First aid ·
the calm protocol.

Same principles as human first aid, adapted for animals: Airway, Breathing, Circulation, plus a fourth — Disability and exposure. Memorize the order. Practice the order. In the moment your hands need to know without your brain having to think.

A · Airway

Is the animal breathing? If not, check the mouth — anything obstructing? Be careful: a panicked dog may bite reflexively. For unconscious animals, gently pull the tongue forward and check for foreign objects.

B · Breathing

Watch the chest rise and fall. Normal resting respiratory rate: dog 10–30, cat 20–30, horse 8–14 per minute. Doubled or labored = serious. Open-mouth breathing in a cat is always an emergency.

C · Circulation

Check gum color (pink = good, white/blue/grey = serious), capillary refill time (press gum, color returns in <2 seconds = good), and pulse. Femoral artery on the inside of the thigh is the most accessible.

D · Disability and exposure

Is the animal responsive? Aware of you? Can it move all four limbs? Look for obvious injuries, bleeding, asymmetry. Then keep them warm — shock drops body temperature fast.

Ninety percent of in-home emergencies you will see fall into these ten categories. Memorize each first action.

You will practice CPR hands-on at the Zürich intensive on a CPR-rated mannequin. This lesson gives you the cognitive map. The RECOVER 2024 guidelines (Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation) are the current global standard — published June 26, 2024, in JVECC and the first major revision since 2012. They are also the first veterinary clinical guidelines developed using the GRADE methodology (135 PICO questions, 200+ evidence evaluators), with new algorithms for size and chest shape.

Recognize cardiac arrest

Unresponsive · not breathing · no pulse. All three. Do not start CPR on a breathing animal — you'll cause harm.

The cycle

1. Lay on right side (most dogs and cats). Wide-chested dogs (Bulldogs, Boxers) lie on their back.
2. Compressions · 100–120 per minute. Depth: 1/3 to 1/2 the chest width. Hands over the highest point of the chest for most dogs; over the heart (just behind elbow) for cats and small dogs. Don't lean — fully release between compressions.
3. Breaths · 30 compressions, then 2 breaths. Mouth-to-snout, sealing the lips. Just enough to see the chest rise.
4. Continue · in 2-minute cycles. Reassess for pulse and breathing between cycles. Continue until vet takes over or 20 minutes have passed.

You are highly unlikely to perform CPR successfully — out-of-hospital animal CPR survival is in single-digit percentages. But the families you've stayed calm and competent for, in the worst moment of their year, will remember it for the rest of their lives. That alone justifies the training.

"In the moment, your calm is the most useful thing in the room."

The hardest call as a Care Partner is "vet now vs. monitor." Get it wrong toward "monitor" and you risk delay. Get it wrong toward "vet now" and the owner pays for a non-event. The decision tree below is the operational standard at PETVITY.

VET NOW · without further delay

• Difficulty breathing or open-mouth breathing in a cat.
• Unproductive vomiting/retching with distended abdomen.
• Male cat straining to urinate without producing.
• Active bleeding that doesn't stop with 5 min direct pressure.
• Seizure >3 minutes or back-to-back.
• Suspected toxin ingestion (post Tox-Center confirmation).
• Trauma — even if "looks fine."
• Body temperature <36°C or >40°C.
• Pale, white or blue gums.
• Sudden collapse or severe weakness.

VET TODAY · within 24 hours

• Vomiting or diarrhea >24 hours, or with blood.
• Limping that doesn't improve over a day.
• Unproductive coughing.
• Loss of appetite >24 hours in dogs, >12 hours in cats.
• Sudden behavior change in a senior animal.

MONITOR · with daily check-in

• Single episode of vomiting, otherwise bright.
• Mild limp that resolved within hours.
• Decreased energy after a strenuous day.
• Minor scrape with no bleeding.

When in doubt, escalate. Owners almost never resent a precautionary vet call. They resent the call that came late. The PETVITY Care Partner credential carries professional liability coverage for good-faith emergency decisions made within scope.