Second Chance Donates Oxygen Masks

From an article in the Wellsboro Gazette :

Losing belongings or a home in a fire or other disaster is bad enough, but for people who love their pets, losing an animal can be worse than not having a place to live.

For firefighters and other rescue personnel, it can be frustrating to not have the tools on hand that could help save a dog or cat.

"Most departments are willing to try, but they don't have the equipment," says Dave Burket, Wellsboro, one of the founders of Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries. The people (oxygen) masks' just don't fit.

He adds that asking departments to buy resuscitation masks for animals is asking a lot of volunteers already struggling to purchase the equipment they need to save buildings and people.

Burket said Second Chance members came across information about an organization in Florida that had pet oxygen masks for sale at a very reasonable price.

The masks, manufactured by the Wisconsin based SurgiVet (SurgiVet makes veterinarian anesthesia and monitoring equipment), come in sets of three different sizes, are reusable, and are designed to work with air tanks already on rescue equipment and fire trucks.

Using money donated by area residents over the past few years, Second Chance bought 20 sets, one for each of the county's 17 departments and three for the out-of-county departments that sometimes respond to incidents here.

For more information, contact Second Chance Animal Sanctuaries at P .O. Box 293, Wellsboro, at 570-724-7919