Clearing the Air on Giving CPR to Pets
Sue Rothhammer knows the idea of resuscitating a dog is a turn-off. But as a volunteer pet CPR trainer with the Glendale-Crescenta Valley chapter of the American Red Cross, she knows the value of being able to help a dog who has stopped breathing.
“ ‘I’m not putting my mouth on my dog’s mouth, no matter what’--that’s what I hear people say,” said Rothhammer, 44, of Glendale. “For some . . . people are just looking for a way to take care of their four-legged children.”
Decades ago, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a spouse or a stranger in distress was an emerging idea. But as CPR training for humans has become more common, Rothhammer hopes the idea will translate to pets.
During a recent four-hour class, Rothhammer instructed six students in how to take a pet’s pulse and the proper way to splint a broken bone.
She had an answer for even the most devoted pet owner who might be squeamish about mouth-to-snout contact: Create a mask by cutting off the top third of a plastic soda bottle and placing it over the pet’s muzzle. The pet owner would need to blow only into the the bottle’s nozzle to get air into the animal’s lungs. Small water bottles can work for cats and the larger, liter-sized bottles for bigger dogs.
Proper techniques can buy a pet time, she said.
“You never know when you might run into an animal that needs help,” said Red Cross volunteer Marjorie Eubank, 73, a student in the class.
Rothhammer demonstrated proper techniques for resuscitation and chest compressions on lifelike stuffed animals. She emphasized that CPR can be administered to any animal from cat to hamster to horse, provided the pet owner adjusts the pressure to the animal’s size.
Rothhammer is a hospice nurse for Visiting Nurses, a Glendale organization that visits dying patients and their families in homes and hospitals throughout Los Angeles County. She previously worked as a critical care nurse at Glendale Memorial Hospital.
“I am as passionate for my volunteer work as my hospice work,” Rothhammer said.
Rothhammer’s grandmother, who is 93, volunteered for the Red Cross, knitting washcloths for World War I soldiers. Her 16-year-old daughter, Katie, began volunteering at age 8.
“It’s in my blood,” Rothhammer said. “I want to volunteer [with the Red Cross] forever.”
Rothhammer’s volunteer duties have included staffing booths at community health fairs and providing on-call disaster relief. She has helped victims of the Northridge earthquake in 1994 and Texas floods and tornadoes in 1998. She also helps local victims and emergency crews during emergencies such as house fires.
“I do whatever needs to be done,” she said.
She is the chief volunteer nurse for the Glendale Red Cross and serves on its board of directors. She said she hopes to start a new program to collect and ship comfort items, such as videos, magazines and toothpaste, to American soldiers stationed abroad.
“I just like helping people,” she said. “It could be getting a diaster victim a cup of coffee or holding their hand if the earth is still shaking. I just like being able to fulfill a need at the moment, whatever it is.”
She also likes giving people the ability to react calmly under stress.
“It’s good for people to know they have the ability to save an animal’s life,” she said.
The Los Angeles chapter of the Red Cross developed the concept of a pet CPR class in 1997. The course is now offered in 300 chapters across the country.
The $25 cost includes a Pet First Aid Manual. For more information or to register, call (800) 627-7000.
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