First aid course planned for dog lovers

Monday 12 November 2018

The GSPCA is running another dog first aid course tonight, which it said will help people save their pets lives.

Charity manager Steve Byrne said the courses have proved popular previously and he thinks they will again, with a number also planned for 2019 already.

Mr Byrne himself runs the course, using his experience gained from more than 20 years working in the field of animal rescue, and with more than 3000 animals being cared for by the GSPCA every year he said he and his team "see cases of animal first aid on a daily basis here in Guernsey."

More than 200 people have already completed the course in Guernsey and Mr Byrne said the lessons learnt over the previous four years mean those pet owners are now in a good position incase their animal has an accident or medical emergency.

“We have been running dog and cat first aid courses for over four years and have trained over 200 participants to help save animals lives.

"As owners of pets our worst fear is not knowing what to do if our four legged friend has an injury and this training helps pet owners learn and understand ways to help save your pets life."

Mr Byrne uses Casper, a model first aid dog to show participants how to carry out CPR on an unconscious dog. A cat course is also planned for next year.

The courses cost a minimum of £20 donation and places must be booked by 17:00 on the day of the course.

The sessions will show you what to do if you were faced with an emergency situation with your dog or cat and the GSPCA will present all participants with "handouts, a few goodies and a certificate."

Pictured top: Steve Byrne and Casper the model dog.