Kennel Club donating pet revival kits to Watertown Fire Department

Often when firefighters respond to house fires, pets are lost, said Watertown Fire Chief Dale C. Herman.

“They are members of the families, and we can use more efficient means to save them and to help out our friends,” he said.

Today, the North Country Kennel Club is giving Herman’s department that means — three times, actually.

A veterinarian will join Jeannine E. McKnight, the kennel club’s president, at the Massey Street fire station to help demonstrate to firefighters how to properly use the Pet Oxygen Recovery Mask and Resuscitation kit to save the lives of dogs and cats that have been overcome by smoke in fires. Three units, priced at about $80 each, are being donated to the department.

Ms. McKnight said Tuesday her group hopes to make similar donations in future years to volunteer fire departments in the county and welcomes inquiries to its website, northcountrykennelclub.com.

Club members suggested the donation after becoming aware of a recent fire in Utica, where the fire department is equipped with the device. A dog was given up for dead but suddenly sat up, she said.

“Other kennel clubs have been doing this, and now we are going to try catching up to them,” she said.

Chief Herman said Guilfoyle Ambulance personnel have done their best in the past to treat pets at fire scenes, but the oxygen flow required by animals is not the same as for humans and the human masks are not a good fit for pets.