February 11, 2025 • 40 mins
Would you know how to save your pet if they started choking or collapsed from heatstroke?
Pet emergencies can happen in seconds, and knowing what to do could be the difference between life and death. Most pet parents aren’t prepared—and that’s exactly what this episode aims to change.
I’m joined by Arden Moore, a master-certified pet first aid and CPR instructor, award-winning author, and host of Oh Behave and Four-Legged Life. She shares the lifesaving skills every pet owner needs to know.
BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER:
- How to recognize common emergencies like choking, heatstroke, and trauma
- Simple first aid techniques that can stabilize your pet until you reach the vet
- What to include in your pet first aid kit and how to use it effectively
This episode is a must-listen for anyone who lives with pets. Because when emergencies happen, panic is not a plan.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
- Pet First Aid for You – Arden’s courses, certifications, and recommended kits
- ASPCA Poison Control – 24/7 emergency hotline
- Pet Poison Helpline – Toxicology support for pet emergencies
- Shop Arden’s Pet First Aid Kits
ARDEN MOORE’S PODCASTS:
- Oh Behave on Pet Life Radio
- Four-Legged Life
Love the show? Please share it with another pet parent who wants less chaos and more clarity. Please leave a 5-star review to help others find real-life, judgment-free advice.
🎧Get your free guide: 10 Tips for Bonding With Your Pet
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Big pet challenges we help pet parents solve include: puppy training, cat behavior, pet budgeting, stress-free vet visits, solutions for multi-pet households, and more.
Contact: Amy@muddypawsandhairballs.com
©Ⓟ 2025 by Amy Castro.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amy Castro (00:01):
This week on Muddy Paws and Hairballs, I'm joined
by the one and only Arden Moore,a pet safety guru and pet
expert, who somehow makes firstaid with your pets sound like
the most fun you've had.
All week We'll be talking petfirst aid, behavior quirks and
the stuff no one tells you aboutkeeping your pets safe and
happy Trust me you're not goingto want to miss this one.
(00:22):
miss this one.
Welcome to Muddy Paws andHairballs, the podcast where we
dig into the messy, heartwarmingand sometimes life-saving
aspects of pet parenting.
I'm Amy Castro, and today we'rejoined by someone who is a true
lifesaver for pets, Arden Moore.
Arden wears a lot of hats andwe're going to get into that in
(00:44):
a minute, but she is also thefounder of Pet First Aid for you
, a master-certified pet firstaid and CPR instructor, and the
host of not one, but two supersuccessful podcasts Obehave,
which I was so honored to haveyou on the show, because that is
literally the oldest petpodcast there is.
(01:05):
It's been around for a longtime and super successful.
And then her second podcast,Four-Legged Life.
She has helped countless petparents and professionals
through her training, many, manybooks and hands-on classes.
So, Arden, with all those hatsand all the things you've got
going on, thank you for takingthe time to be here on our
little old show.
Arden Moore (01:24):
Hey, pause up, Amy.
It's an honor to be on yourshow and I think we both love
what we do.
We're getting to bring out thebest in pets and their people.
Amy Castro (01:33):
Yes, that's what it's all about Living your best
life and keeping everybodytogether in my book.
So before we launch into thefirst aid part of things, I want
to kind of start with you,because you have built what I
believe you're kind of like myinspiration to building this
career around pets, petparenting and saving pet lives.
Arden Moore (01:54):
So how did you get here?
What's the path?
Well, let's start in diapers.
No, I'm just kidding, I'vealways been.
I was a journal.
I still am a journalist forsomething called newspapers,
daily newspapers for 20 years,major dailies.
I remember those, and I coveredeverything from Super Bowls and
space shuttles to serial killers.
I've always had pets in my lifegrowing up.
First dog was a fat beaglenamed Crackers and I had a cat
(02:18):
that would swim named Corky.
I didn't know that catsshouldn't swim.
Corky liked to swim.
I didn't know that catsshouldn't swim.
(02:40):
Of course they like to swim.
And then fast forward after 20years in newspapers, I went to
the publishing world and workedat Rodale Press, which is like
men's health prevention magazine, and I got in the book division
and they started of pets and mylove of writing and
communicating.
