It's not a scenario
you want to imagine: finding your dog unconscious on your living room
floor or your cat hit by a car. Finding your pet not breathing or with
his heart not beating can be a terrifying experience, but there are
things you can do. The most important step you can take is staying calm.
If there's another person with you, have her call your veterinarian
while you perform CPR.
Step 1: Check for responsiveness
Before you begin doing anything to your pet, make sure he is truly
unresponsive.
- Check his breathing by placing
your hand in front of his nose and mouth. (Be sure not to cover them
and block his airway!)
- Check for his heartbeat by placing
your ear against area where your pet's left elbow touches the chest.
Step 2: Secure an airway
If you don't see or feel your pet breathing, you immediately need to
make sure his airway is clear.
- Carefully pull his tongue forward
out of his mouth. (Even an unresponsive animal can bite by
instinct.)
- Look into the throat for a foreign
object. If you find one, remove it carefully. (See Pet First Aid for
instructions on responding to choking in pets.)
- Move the head until the neck is
straight. (Don't move the neck if you suspect it is injured.)
Step 3: Rescue breathing
- Close your pet's mouth and breathe
directly into his nose
not his mouth
until his chest expands.
- If the chest doesn't expand, check
again for a foreign object in the throat and reposition the airway
so it is straight.
- Once you've gotten the chest to
expand, continue the rescue breathing, repeating the breaths 12 to
15 times per minute (once every four to five seconds).
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Step 4: Chest
compressions
Do not begin chest compressions until you've secured an airway and
started rescue breathing.
- Gently lay your pet on his right
side.
- The heart is located in the lower
half of the chest on the left side, behind the elbow of the front
left leg. Place one hand below the heart to support the chest; place
the other hand over the heart.
- Press down gently on your pet's
heart. Press down about one inch for medium-sized dogs; press harder
for larger animals and with less force for smaller animals. To
massage the hearts of cats and other tiny pets, compress the chest
with the thumb and forefingers of one hand.
- Press down 80-120 times per minute
for larger animals and 100-150 times per minute for smaller ones.
- Alternate the chest compressions
with the rescue breaths.
Continue the heart massage compressions
and the rescue breathing until you can hear a heartbeat and feel regular
breathing. Once your pet is breathing and his heart is beating, call
your veterinarian immediately.
Unfortunately, even in the hands of well-trained veterinary health
professionals, the overall chance for success with resuscitation is low.
In an emergency, however, it may give your pet his only chance. |