Your Pet’s First Aid Kit: Essentials You Need to Have

Building a first aid kit for your pets is important as there are some essential items that you should have on hand in case of emergencies.

We do not want to think about our pets getting hurt! And I have added many things to my collection since getting my dogs. I wish that I would have had some of these things on hand ahead of time to be prepared. But things can and do happen with your pets so it is best to be ready for it!

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Being that I already have first aid kits in the house we already were somewhat prepared in case of emergency. I have one that I keep in the house and one that I keep in the car and travel with. We have also included a few key things in my dog walking bag so that I am not unprepared should something happen on one of our walks.

Grace Gets Hurt

There are a few things that I have added over time as the circumstance arose, such as the time that Grace cut the pad of her paw at some point. I am not sure if it was during an earlier walk at the beach or if some ice (it was winter) cut her paw. Seeing some blood in the snow on the deck earlier in the day I had not thought much about it as they were eating marrow bones out there and I figured that is where it had come from. It wasn’t until she tracked bloody footprints across the floor later that I realized!

It was at this time that I added gauze wraps specifically for the pups and Betadine solution to the kit! I freaked out when I saw the blood and used what I had on hand to clean and wrap it (some of our gauze from the kit and a sock over top of it) but it was enough for me to add more to the dog’s kit!

Finding ticks on two of my cats over the past year also prompted me to add tick removing tweezers and latex gloves to the mix!

Your safety kit does not have to be fancy, it can be in any old container as long as it is easy to access in case of emergency.

Items to Include in Your Pet First Aid Kit

A list of essential items to have include:

• Gauze pads
• Epsom salts
• Hydrogen peroxide
• First aid scissors
• Tweezers
• First Aid tape
• Cotton balls and cotton swabs
• Small flashlight
• Towels and blankets
• Antiseptic solution
• Latex gloves
• Instant hot and instant cold pack
• Thermometer
• Antihistamine
• Hand sanitizer

You may also want to keep vet records and insurance information handy so that you do not have to look for it in an emergency.

What to Do in Case of Emergency

If you do end up finding yourself in a situation where you need to use it, try not to panic! I know my heart skipped a few beats when Grace cut her paw…it was bleeding a LOT but when I got in there and cleaned it, I could not believe that it was coming from such a small cut! But oh my poor heart! My hands were shaking while I got everything ready. Grace just stood there looking at me like “What’s the panic mom?”

For walks, I take gauze and scissors with me as well as alcohol wipes in case I need to treat something quickly before getting them to the vet. Being prepared to act immediately can be life saving for your pet!

When Out And About

Another thing that can add some peace of mind is making sure that you have the numbers of local vets readily available, including the closest emergency vet and a mobile vet. I live in Ontario, and you can find a vet close to you on the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association’s page here.

There was the one walk where Grace took a nasty tumble in the park when the grass was wet. She let out a yelp like I have never heard her make before and did not get up.

My dogs are BIG dogs. I am not big…I was terrified that if something was really wrong with her that there was about NO WAY I could carry her and manage Benson to get her to the vet. Seriously, I have not been able to pick her up completely since she was four months old…She got up and would not put any pressure on that leg, but after a few minutes she was better so we were able to get back home. But it made me think that if something happened in the future and I couldn’t move her I needed to have some options available.

Preparedness is the most important thing we can do in case of an emergency with our pets! Having a well stocked emergency kit is a great first step. We love our fur babies and would do anything to make sure that they are safe!

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