Pet First Aid Training Comes to the Rescue for a Penn Vet Student and Her Dog

One day last fall, Alison Kowalski, V’26, and her best canine friend, Kona, were enjoying a great game of fetch in a field near where they live. Kona was having so much fun, she didn’t want to stop. And since it was a temperate day, only about 65 degrees, Kowalski let the play go on.

But on the walk home, Kowalski saw that something was definitely not right with her Lab mix girl.

“I noticed she was walking with her tail between her legs, which is really weird for her,” Kowalski said. “Then she was pulling me over to shade and trying to lie down, which is really also very strange for her.”

When they got home, Kona didn’t even head for her water bowl as she usually would.

“She had a couple of weird steps where she seemed unsteady, and then just flopped down on the ground. At that point, I knew something was weird.”

Heatstroke struck her as the most likely culprit because they had been exercising. Quickly, she got Kona into her bathtub and turned on the shower’s cold water, her Penn Vet first aid training kicking into high alert. As the cold water continued to shower down on her, Kona began lapping up some of the water.

Kowalski took Kona’s temperature.

“It was 107, which is really scary for a dog,” she said.

Kowalski called a friend, and they drove Kona to Ryan Hospital. By the time they arrived, Kona’s temperature was down to about 103. Her physical exam and blood work were both normal. Kowalski credits the 15 minutes Kona spent cooling off in the shower before they got her to the hospital.

“I really do feel the water made a big difference,” she said.

Pet First Aid is valuable for all animal lovers. There’s even an app!

You don’t have to be a future veterinarian for a working knowledge of pet first aid, as well as awareness of animal health signs, to one day save your furry friend’s life.

“I always start this type of conversation by having owners learn what’s normal for their pet as far as vital signs and daily habits,” said Deborah Mandell, Penn Vet professor of emergency and critical care and the National Red Cross Pet Care Advisor.

That includes what healthy gum color looks like and what their normal pulse and heart rates feel like, she said, so they can be checked if there is a concern.

Also important, she said, is knowing your pet’s behaviors, just as Kowalski noticed from the walk home that Kona wasn’t acting like herself.

“We know that dogs and cats hide their symptoms really, really well, so by the time they start showing signs, things can be pretty advanced,” Mandell said.

If your pup is only eating half his food or suddenly doesn’t want to go for walks, or your cat, who is always at the door to welcome you home, now only wants to hide and sleep, it’s probably time to talk to their veterinarian.

Knowing first aid practices to help deal with various emergency situations can be the difference between life and death. Mandell encourages pet owners to download and become familiar with the Red Cross’ Pet First Aid app. It provides instruction on proper CPR technique, dealing with choking, wound cleaning and wrapping, and advice on assisting dogs and cats in the early stages of numerous emergency situations, including burns, drowning, falls, frostbite, heat-related problems, and others.

Be knowledgeable, be prepared

Owners should also have basic pet first-aid supplies on hand. There are pet first aid kits for sale online. Mandell advises having a thermometer, ideally one your pet will tolerate (rectal or aural/ear). Other useful supplies are saline to flush out wounds, clippers to trim fur if needed, a tool to remove ticks, and, for dogs, an extra leash and possibly a muzzle.

Also very important is having a home emergency disaster plan.

“We always say: Practice your emergency drills, getting out of the house with your pets,” Mandell said. “That means not only do you know where they would hide, but how you’re going to get them out of the house and then what you are going to do.”

First aid is the initial response to an emergency. But Mandell stresses it should be followed up with professional care.

“First aid is not in place of veterinary care,” she said. “It’s what to do until you get them to the veterinarian. I think that’s also a big, important fact.”

After graduation, Kowalski plans to enter practice as a small-animal emergency veterinarian. She says she will encourage the owners of her patients to learn the proper way to perform first aid procedures and to follow up with veterinary care.

One common example she gave is when a dog gets a broken toenail, or the owner trims a nail too short, leading to a lot of bleeding. Too often, people will put on a bandage too tightly, cutting off circulation or even causing necrosis of the toe, she said.

“What they can do at home is get a little bit of corn starch and put that on the bleed. That can help stop the bleeding,” Kowalski said. “Then they can get to their regular vet if they need further care or antibiotics.”

And Kowalski will also share her knowledge about heatstroke and how to avoid a scary episode like the one she had with Kona.

“I’ll definitely tell my owners of dogs that have a high exercise drive to make sure that their dogs are taking breaks even if they seem like they’re fine and can keep going,” she said. “I’ll tell them that even in 60-to-65-degree weather, heatstroke is a concern. It can still happen.”