91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

Skip to content

Hot paw summer: Okanagan woman teaches importance of knowing pet first aid

Maddy Ivanoff Pet Services teaches pet first aid in every corner of the Okanagan

With warmer weather comes hikes, beach days, and other summer activities.

The Okanagan is full of animal lovers who love to bring their pets along for the adventure.

Madison Ivanoff runs Maddy Ivanoff Pet Services and says our furry friends are just as prone to danger as we are.

91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœThe first one is definitely heat. We have to be so very careful with the heat that we have in the Okanagan here. Our pets, they come equipped with the little jackets 24/7, so we have to really keep that in mind. They don91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t wear shoes either. The heat hazard alone is a huge one that we need to look out for before we even consider bringing our pet out into the summer.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

Remember the 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ˜Too hot to trot91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™ rule - if you can91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t keep your hand flat on the pavement for seven seconds, it91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s too hot for your pets91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™ paws.

91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœOnce we get out there, there are so many things from bee stings and snake bites as we91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™re hiking around, slivers, broken bones. Perhaps a pet even accidentally darting in front of a vehicle and getting hit by a car. There91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s so many different things to look out for and so many different possibilities of injury.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

Ivanoff teaches pet first aid throughout the Okanagan. When first learning it for herself she was surprised at how different first aid practices are between species.

91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœI took a human CPR course after, but I was unaware of the fact that there are so many differences and I thought a lot of the knowledge was really transferable91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ¦ Sometimes us trying our best can unfortunately cause more harm than we intend to.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

Procedures like CPR and the Heimlich maneuver are not the only things that vary between species. Ivanoff says it91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™s important to be aware of what medications are dangerous for your pet.

91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵœThe topical solutions that we apply to ourselves don91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ™t necessarily translate to our pets. For instance, when we cut ourselves and we want to sanitize it we would use a hydrogen peroxide. That is actually extremely dangerous to use for your animals.91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

Ivanoff says medications are typically species-specific and pet owners should include the proper pet medications in their disaster kits.

Ivanoff hosts both private and public pet first aid courses in every corner of the Okanagan. Classes can be booked by contacting Ivanoff through her .

READ MORE: Okanagan travellers could win free flights for a year

READ MORE: Egg nog for Easter? Kamloops dairy farm releases new chocolate nog ahead of holiday weekend



Brittany Webster

About the Author: Brittany Webster

I am a video journalist based in Kelowna and capturing life in the Okanagan
Read more



(or

91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }