WESTMINSTER – Dillon, a five-year-old Labrador mix, stared at the cone-shaped mask covering his snout Thursday and offered a resigned stare to his owner, Carla Crabtree.
“That’s a good boy,” said Crabtree. “See, it’s not so bad.”
Especially if the mask will save his life or the lives of thousands of other dogs and cats in Colorado who face the danger of smoke inhalation in a house fire.
That’s the point behind a campaign to deliver dozens of oxygen masks especially designed for pets to firehouses in the metro area.
All six Westminster Fire Department stations received a set each of the oxygen masks from Best Friends Pet Care, a national chain of boarding kennels. Stephanie Ellis, district manager for Best Friends, delivered a kit of oxygen masks to Westminster Deputy Fire Chief Ken Watkins on Thursday.
Dillon was on hand to demonstrate how the masks work. Each kit – which costs $50 each – contains masks in three sizes. There is one for larger dogs, one for medium sized dogs and a smaller device for little dogs and cats.
They are light and can be cleaned for repeated use. They can also be adapted for dogs that don’t quite fit the mold. “If you have a bulldog or any other smooshed-faced dog, you can take the rubber siding off to fit them too,” Eillis said.
Conventional human masks are often ineffective when used on a dog or cat, because they are flatter and can’t deliver the oxygen an animal needs to survive a smoky home, said Watkins.
“Sometimes we are successful saving that dog, and sometimes we are not,” Watkins said. “Anytime you lose a victim to a house fire, whether it’s a human or animal, it’s a tragedy.”
More than 40,000 family pets died in home fires in the U.S. last year but dozens of others were saved because local fire departments had been outfitted with special pet oxygen masks, according to Best Friends.
Local citizens donate funds to the oxygen mask campaign and so far, 2,500 sets of masks have been donated to more than 450 fire departments across the country, Ellis said.
The Westminster firefighters, many of whom are pet owners, were happy with the newest tool to save four-legged family members.
“It will make our job a lot easier,” said firefighter Marcos Zavala. “And it will save some lives.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or at mwhaley@denverpost.com.
For more information go to www.bestfriendspetcare.com or call Debra Bennetts, 203-846-4660 at Best Friends.
