Starting immediately, Broward Sheriff's Office firetrucks will be equipped with oxygen masks specially designed to fit over a dog's furry snout or a cat's stiff whiskers.
The masks come in three sizes -- small, medium and mastiff.
That firefighters are being equipped and trained to rescue dogs and cats is an indication of the degree to which pets have become beloved members of the family.
''Once you go to a scene and see a family devastated by the loss of their pet, you don't forget that,'' BSO fire rescue Capt. Dave Erdman said. ``If you can help out someone's pet it's a great thing.''
Pet rescues happen about 12 times a year in the BSO's jurisdiction. One such rescue required paramedics to perform crude field surgery, snipping away at a standard oxygen mask until it slipped comfortably over the stricken cat's nose.
In February, Miami-Dade firefighters were forced to use a made-for-humans mask to revive a pug named Minnie, to the delight of her master, 6-year-old Luis Terrone.
The new masks were bought with a $1,700 grant from the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, also known as ARFF. Sheriff's Lt. Sherry Schlueter reached out to the group, which has sought bans on horse-drawn carriages and roadside petting zoos.
ARFF donated the money ``in the name of all animals.''
On Wednesday, BSO fire officials gathered at the fire station in Cooper City to unveil the masks before city commissioners and others.
Maddie, a big black Labrador retriever owned by BSO Assistant Fire Chief Todd LeDuc, modeled the mask.
''The pet breathes in oxygen as it exhales carbon,'' LeDuc explained.
Sheriff Ken Jenne slipped a smaller mask onto a brown highland terrier to show the versatility of the sizes.
The oxygen mask for pets is not that different from the ones used for humans. Its unique feature is a nose-size hole designed to fit tightly around the animal's nose or snout, feeding the oxygen directly into the animal's lungs.
Each of the 28 BSO fire-rescue vehicles will be equipped with a set of three masks. When BSO fire-rescue workers respond to a scene with multiple vehicles, there may be three or four sets of masks at the scene, LeDuc said.
That's enough, unless the fire is at an animal hospital.
Reviving dogs is dicier than giving oxygen to humans. Most people are grateful for the rescue. A freshly revived but still disoriented pit bull could conceivably lunge for a firefighter's throat.
The BSO has considered that possibility. Along with each mask comes a leash.
