Penasquitos woman is offering pet CPR training
By Emily Sorensen
Rancho Penasquitos resident Jennifer Taylor just wants everyone to know how to save their pet’s life.
“Everyone should know pet CPR,” said Taylor, who owns JenLovesPets, a professional dog walking and pet sitting business. “Any pet lover, pet owner, pet care professional, teenagers, pet parents. Even if you’re not a pet lover, you should know pet CPR and first aid in case you come across a pet that has been injured or hit by a car.”
Taylor recently completed her instructor training through Pet Tech for pet CPR and pet first aid and care, training she plans to not only use in her own business, but to train others in the same skills. “I need to know pet first aid in order to give my customers the best quality service,” said Taylor, who will be teaching the eight-hour, hands-on classes.
Though Taylor has always loved animals, she never thought that one day, she would be a professional pet sitter. After being forced to leave her previous profession due to an auto-immune illness, Taylor was left on disability and chafing at not working. “I hated not working,” said Taylor. She said she realized while taking a friend’s dog to the park that working with animals left her feeling physically and mentally better, and started her JenLovesPets, her own pet sitting business, allowing her to support herself in a much less stressful and healthier way.
Taylor said her new training has not only taught her how to properly give CPR to dogs, cats and other small animals, but first aid of all kinds, including handling snake bites, dealing with critical injuries, caring for an elderly pet, and how and when euthanasia should be used. “[Euthanasia] is a scary word for pet owners, but they need to know when it’s OK to euthanize [their pets],” said Taylor.
Learning the best way to care for an elderly pet is also something Taylor thinks is important for people to learn. “They need a different kind of diet, and you need to keep an eye on their water, because they’ll stop drinking at a certain point,” said Taylor. “[Elderly animals] will also need to potty more often, and you’ll have to clean up more messes.”
Though tutorials and techniques on pet CPR are available online or through the Red Cross, Taylor said she found the information minimal and not always accurate. “I took a Red Cross class for pet CPR, and it was very minimal,” said Taylor. “Pet Tech was more in-depth.”
Most importantly, Taylor said, was learning that different sizes and breeds of dog require different CPR techniques, much like how human CPR techniques for babies and adults are very different. “I learned rescue breathing for everything from a small chihuahua to a lab,” said Taylor. Cat rescue breathing, according to Taylor, is very similar to CPR for a small dog.
Taylor said she has had to use her new pet first aid skills twice, though neither time has required her pet CPR skills. “It’s my goal for everyone to take the course [and learn pet CPR], and never have to use their CPR skills,” said Taylor.
For more information on how you can learn more about pet CPR and pet first aid, contact Jennifer Taylor at 858-205-8132 or
, or visit
.
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