Last week a little white dog named Jack in Bakersfield, California made news around the world after he was pulled, apparently lifeless, from a house fire. He owes his life to a couple of Girl Scouts and they weren't even there at the time. The two young women had spent time raising the funds to make sure that each fire truck in their community was equipped with a set of pet oxygen masks.
The two scouts, Hailey and Kylie of Troop 376, spent a significant amount of their time last year on a t-shirt selling campaign to raise the funds necessary to buy the masks. This made it possible for the Bakersfield Fire Department to be able to save Jack. For their efforts they earned the Silver Award. This is the highest honor a Girl Scout Cadet can achieve.
There was a time when the best any rescue worker could do was try to revive a pet with an oxygen mask meant for humans. It was not a very efficient method of treatment. This has begun to change over the past few years with the creation of oxygen masks designed specifically for animals. Each set of masks comes in three sizes so that they can fit every pet from a tiny kitten to a big dog.
The homeowner anxiously looked on as firefighters brought the dog from the home and treated him with high-flow oxygen. Check out the video below released by the BFD on a lifeless Jack being treated and revived with their new equipment.
Jack survived his ordeal with some respiratory tract damage and a few burns to his paws. He is now receiving close veterinary care and is expected to make a full recovery thanks to the treatment he received at the scene. He has been reunited with his owner and has received a visit from Matt Smith, the firefighter credited with saving his life.
Members of the BFD consider it an honor to serve their local community and that includes pets, livestock, and wildlife. That is why they are so grateful for the help of the Girl Scouts in providing them with this important new equipment
The number of pets that die in fires each year is not a statistic officially tracked by the U.S. Fire Administration. However, other sources estimate these losses to number between 40k and 150k. As with humans, most die of smoke inhalation. That is a whole lot of lives, and love, lost. This number can be greatly reduced by the use of pet oxygen masks.
Free Pet Oxygen Mask Kits are available through Invisible Fence and their Project Breathe Program. For more information, click here. They estimate that 10,000 pets have been saved so far due to this program.
Images via YouTube
Sources: People, Action News Now, NVFC, 23ABC
