have their own kits as well.
“First responders are the lifeline for us,” Halko said. “So it is important to support them and give any help we can.”
More information about the pet oxygen masks can be found here.