And then for the last God, I'mreally old.
For the last 20 some years Ihave been without the W-2 safety
net and I have written over 27dog and cat books the two shows
I love health, I love talking toreally good, vetted out sources
(03:03):
and I realized, amy, there wasa piece of the puzzle missing
and that was how do we keep ourpets safe?
So I got into the field of petfirst aid and that was back in
2011.
And now I'm a master instructor, but I'm always a student,
always a teacher.
I work with a team of stellarveterinary advisors.
(03:24):
I have a pet safety dog Kona andpet safety cat Casey, and
together we're trying to savelives, one paw at a time, and
we're always improving ourprogram.
And I don't know if for thepeople that are going to tune
into your shorts Kona, come here, come here, kona, come on.
(03:45):
Kona is a terrier mix, so cute.
She's a shelter alum.
I don't call them rescues.
She's a shelter alum from theRancho Coastal Humane Society.
She's also a certified therapydog and she is the most
intuitive dog I've ever met.
She knows how to bring upenergy, bring down energy,
meeting a dog, a cat, a person,and she's my best friend.
(04:09):
Now this is more difficult,right, amy?
I have a cat named Pet SafetyCat Casey, who's willing to be a
safety cat.
He purrs like a Mack truck.
He is a shelter alum from theSan Diego Humane Society.
We call him a feline GeorgeClooney because he charms
(04:32):
everyone.
Amy Castro (04:33):
He's very handsome as well.
Arden Moore (04:34):
He's also a therapy cat and he has been to 16
states by car and by plane tohelp me teach behavior and first
aid and I call him my BFF bestfeline friend.
So there you go.
You met the team.
Amy Castro (04:50):
That's a great team.
That's a great team.
I need a team like that.
Mine are all a little bit nuts,but I don't know.
There might be some potential.
I need to weed through the seventhat I've got floating around
the house right now and see ifthere's somebody who could be a
co-host on the show or somethinglike that.
So you know, pet first aid, Ithink, is something that pet
(05:10):
parents don't think about.
You know, they think I've got aveterinarian or I know where
the emergency vet is, and I alsothink that people don't realize
the many, many, and then maybeit's just being in rescue and,
having had so many, I may havehad over 4,000 fosters come
through my house, and that'swhen I stopped counting.
So I don't even know since then.
That was a couple of years ago.
That's impressive.
Thank you for doing that.
(05:31):
Oh hey, it's a labor of lovefor sure, but the many things
that they can get into, that canactually end quite tragically.
So why is it that pet parentsreally need to investigate and
get smart about pet first aid?
Arden Moore (05:45):
Well, because we love them, we want to save some
money in our wallet and we'dlike to have them grow old with
us.
I mean, there you go, check,check, check.
I tell people what is pet firstaid.
It's that life-saving bridgebetween the uh-oh and the
veterinary clinic.
Our role is to render aid onthe scene, stabilize them and
(06:08):
safely get them to the vet.
I can't make you a veterinarian, amy, in one hour, right, but
in a pet emergency, as you know,fostering all the pets that you
have, every minute counts,every minute counts.
So they did a poll, a nationalpoll, and I was surprised about
(06:28):
2% of the American populationthat have pets only 2% have
taken Pet First Aid.
So I'm on a mission to bump upthose percentages because if you
can be there and know what todo when your pet is choking or
if your pet collapses, and knowhow to do CPR and then hand over
that pet to the veterinary team, you just may save your pet's
(06:53):
life.
Amy Castro (06:54):
Yeah so, so true.
So you know you mentionedchoking.
What are?
Because, like I mentioned, Ithink a lot of people don't
realize the many things that canhappen.
What are some of the mostcommon pet emergencies that you
think people are unprepared forand where pet first aid training
would be life-saving for theirpet?
Arden Moore (07:11):
Well, choking is a big one because there's
different types of choking.
Your dog could grab the chickenleg off your plate and run,
crush it and get the brokenbones stuck in their throat.
Or swipe your avocado pit andit's a gooey and slippery and it
seals right against the airway,against the throat.
(07:32):
How you gonna get that that out?
Or the kitty cat.
