Must-Know Emergency Fire Safety For Your Pets

THE BREGMAN VETERINARY GROUP
www.BregmanVetGroup.com

July 15^th is Pet Fire Safety Day, the best way to celebrate is to be prepared! Here are some tips to avoid an issue and what to do in the case of an emergency.

1. Pet-proof your house.

Keep things out of reach of your pet such as flammable items and electrical wires.

2. Make sure your smoke alarms are working properly.

Replace the batteries regularly and educate your family on fire safety. Each bedroom in your house should have a smoke alarm in it at all times.

3. Check that your pet is microchipped and is wearing a collar with updated information.

This way your pet has a way of being returned to you in case you get separated from them during a fire. Make sure if you move or change your contact information you update your pet’s collars.

4. Never leave your pet alone around an open flame.

If you have a high energy pet it might be best to avoid lighting candles. Absolutely never leave an open flame unattended.

5. Get a rescue alert sticker.

This is to alert a rescue worker that there may be a pet in the home. Be sure to place it on a front-facing window where it can visibly be seen. They can be obtained online at petrescuestickers.com or on Amazon. Some pet stores and non-profit humane organizations offer these stickers for free. If there is ever an emergency, be sure to alert firefighters that a pet is inside.

If you cannot find your pet during an emergency situation and need to evacuate, leave a door open that leads to the outside. Once outside you can then call your pets name, this tends to work better with dogs than with cats.

In case of an emergency call 911 or your local emergency services.

Nassau County Emergency Management (516)573-0636

Nassau County Fire Commission (516)573-9900

Orlando Office of Emergency Management (321)235-5438

Orlando Fire Safety Management/Fire Inspectors (407)246-2386

New York Emergency Management (212)639-9675

The Cat Hospital

877-228-4131

5th Avenue Cat Clinic

718-398-1187

Paws and Claws Veterinary Hospital

718-782-8387

Veterinarian Camp Gives Students Hands-on Experience

THE BREGMAN VETERINARY GROUP

www.bregmanvetgroup.com

A week in vet camp at the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC) in Charlottetown 10 years ago solidified in one 12-year-old Prince Edward Island summer resident’s mind what her future profession would be.

And now, a decade later, Tori Hall, who is starting her second year at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University, has returned to the AVC to be an assistant volunteer for a one-week session.

She is also learning all she can in order to bring the joys of vet camp to children in the Mississippi State region, using the AVC’s award-winning program as a successful model.

“(The AVC camp has) become this well-oiled machine that’s impressive to watch. They know what they’re doing and they do it really well,” says the 22-year-old, who is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Hall’s grandparents, Buzz and the late Jean Hall from Saint John, N.B., were summer residents of P.E.I., so that opened the doors to her special P.E.I. connection that developed when she and her family would migrate north each year.

In fact, Hall’s parents, Doug and Debbie Hall, now have a permanent summer place in Springbrook and are strong patrons of the College of Piping in Summerside.

“We spent months up here at the beach, in the fields, going to the Indian River Festival and the College of Piping, just spending time relaxing on the Island, eating good food,” Hall laughs.

In addition to these memory-building moments, a life-changing one occurred when she attended an AVC vet camp when she was 12.

“I was always very interested in animals, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with animals,” Hall says.

“Then we heard about the vet camp up here, and I was lucky enough to get a spot in it. And after spending a week I kind of had that golden ah-ha! moment where we were able to watch surgeries and we dissected a fish.

“And that was the part of veterinary medicine that’s always intimidating (for me); ‘Could I cut an animal?’ And after going through vet camp and getting experience and watching the doctors I thought, ‘I can really do this.” That really changed my direction I was headed.”

Now in its 13th year, this annual camp is called the Dr. Tim Ogilvie AVC Vet Camp after the AVC faculty member who started it all.