Clallam County pets, from a rabbit to a Great Dane, now have a better chance of surviving a house fire thanks to a business owner and dog trainer.
Paul Collins, owner of Enviroclean NW and a dog trainer, recently organized a donation drive to purchase five pet oxygen mask kits for local use after hearing of a donation of 20 such masks to the Seattle Fire Department in July.
The masks are going to the Port Angeles Fire Department; Clallam County Fire District No. 2, which protects county areas surrounding Port Angeles; and Clallam County Fire District No. 4, located in the Joyce area.
“It's the least I can do for my community. People love their fur babies,” Collins said.
Each kit comes with a small, medium and large face piece that is shaped to fit a snout and can be used to aid animals overcome by carbon monoxide or smoke inhalation.
The shape of the masks are designed to fit on an animal muzzle, but otherwise they are nearly identical to those used for humans, Collins said.
Each mask can be used several times before they must be replaced, he said.
Collins works with dogs daily and uses a highly trained dog to detect toxic molds for his business.
His newest dog, Isa, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, is trained to detect 18 types of toxic molds and is also a trained personal protection dog, he said.
Isa is special to him, he said, and if something happened in his home, he would hope that Isa could be saved.