I hate the pictures of kittensnext to a big ball of yarn.
The subtitle to me is kill,kill, kill the Kitty.
Because with their barbedtongue they can't resist
something that's moving like asnake.
They swallow the yarn.
It gets stuck in their throat.
(07:52):
So it happens like this, amy,that's just choking.
But they can get too hot, theycan get too cold, they could
slip and fall and break a leg,they could get in a fight and
have wounds, puncture wounds,and they could have their heart
stopped.
So we cover a lot of it.
(08:14):
But I think what makes my classa little different?
First of all, my, my podcast iscalled oh behave.
So strap yourselves in whenyou're gonna take a pet first
class with me, because I havefound you shouldn't scare people
.
Scaring people does not openthe brain to learn, but if you
give them good little jinglesrhymes.
You make it fun and interactive.
(08:36):
Then guess what?
When the pet emergency happens,what I've taught you kicks in.
That's my mission is to make itso that you leave the class
going.
I know what to do.
Amy Castro (08:51):
Well, it's interesting.
You know, I am one of thosepeople that I don't know if it's
just how I was raised, becausemy mom was a nurse and you know
her philosophy was, if youweren't bleeding from your
eyeballs and you didn't have 103fever, you were going to school
.
So like nothing, really nothingreally phased her, you know
blood bones, broken bones,things like that, and so that's
how I grew up.
(09:11):
So I don't panic in crisissituations.
Arden Moore (09:14):
I might flip out afterwards from what I've been
through, but I think most peoplepanic and then they become
frozen, that's a really goodpoint, because in my class I'm
not oprah, so you're not goingto get a free car, but I got
something better to give youthat oprah doesn't, and that is
this I give everybody in myclass at the start of class
permission to freak out laterand it really resonates because
(09:41):
pets, as my cat casey would say,here comes the bad pun.
You have to be in the me now tosave me.
You have to be in the presentmoment.
You can't panic about whathappened unless you're a time
traveler and you can reverse thepast and you can't have a lot
of control of the future, but ifyou stay in that lane called
(10:02):
the present, you really can helpyour pet and then, when the pet
is in the hands of the vet team, freak out, go cry in the
shower, run up the street, havea shot of fireball, whatever.
But if you know that they needyou and you can breathe.
And that's the other thing Ilearned and I work with a lot of
EMTs, paramedics, other firstresponders they teach me, I
(10:26):
teach them, and we get everybodyto act like a first responder,
a pet detective, and you'regoing to love this, amy we teach
everybody in our class to be apoopologist.
Yes, please, because what comesout of the mouth and if you're
not paying attention could be amedical emergency.
Yeah, so we teach you how tocontrol your breathing, how to
(10:50):
gather what you see, hear, smell, safely feel, how to freak out
later.
And we don't have people puttingtheir nose in a course book
during the class.
It is interactive.
You get the course book butnobody's going to page 13
reading paragraph four, becauseif you get to learn in the
present moment and other peopleare talking with you and you're
(11:11):
saying the things and not justhearing me going at saying that
to you, you actually learn, andthat's my biggest mission.
I want you to know what to doand just do it.
That's kind of.
I've been on this mission since2011.
That's amazing.
Amy Castro (11:28):
So can you give us an example of one of your
acronyms or memory devices?
I mean, I don't want you togive away the class, because I
want people to actually take itbut just as an example.
Arden Moore (11:38):
Well, one of the biggest things that people think
they should do when a dog orcat is overheated is to give
them ice.
And when a dog or cat is goingon the bridge of heat stroke,
the worst thing you could do isgive them the polar opposite to
their body, which is ice.
Instead, they sweat differentlythan we do.
(12:01):
They sweat through their pawsand by panting.
They don't have skin pores allover their body.
You know, you and I are inTexas right now, and it seems
like I moved to Texas and all ofa sudden, every pore of my body
sweats Like what is going on inthis state.
Yeah, right, when you get out ofthe shower you can't even dry
(12:23):
off because you start sweatingalready.
I hate it.
So we teach people that you diptheir paws in cool water, you
get them in the air conditioning, you don't use ice, you don't
put ice cubes in the water bowlbecause and here's how you're
going to remember it All right,this is dorky, but this is me
because ice, ice, not nice baby.
