Welcome to the Twin Trees Pet First Aid Course. I'm your instructor, Dr. Melinda Lopez. I have more than a decade of experience working as an emergency vet, and I want to help empower you with the information that will make you as prepared and informed as possible.
This course was designed for pet care workers (pet sitters, dog walkers, dog groomers) and pet owners alike.
If you pass the quiz at the end you can get a First Aid Certificate. Take notes and leave your questions and comments below :)
Remember, a first aid kit is just a fashion accessory if you don't have the training to use it.
I noticed that a lot of people with "first aid training" were doing more harm than good in real emergencies, especially delaying at at the scene (in hit by car scenarios most often) for far too long while they tried to render "first aid" to pets who were in immediate life-threatening condition. By the time those pets made it to the ER (with beginner level splints and bandages on all of their minor abrasions), they were already dead and could not be saved. When really, the proper course of action would have been to skip the bandages and get the patient to the ER as swiftly as possible.
Then I realized that a lot of pet first aid courses these days are taught by people with no legitimate medical background and who have very limited experience in real emergency situations. Most of them have never performed a real CPR, let alone successfully resuscitated a patient. Most of them have never worked in an emergency room.
First aid has its limitations and is no substitute for professional medical care. Most importantly, learn how to avoid common emergencies altogether in (SECTION I)
This course is FREE and open to the public. Please leave your questions and comments in the YouTube comments section and we will respond asap :)
PS. Looking back, I admit I looked pretty haggard when I filmed these first id videos. But that is the reality of working on-call in the world of veterinary emergency...sometimes we would go weeks without a proper night of sleep. It's true so don't judge the "tired look":) The content of the course is most important.