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Unfortunately, even the most careful pet owner may someday be faced with an emergency. The most common emergency is a missing pet. For this reason, it's a good idea to keep photographs of your pet. These can be used for posters or to post at your vet or local grocery store.
For more serious emergencies, remember the following tips. The most important thing to remember is that any injured animal, even your family pet, is extremely frightened and may bite you out or pain or fear. You should always protect yourself before helping the animal. If you have time, put on heavy clothing such as a coat or sweatshirt. Gloves are also a good way to protect your hands. It's also a good idea to muzzle a dog with a scarf or gauze. Be careful not to tie the muzzle too tightly and immediately remove it if the animal begins vomiting. The second most important thing to remember is to get the animal to a veterinarian as soon as possible. While getting the animal to the vet doesn't guarantee survival, it is certainly the creature's best chance.
If you find an animal that is still alive but is unable to get up, create a stretcher out of a blanket or board to transport the animal to your car to take it to the vet. Be careful not to move the animal anymore than absolutely necessary.
If you find an animal that is bleeding, apply pressure to the wound, as you would a human wound, with gauze or cloths until you can get the animal to the vet.
Animal CPR is applied in much the same way as human CPR. However, it is not wise to perform this on an animal you are not familiar with. If your pet is choking, you can try and dislodge the object with your finger. If this doesn't work, try a chest compression, as you would on a human.
If your pet is vomiting, is having convulsions or is having trouble breathing, it may have ingested poison. Unfortunately, by the time symptoms appear, the poison has probably absorbed into your pet's system. In this case, take your pet to the vet immediately. If you discover that your pet has ingested poison just after it has happened, giving your pet a tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide will induce vomiting. However, even if you are able to make your pet vomit immediately, some of the poison may have gotten into its system. Contact your veterinarian immediately for additional treatment.
If your pet has been sprayed by a skunk, don't panic. This is one injury that is not likely to be harmful to the pet, just unbearable to your nose. Wash your pet several times in tomato juice or equal parts vinegar and water. Then wash your pet with pet shampoo. This will not completely remove the smell. In fact, you are likely to smell the skunk everytime your pet gets wet for the next few weeks.
Finally, if you are unable to catch an animal that is loose or injured, call your local animal control to have the animal picked up.
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