And you say baby, and theneverybody in class says ice, ice
, not nice baby.
(12:45):
And what do you think that does, amy, to them, remembering when
their kid is overheated.
Amy Castro (12:50):
It's going to pop right into their heads just like
any other song, lyric jingle,whatever it might be slogan that
you remember from 1973?
.
Arden Moore (12:58):
The other one we do when we do pet first aid and
there's new guidelines now forpet first aid when a dog or cat
is unconscious and you're goingto do first aid, you always
position yourself your belly totheir back because you don't
want to get bit.
But people are like do I turnthem on one side or the other?
I don't know Well.
Well, the heart's in the middle, it's okay, all right, for your
(13:20):
safety, though you alwayspurposely do.
The hand that pumps is alwaysclosest to the rump.
So the hand that pumps isclosest to the rump because your
other hand can go back andslide across the neck and the
face.
If the dog suddenly wakes up,you have an ability to put your
(13:40):
hand down to keep that face fromattacking you.
And I say to be a member of theVan Gogh family.
You don't want to be a memberof the Van Gogh family.
You don't want to lose that ear.
So the hand that does the pumpis closest to the rump and the
palm is the pump.
That's an art and original thatnow some veterinary schools,
according to some of my vetadvisors, are now using my rhyme
(14:01):
.
You're just not going to forgetit.
Amy Castro (14:03):
The hand that pumps is closest to the rump.
Arden Moore (14:04):
Who wants to be in a class where people are using
oh, my cat just hacked up atribosaur.
I know a fancy word forhairball.
I don't use big words.
I say butt, I say rump, becauseI want it to be practical and
and and.
Everything is approved by theteam of veterinary advisors with
their big Vanna White initialsafter their names.
But I'm here to teach you howto save a life and you teach by
(14:28):
having them get to do and havingrhymes and easy phrases and and
make it common sense.
And so that's what I, what Ibuild my first day class around.
Amy Castro (14:39):
Yeah, well, and I'm glad that you're focusing on the
safety, because that was goingto be one of my questions to you
.
You know, is or or just adiscussion about the fact that I
remember seeing this horrificvideo, and it was an after story
about a woman who washospitalized and I don't know if
she lost part of her arm or shewas at risk of losing her arm
because her cat had been in ahorrific.
(14:59):
I won't tell the gory story,but the cat was horrifically
injured and she was trying tohelp the cat but the cat was
shredding her and biting her inthe process and it's like at
what point do you say am I goingto lose my arm for this?
Like?
So just the fact that you'rerolling in things to keep
yourself safe because you got todo that too, you can't take
care of your pet if you end upin the hospital.
Arden Moore (15:22):
Oh no, we.
I'm one of the fear-freecertified speakers.
Dr Marty Becker has startedthis program and it's all about
FAS reducing fear, anxiety andstress.
So we get into how we approachan injured dog or cat, what we
say, what we never say, and wehave some practical all right,
(15:43):
here comes the pun Mutt-Gyverhacks tips.
If you don't have a pet firstaid kit and the vet is far away,
what can you do to render aidon the scene to an injured dog
or cat and still keep all yourfingers and everything?
So we use towels, we usesweatshirts, we use six-foot
leashes, we even take an Ikeabag you know those blue shopping
(16:07):
bags.
Yeah, we cut it lengthwise, weleave the handles and if you
have a large dog, you just gotyourself a $2 gurney.
And it rolls up and I keep it inthe car.
There's been times I've seendogs get hit by cars and I've
had to use it.
But I'm a daughter of anengineer, so if you roll the dog
(16:27):
in a towel or a blanket and youhave to drag it across carpet
or a rug, it's really hard.
But if you put them wrapped ina slick plastic, slick Ikea bag
or something similar, it doesn'trip and it has no friction, so
it glides.
Plus, you have handles.
So we show things like that inour class.
Amy Castro (16:48):
That's amazing, that's yeah, that's, that's so
awesome.
Just be able to improvise withwhat you've got, because we
always have stuff in our car.
As a matter of fact, I alwayssay to my daughter if we ever
get pulled over by the police,we're probably going to jail
because I mean, we've gotsyringes, we've got.
