Here's how to protect your pets as wildfire smoke hits the North Country
Smoky air caused by wildfires in Canada has returned to the North Country, making air quality levels "unhealthy for sensitive groups" in parts of the region.
Humans, especially those with preexisting conditions, can get sick from exposure. Dr. Aly Cohen from Cornell University said our pets can experience similar risks.
"Any pet, or person for that matter, can experience the risks of poor air quality, especially when it's heavy enough where we can actually smell the smoke in the air," she said. "If you can smell it, your pet is experiencing the effects of that as well."
Cohen told Champlain Valley reporter Cara Chapman that symptoms to watch out for in your pets include red, watery eyes, coughing or gagging. Their conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
DR. ALY COHEN: The times where I'd be more concerned are as soon as you actually start to see a fast respiratory rate. That would be an indication that they're being affected by the poor air quality.
CARA CHAPMAN: Is that the point that you would seek veterinary care? Are there other signs to look out for?
COHEN: You know your pet best. If you know that they have a pre-existing condition I would, first and foremost, always speak with your vet, of course. But if you're outside and you're seeing it, I would first just go inside and see if it goes away now that they're at rest. If that respiratory rate is staying elevated, even once you're inside, then I would seek advice from your veterinarian at that point.
CHAPMAN: Aside from going inside, is there anything you can do to protect your pets? For us humans, they recommend masking up as well, depending on how bad the air quality is. What should pet owners be doing to protect their animals from the smoke?
COHEN: Unfortunately, we can't have our pets wearing masks while they're outside, so a lot of this is going to revolve just strictly around prevention. The most you can stay inside when we're having these alerts, the better off they're going to be. Of course, it's still fine for dogs and some cats that have access to the outdoors to do their potty breaks. I would just really limit that time. If you normally take them on two-mile walks every day, twice a day, maybe just rein that in during the high alert times and just do bathroom breaks only. In the house, if you have access to air purifiers, that's ideal, because you can definitely still get the smoke that's trickling into the house. It's good to keep the windows shut if you can, or use fans to kind move the air around indoors.
CHAPMAN: I have a fairly young dog who kind of goes a little nuts when she doesn't go outside. What do you recommend people do indoors to exercise or entertain their pets?
COHEN: Increasing that indoor enrichment. These activities don't have to be fancy. For me, that could be giving them long-lasting treats, whether that's the chew bones that are going to last a little bit longer that are safe for their teeth, or a frozen, stuffed Kong, which are those silicone, rubber toys. Any kind of puzzle feeders will work. Really, you don't have to go out and buy anything special. You can always make your own kind of enrichment toys just with a cardboard box and crumpled up newspaper, as long as you know they're not going to eat it or do anything inappropriate. Just anything to kind of keep their brain active and occupied.
CHAPMAN: The North Country is a very rural area, so a lot of people have chickens, horses, cows and other livestock that spend most of their lives outdoors or in open-air structures. Is there anything that can be done to protect them as well?
COHEN: Birds can be really susceptible to any type of toxin that is in the air. If people with chickens have any sort of coop that they can keep them in, that would probably be great. But in a lot of those you have to be careful because if they're in a coop too long, you're dealing with their own toxins that they're producing from their ammonia and whatnot. Horses can sometimes be prone to asthma in general just from their own feed and the hay and the dust that's produced from that. Maybe be extra cautious with wetting down their hay that they're being fed, so it's not producing even more dust, and have plenty of fresh water available at all times. If some people with bigger operations have an indoor barn for their horses to stay in, that might be better. If livestock owners had any planned transports coming up or anything like that, I would just postpone them. Most of our cows, horses or other large animals will get really stressed during times of transport and that can sometimes trigger pneumonia and things like that. So anything to minimize their stress so that their lung health is at least not going to be compromised anymore.
