Red Cross launches pet first aid app
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What do you do if your dog eats too much chocolate? Can you remember what medication your cat takes?
Well, if you don't, the Red Cross can help: the group known for teaching CPR and water safety are including animals in the services they offer.
The organization has rolled out a 99-cent Pet First Aid app (iOS or Android) for smart phones to help pet owners help their pets.
The app has step-by-step instructions and videos to help owners cope with 25 first aid and emergency situations, from burns to frostbite. There's even a how-to video to give CPR to your dog.
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The app joins a suite of other Red Cross smart phone apps, meant to help people deal with everything from tornadoes to wildfires to cardiac arrest.
Spokeswoman Carrie Carlson-Guest, with the Red Cross in Minneapolis, said the new app is an acknowledgement that animals are a concern as much as human health and safety.
"We know how important they are to people," Carlson-Guest says. "This is a great resource to have at your fingertips not just for first aid for Fido or Fifi, its got animal hospital locator in it. It's got a pet-friendly hotel finder."
And like other Red Cross activities, the app puts an emphasis on preparation. There's a place to keep medical and identification information about your pet.
The app is available both for iPhones and smartphones with the Android operating system.
Carlson-Guest says that the cost covers the cost of researching the information for pet owners and developing the app.
