Firefighters are increasingly using tiny oxygen masks to save pets.
On Monday afternoon a house in Oregon caught fire with two cats inside. The cats were found unconscious when the Oregon's Clackamas Fire Department arrived at the scene.
Luckily they were able to save both felines with their pet-sized oxygen masks.
"We've had the oxygen masks for pets for a number of years, and they've been used in several incidents to resuscitate dogs and cats successfully. We use them quite regularly," Brandon Paxton, from Oregon's Clackamas Fire Department, told The Dodo. "In fact, this recent rescue was the second incident we've used them for in the last month."
These tiny oxygen masks aren't always carried around by firefighters, but several firefighters have used makeshift masks in times of desperate needs.
In May 2014, firefighters responding to a call at a Virginia house found an unconscious dog inside the burning house. Since the dog was large, the firefighters figured an adult oxygen mask might be able to pump enough oxygen back into him. Their speculations ended up working, and Keiser the dog was able to walk out of an animal hospital a few days later in full health.
In another instance, a pet tortoise was saved by a team of firefighters using an improvised oxygen tent. A human oxygen mask would have been too small, but the team put the little guy in a tent made from the hoods firefighters use to protect themselves from smoke. Eventually Enzo the tortoise regained consciousness.
Although these stories ended happily, an estimated 40,000 to 150,000 pets die each year in fires, according to Project Breathe.
Project Breathe is an initiative based in Wisconsin that is working to give pet oxygen masks to all fire departments and first responders throughout the state.
With its efforts, along with other pet organizations with similar agendas, hopefully more pets will be resuscitated and get the help they deserve when they are caught in a fire.
For those who don't want to gamble on a firefighter having the necessary oxygen mask to save your pet, there are places to purchase your own pet oxygen mask - just in case.
