As a Search and Rescue K-9 handler with Central Lakes Search and Rescue, I had to learn First Aid and CPR for dogs. Back in 2003 when I joined, I was surprised I could not find any classes for pet care, let alone CPR and First Aid. Thankfully I have a great vet who worked with me.

Since then, I have trained and certified five dogs in Search and Rescue; Ari, Gus, Jael, Levia, and Rafah. During those years we often had cuts, scrapes, bruises, even a green fracture, but the most devastating was a fall by K-9 Jael in 2016 that took her from me a year later and not long after she helped bring another missing person home. The consensus from the vet community was Jael had suffered from a Traumatic Brain Injury as a result of the fall.

Clearly, TBI is not something we can fix with a CPR and First Aid Class, however, my hope is that by teaching the PetTech family of classes, I will be able to help other pet owners make positive decisions before emergency care is needed, and appropriate actions when something unexpected does happen to their loved companions.