You know, sometimes it's justleftover stuff, but you know,
it's amazing the things that youhave around you, if you have
(17:09):
the wherewithal and theknowledge of how to put them
into play, how you can makethose work to your advantage.
Arden Moore (17:15):
I mean, you draw strings on a hoodie is a great
makeshift muzzle.
Amy Castro (17:19):
Yeah, absolutely, or a leash, you know something
like that for sure.
Arden Moore (17:25):
Yeah, we show a lot of MacGyverisms because I want
you to leave that class going.
I got this, and the other thingis I learned from veterinarians
.
I give up a night every fewmonths and spend it in the ER
and I'm always learning morethings because I want to share
it and this is something thatveterinarians have told me that
(17:46):
I want to pass on to all of youlistening who love your pets,
and for those in the foster andthe rescue world.
You've got to be practical anddon't beat yourself up.
That's easy to say, but theytaught me to tell you you have
to do the best you can in thecircumstances.
You're in with the skills youhave, right.
So you take a pet first aidclass.
(18:06):
I tell everybody you justwalked in the store.
When you walk out of the storeand get your two-year
certificate, you're going tohave more knowledge, you're
going to have more skills,you're going to have a better
chance of saving that pet's life.
But even veterinarians can'tsave every pet.
But I want to empower you andtell you this is going to be a
(18:27):
game changer of a class for youand that's how we approach it.
Amy Castro (18:31):
Well, and I think, from the standpoint of peace of
mind for the pet owner, from thestandpoint of peace of mind for
the pet owner rescuer, foster,whatever it might be I know for
myself I don't feel the anxietyand guilt when an animal passes
that somebody else might, andpart of that I'm sure I can
attribute to the fact that I'veseen a tremendous amount of
animal suffering and death.
(18:52):
At the same time, I feel likeI'm well equipped and by the
time it gets to the vet andsomething in, let's say, the
poor animal passes away, I knowI've done everything that is
humanly possible for Amy Castroto do.
So I'm not going to beat myselfup over it, but it's because I
have acquired the equipment, orthe mudgyvering it, and the
knowledge and the information,so that I've got as many tools
(19:14):
as possible to help in as manysituations as I can.
So I feel like I'm, you knowI've done my best along those
lines.
But I think where people getinto trouble is when they, when
they realize it's something thatmaybe they could have easily
prevented or easily, you know,administered some type of aid
that could have made a hugedifference, and they didn't do
it, didn't know how.
(19:34):
And that's where you startknocking yourself over the head.
Arden Moore (19:37):
Well, yeah, and you bring up a good point.
I mean, I'm one person, eventhough my last name is Moore,
but I also team up with acompany called Pro Pet Hero, in
addition to my Pet First Aid foryou class, and my job is to
teach people to become Pet FirstAid instructors.
It's a 16-hour course, two days, eight hours, and you're like
(19:58):
what, but it goes like that.
And we keep the classenrollment to a small handful,
five or six max every month, andwe've been doing that since 18.
And I have now trained over 400people to be pet first aid
instructors, and they're indaycares, they're in rescues,
they're pet sitters, they're vetassistants.
(20:19):
So Arden's Army's out there,and that's my.
If I had to have a legacy, mylegacy was she's the chick that
made it so that more people tookpet first aid.
Yeah, I know, it's not a bigthing, I didn't win the lottery,
but if I get to go to heavenknowing that's my legacy, I'm
happy.
Yeah, amen to that for sure.
(20:41):
And you must have feline energy, because my cat, casey, is
purring into the microphone andhe is like flirting with you on
the table.
So there you go.
Amy Castro (20:51):
I'm definitely a cat whisperer, for sure, because
the vast majority of the animalsthat come through our rescue,
purely because of logistics overthe years, have been cats.
I mean, we get the occasionaldog, maybe 15 or so a year and
some years more, but for themost part it's dozens and dozens
of cats.
So yeah, we definitely, and youlearn a lot.
(21:13):
You learn a lot about themischief that those animals can
get into and the signs andsymptoms the poop don't.
You wouldn't believe how manypictures of cat poop I have on
my phone.
