It happens. A cut, a sprain — or worse. No one is immune to health emergencies and neither are our pets.

Do you know what to do if your dog injures his paw or your cat stops breathing? There are no pet ambulances for you to call for emergency help says Joy Zukauskas, director of health and safety services for the American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley (Pa.).

Charlotte B. Teagle / AJC (ENLARGE)

Take measures to help your pet before reaching the vet.

RELATED • Need more info?: Check out tips for raising happy, healthy pets • More pet stories, blogs and photos

That's the idea behind April's designation as National Pet First Aid Awareness Month.

Sure there are CPR and first-aid classes for humans. But the Red Cross also offers similar classes for treating pets nationwide, plus pet first-aid books and even first-aid kits for pets.

Zukauskas, with the help of CPR mannequins Jerry the dog and Fluffy the cat, and her real-life dog, Lucy, recently demonstrated some of the techniques and treatments taught in the class. All of these responses are "to get an animal treated until you can get to a veterinarian," not a substitute to professional pet health care, Zukauskas stresses.

"The more educated people are, the better it is. It makes my job easier, says Blairstown (Pa.) Animal Hospital's Dr. Kenneth Leal, who's been in practice more than 20 years.

POISONING

Pets are easily poisoned, Zukauskas says. "Lucy got into a purse and ate ibuprofen," she says of her year-old Shih Tzu, now looking so innocent on her owner's lap.

It's not just human medications and household chemicals that can be dangerous for pets, Zukauskas says. Coffee grounds and foods such as garlic, onions, grapes, raisins and chocolate can be toxic, too. The usual treatment recommended by poison control experts is to induce vomiting, the teacher says.

After the pill incident, she took Lucy to the veterinarian to be examined, just to be sure.

CHOKING

It's also easy for pets to chew, swallow and choke on things they shouldn't.

To help prevent this, "when you have a dog, prepare like you would for a baby," Zukauskas says. "Get down to their level and look for things wires, small toys."

CARDIA/RESPIRATORY ARREST

Just as it is for humans, CPR can be a pet lifesaver.

Leal says he's performed CPR on animals, and while it is rare a pet owner would ever need to perform the procedure, "It only takes one time to save a life."

CPR is similar in animals and humans, with some modifications, Zukauskas says.

For dogs, turn the animal on his right side. Listen for breathing and see if the chest is moving. Check for a pulse in the femoral artery in the rear legs.

If the animal is not breathing, blow a breath into the nose, enough for the chest to slightly rise.

Still no breathing? Perform three compressions, pushing two to three inches, then another breath.

For a large dog, it's ideal if two people work together, one for breathing, one for compressions.

For cats and small dogs, the rate is one breath, then five compressions.

Compressions are done by placing your hands on each side of the animal's chest and pressing in only about a half-inch.

CUTS

This is where Lucy's help comes in. She provides a real, squirming, patient for Zukauskas to demonstrate how to bandage a leg.

Apply a gauze pad and put direct pressure on the wound.

Get a roll of gauze and roll it around the leg, keeping it tight but not so much pressure it stops circulation.

When you come to the end of the gauze roll, leave a length of gauze so you can make a loop and knot to tie it off.

Tie the knot directly over where the wound is to apply additional pressure to the wound.

If bleeding continues through the bandage, "never take off the old one," she says. Repeat the process with another layer of bandages.

TICKS

Never use matches, alcohol, Vaseline or any of the remedies you may believe make the tick let loose.

Use a tweezers to grasp the tick by the front of the head and make sure the head comes out.

Put the tick in an empty medicine container or plastic bag and take it to the veterinarian for examination.

READY FOR ANYTHING

"We've learned a lot from Katrina," Zukauskas says of the hurricane that hit New Orleans. He recalls stories of pets and owners separated by the deadly winds.

If your pet needs to be sheltered, have medical records, contact information and a photo of you and your pet to be placed on the crate.

Make sure your animal is up to date on shots.

Establish a relationship with a veterinarian and kennel before an emergency happens.

Always have a form of ID on your pet: tag, license, microchip, tattoo.

Even in everyday circumstances, Leal says, "prevention is better than treatment." Simple things, like keeping animals out of cars in warm weather so they don't get heat stroke, and making sure electrical cords, poisons and other dangers are out of reach can keep you from having to use all your new pet first-aid skills in the first place.