By Marissa GOULD, intern

The Crescenta-Cañada community is in love with their dogs. They take them for walks, buy the best pet food, and even built a dog park. But sometimes, when their dogs get seriously injured or sick, the owners don’t know what to do. To answer those questions, the Crescenta-Cañada Pet Hospital offered the first of its pet first aid seminars on April 22.

The seminars are given by Dr. James Speas, the owner and executive director of the hospital. One of the goals was to define what is an emergency and what isn’t.

“Some emergencies,” Speas said, “can be avoided.” An emergency like a dog eating chocolate can easily be avoided by simply putting the chocolate in a place the dog can’t reach, for example. He also gave instructions on what to do in the event a dog is bitten by bugs or even a snake. He also offered advice on how to handle more serious situations, like if a dog gets hit by a car or, for smaller dogs, what to do if they fall off of a high place.

Speas said that it is rare that dog fights happen at our local dog park, but the seminar taught how to break up a dog fight without the pet parent being hurt in the process. He also talked about the safest way to transport wounded dogs to the pet hospital.

Cat care wasn’t left out of the first aid seminar. The seminar also covered how to help a cat if it had a respiratory problem.

The initial pet first aid seminar, held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., was followed by a second on April 30. Future seminars will be determined.

  Marissa GOULD