Pet First Aid Awareness Month provides an opportunity for veterinarians to discuss emergency preparedness with clients. According to the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), 25 percent more pets would survive if just one pet first aid technique were applied before receiving emergency veterinary care. Besides calling their veterinarian or an emergency clinic, pet owners may not be prepared to handle a medical emergency. But, the following tips may be beneficial to your clients and can even help save a pet’s life.
Buy Multiple Pet First-Aid Kits
Pet parents should consider purchasing two pet first-aid kits–one for the home and one for the road. These should include important medical documents, such as medical records, allergies, and microchip information. These records are especially important in the event that a pet owner would need to take their pet to a different vet while traveling or to an emergency clinic outside their regular vet’s business hours. The American Veterinary Medical Association has recommended a list of supplies that should be included in every pet first aid kit.
Consider Pet Insurance
Pet insurance provides your clients with an opportunity to be prepared in the event their pet experiences a medical emergency. Pet insurance may be beneficial for anyone whose pets have frequent medical issues. You can also help pet owners determine which provider and plan is right for their pet’s particular needs. You can also recommend other resources that pet parents can use on their own or that will help you compare the cost of insurance with the typical cost of a vet emergency. Creating a pet emergency fund is another possibility if pet owners aren’t sure about pet insurance.
Offer First Aid Workshops
While many Humane Societies offer pet first-aid workshops, you may want to consider offering your own. You can open it up just to your clients if you want smaller classes or offer it to the community as a free service to help create awareness of your practice. You can also post tips to your social media accounts that may be relevant to your clients.
Educate Pet Sitters
Encourage clients to make sure that pet sitters have all the necessary information they need to deal with a pet emergency. If the pet sitter has a dog or cat, they may already be more aware of questions to ask the owners, such as “Where’s the nearest emergency vet clinic?” Giving pet sitters a list of important numbers could also save a life. Pet Sitters International provides useful information for frequent pet sitters on how to manage an emergency medical issue.
There are many ways to ensure that your clients know what to do in an emergency and are prepared for the unexpected. Help them prepare for any kind of pet emergency by sharing these tips.
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