We love our smartphones. Mobile technology empowers everyone to make informed decisions, stay organized, connect with others, and get answers to pressing questions in a matter of seconds. As Apple’s commercial correctly says: whatever the subject, “there’s an app for that”. And to pet owners, few subjects are as important as our animals!
In the coming weeks, we’ll be exploring a variety of animal-related smartphone apps in a series of “Pets & Technology” posts. You’ll get the scoop on apps dedicated to animal health, pet information management, dog-friendly travel planning, and local resources. Facebook devotees stay tuned: we’re even going to talk about a few fantastic social networking platforms geared solely for pets and their owners!
We kick off the series by profiling two apps of a more serious nature, ones that thousands of pet owners have found indispensible for quickly retrieving information on animal health topics.
Pet First Aid
Do you know how to perform CPR on your pet in an emergency? Do you know what immediate action you can take if your dog has a reaction after being stung? You know to call your vet, but having the knowledge to properly address a life-threatening situation can be critical to the animal’s safety and survival. The Pet First Aid app was developed by PetCPR.com and contains dozens of how-to articles, video demonstrations, and step-by-step illustrations that teach the principles of performing first aid on cats and dogs. The instructional materials are stored with the app to enable offline access to the information. The app also allows users to record vital health information about their pet and set reminders for vet appointments, vaccinations, and more. Available for iOS; limited version available for Android.
American Red Cross — Pet First Aid
Similar to the app from PetCPR.com, the American Red Cross‘ First Aid app provides step-by-step instructions, illustrations, and video demonstrations to help pet owners address cats’ and dogs’ first aid needs. After creating a unique “profile” for their pet(s), users can access critical care information on topics like dressing wounds and controlling bleeding. The app’s “lighter” features include interactive animal-knowledge quizzes, social network integration, and a handy search tool for sniffing out pet-friendly hotels. A unique strength of the Red Cross’ First Aid app however, is the way in which it empowers pet owners to proactively address early warning signs of animal health problems: the app provides users with a list of symptoms that indicate the onset of a health emergency. If the user observes any of the warning signs, he or she can utilize the app’s “click-to-call” feature, which directly dials the pet’s veterinarian. Should an emergency arise while traveling with a pet, users can locate emergency pet care facilities with the app’s “animal hospital locator” tool. The Red Cross’ Pet First Aid app can be downloaded at the Apple Store or the Google Play Store for Android by searching for “American Red Cross”. Available for iOS and Android.