It's sad that we have to enact laws to
protect first responders from lawsuits. This story made me smile though.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Until a new law was passed this spring, it was against the law in Ohio — along with many other states — for firefighters or paramedics to provide basic first aid to dogs and cats rescued from house fires, car accidents or other crisis situations. Only licensed veterinarians could do that.
The legislation passed recently makes Ohio one of the first states to protect first responders who administer lifesaving aid to pets, companion animals or police dogs in crisis. Animal advocates say they hope the statute, which they liken to laws protecting good Samaritans who come to the aid of injured humans, removes hesitation for first responders who might have concerns about tending to injured pets.
The law will allow first responders to, without fear of liability, provide oxygen, perform mouth-to-snout resuscitation, try to stem bleeding, bandage and even administer the overdose antidote naloxone to dogs or cats that have ingested opiates. Liability has been a concern because owners of pets have sued first responders who treated animals that ended up dying.
"It's another layer of protection for the good guys," said Cory Smith, director of public policy for companion animals at The Humane Society of the United States.
Wow - I didn't know that they had to have a vet treat injured animals; seems like almost every home has a cat or dog or several. Up here, some firehouses are equipped with pet oxygen mask kits and get animal first aid and rescue training.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of anything like the Disaster Animal Response Team down there?
ReplyDeleteI hope no one thinks I'm being disrespectful but I love that the picture of the dog and the picture of aridog line up with each other. I think aridog would have liked that :)
ReplyDelete:-) If it was a GSD it would be perfect! :-)
DeleteIt's not disrespectful, it's unintentionally perfect! I'm smiling...he would have loved it. :)
DeleteI hadn't noticed that, it's just right :-)
ReplyDeleteA number of years ago a law was passed, in California as I recall, that would limit liability of doctors who stopped to provide aid for people injured in events such as traffic accidents. What was happening was that doctors who stopped and rendered aid -- with limited equipment and supplies -- were being sued for malpractice if there were any problems. Doctors stopped giving aid in those circumstances. Yeah, that sure made things better.
ReplyDelete