Pet CPR and First Aid class set in Rehoboth Feb. 18

Tara Lausch of Get Your Wag On Pet Sitting and Kerrie Jones of Wags to Riches Grooming will lead a pet CPR and First Aid class from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 18, at 18806 John J. Williams Highway, Rehoboth Beach. Cost is $125 per person.

This is a great course for pet owners, pet professionals, emergency management professionals and anyone who volunteers for a pet rescue organization. 

The training class uses lecture, demonstration and hands-on skills. According to the American Animal Hospital Association, one more out of four pets would survive if just one pet first aid technique was applied prior to emergency veterinary care.

Restraining and muzzling will be demonstrated and practiced. Attendees will learn primary assessment, so in the first 12 seconds of being on a scene they will know what to do and what actions to take.

Rescue breathing will be covered. If a pet patient has a heartbeat but is not breathing when assessed after the first two minutes of CPR, rescue breathing may be administered.

Canine and feline CPR will be covered. Choking management will include how to handle conscious choking and unconscious choking, witnessed and found.

Attendees will have hands-on practice for bleeding and shock management: restraint, muzzle, elevation, direct pressure, constricting hand/band, immobilization, shock management and transportation.

Snout-to-tail assessment procedures for injury and wellness will be covered. A deliberate and systematic assessment from the snout to the tail of the pet is a way of looking for any injuries the pet does not present, or for wellness to create a baseline of a pet's health.

Attendees will learn to assess their pet’s vital signs. If people know what is normal for their pets, they will be able to quickly recognize when a pet is not presenting normally.

Participants will learn what contents, equipment and supplies belong in a pet first aid kit.  Procedures will be taught for insect bites and stings, snakebite, heat and cold injuries, and seizures.

Each student will receive a Pet Saver handbook and a certificate, patch, muzzle and bleeding kit.

With enough interest, the instructors will be offering this course one Sunday every month.

To register, call 302-436-4766.