Vet to teach class on saving your pet's life
A holistic veterinarian, who still makes house calls to many of his Northwest four-legged patients, will teach pet CPR and other health tips Saturday at Harper College.
Dr. John Hanover, of the Animal Hospital of Gurnee, will teach a noncredit adult education course in basic pet first aid called "How to Save Your Pet's Life."
The class - which covers both dogs and cats - takes place from 9 to 11:30 a.m. in Room Y 116 of the Avante Center for Science, Health Careers and Emerging Technologies, located in the center of Harper's Palatine campus. The cost is $39. To register, call (847) 925-6300 or visit harpercollege.edu/ce.
"People are always trying to figure out if their pet is in an emergency, and whether they should call their vet or take them to an emergency treatment center," Hanover says. "This teaches them the information and triage skills they need to make that determination."
Such a situation played out dramatically in Palatine recently, when an 8-year old boxer collapsed. It had no pulse and was not breathing.
Laurie Kay, a pet message therapist on staff, immediately started mouth-to-nose resuscitation, reviving the dog, which then was treated at an emergency center for a heart condition.
"Even though I've been trained in CPR for people and for dogs," Kay said, "I never thought I'd have to use it."
Hanover teaches students how to take their pets' vitals, including temperature, pulse, and evaluating lymph nodes. He uses his own 3-year old dog, which is a cross between an Italian greyhound and a whippet, for demonstrations.
From there, he moves on to how to handle bleeding, treatment for poisoning, what basic first-aid equipment to have on hand, and how to identify normal function of the liver, kidney, urinary tract and eye.
Hanover also covers what to do in order to stabilize your pet if he suffers a broken leg or is hit by a car.
During the class, he will cover the basic principles of CPR, as well as teaching a basic acupuncture point that will strengthen breathing and heart function if a pet has collapsed.
For those students looking to learn animal CPR, he suggests taking another course which teaches the technique and covers situations when it is recommended.
Scott Cashman, continuing education manager at Harper, says the pet first aid course has been offered each of the last four years, and typically draws between eight and 15 students.
"It draws people who are very dedicated to their pets," Cashman says, "and have their best interest in mind."