CPR (and oxygen masks) can save pet's lives

Encourage Kindness to Animals!

Highly-acclaimed children's books for your child or organization

CPR (and oxygen masks) can save pet's lives

Updated Dec 8, 2024

Scared and frightened, pets often hide when a fire breaks out, making it difficult for rescuers to find them in a burning home. While more than 40,000 pets die annually in house fires, even more are saved thanks to the heroic efforts of firefighters.

Firefighters now know to look for pets these days, and in the process of rescuing them from under beds and couches, they often have to perform the same life-saving techniques as they do on people — CPR and mouth-to mouth resuscitation. Some fire stations now even carry on their firetrucks specially-designed oxygen masks just for pets since they often need immediate fresh oxygen to recover from smoke inhalation.

While it may sound gross or even difficult to do, mouth-to-mouth and pet CPR are actually easy to learn. As a former Pet CPR instructor, I found a video (above) that will take you step-by-step through the process. Learn how to find your pet’s pulse, how to perfom mouth-to-mouth, and where to find your pet’s heart for CPR.

If you want more hands-on training, contact your local American Red Cross about their Pet CPR classes. You never know when you might be first on the scene.

Please follow and like us:

Nonprofit 501(c) Organizations Copy Usage Notice
Nonprofit 501(c) organizations ONLY are welcome to use these posts on their websites free of charge. Please credit the original article by including the following attribution and with a link to the original article.

For Example:
This article originally appeared on CathyRosenthal.com | CPR (and oxygen masks) can save pet's lives

Thank you for helping us spread the message of compassionate care and responsible pet ownership!

Cathy Rosenthal (aka The Pet Pundit), CHES, CFE

Animal Welfare Communications Strategist, Writer & Educator

Cathy M. Rosenthal is an award-winning humane educator and author, animal welfare strategist, pet columnist, and speaker who has spent more than 38 years working in animal welfare with local and national humane organizations. She helps people better understand and care for animals through her nationally syndicated My Pet World column and has been the longtime pet columnist for the San Antonio Express-News since 2003.

In addition to her writing, Cathy develops humane education, leadership, customer service, and compassion fatigue training programs for animal welfare organizations nationwide, and has helped raise millions of dollars through grant writing, strategic communications, and program development.

Cathy is the editor and curator of Humane Perspectives: Leadership in Animal Welfare and is the author of several books, including Grant Writing Boot Camp for Animal Advocates, The Lucky Tale of Two Dogs, and The Happy Tale of Two Cats, which was the 2026 winner of the Association of Professional Humane Educators’ (APHE) "Educator’s Choice Award" for Best Humane Education Book for Young Children. She also received the 2026 APHE Nathania Gartman Heroes Award for Impact in Humane Education. Her humane education programs in Texas have reached more than 45,000 elementary school children since 2019.

She resides in Texas with her husband, their cat Sterling, and a former community cat, Maddie, who successfully negotiated an indoor living arrangement but still considers human affection highly negotiable.