Red Cross launches pet first aid app
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.