What do you think about this?
What do you think?
Or my fosters will send me apicture.
You're being a poopologist, Iam a poopologist In my class.
Arden Moore (21:33):
I actually tell people I saved Casey's life when
he, about four or five yearsago he went into the litter box
and he just sat and I'm like,dude, you're reading a novel,
what's going on?
And all of a sudden you guysknow this sound and I went and
he's a big, long orange tabbyand there was a little bit of
(21:55):
urine and it had red in it blood.
So of course it was a sundaynight.
You all can relate rightemergencies only happen on
holidays.
Right before your vacation, youknow where you can pay more
money at the er.
But he's my man, he's acertified therapy cat and he's
my best feline friend.
I took him him that night tothe vet ER and they manipulated
(22:19):
his bladder and he released ariver of urine on that table.
Amy Castro (22:24):
He had a blockage.
Arden Moore (22:25):
Yep.
And the thing was this theysaid we're going to keep Casey
overnight, we're going to checkhim out, make sure.
And I remember what theveterinarian said in the morning
when I picked up Casey with aclean bill of health.
She said had you waited, arden,until Monday to try to work him
into your regular vet, there'sa very good chance he would have
(22:47):
died of a urinary blockage,urinary toxicity, yep.
So she said it's always, alwaysbetter to be a little too soon
than a little too late.
I think it's better to be alittle bit more proactive than
wait till it gets worse.
And so, in this case, I tellpeople that boy cats, boy dogs,
(23:10):
they're urethra.
I call it the pee-pee pipelineit is.
It's like a road rally race,more so than females, so there's
more curves that stones andcrystals can come in and block
the flow.
So if your cat isn't going,that's a medical emergency, same
(23:30):
for our dogs.
Amy Castro (23:31):
And so, had I waited until Monday, I may not have
Casey right here next to me yeah, that can happen so fast and
well, because most of the time,by the time somebody discovers
that the cat's having an issue,it didn't just start with that
urination.
It's something that has beenbuilding up or going on for a
little bit, and we may not wantto tell us, because they're both
(23:51):
prey and predator.
Arden Moore (23:52):
They're like I feel great.
Sure, my leg is dangling, butI'm good.
The dog will be like you know,I think I stubbed my toe, yeah.
Amy Castro (24:03):
Yeah, that's yeah and that's a lot of people don't
realize that.
About cats how long they hide,you know, it's like they're fine
until they're definitely not,and there's not often an obvious
progression for people to seeAlong those lines, because that
was another thing I wanted toask you about.
It's like, because we evenstruggle with this in rescue
Should we take him to the vet?
Should we not take him to a vet?
(24:23):
You know, and obviously we know, there are certain things where
you can't wait.
But how does the average petparent know?
Are there any guidelines thatwould say?
Arden Moore (24:32):
Well, my veterinarians tell me to say
this.
There's the four biggies.
Okay, All right, they don'thave a heartbeat, they're not
breathing, they're spurtingblood, an arterial bleed, and
for our doggies, they aresuffering from bloat and that's
the twisted stomach that happensto deep-chested dogs and that
(25:02):
is life-threatening.
Those are the four biggies.
You need to render aid and youknow what Our phones have
speakers.
Put your phone on speaker whileyou're calling the nearest vet
and give them the stats quickwhile you're still rendering aid
.
And we even have a little gamewe play in our class.
But please, guys, I understandmy dog Kona, my cat Casey and
the rest of the pets in myhousehold.
They're my family and I'm goingto do whatever I can to save
(25:25):
their life.
But if you freak out on thephone and start screaming, every
minute counts.
So, we actually teach you how toreport an emergency in our
classes, because when are wegoing to freak out Amy, Later,
after.
So those are the four biggieand I've done CPR four times.
(25:47):
I've actually saved two, butI've had pets choke and pass out
and I've revived them.
So again, being in the presentmoment, gathering clues.
If they hack up the world'smost obnoxious hairball before
passing out, put it in a poopbag or a baggie and bring in the
evidence.
Veterinarians want the clues.
(26:08):
You're a pet detective in themaking, so I don't know if that
helps or not.
Amy Castro (26:13):
No, that's definitely.
I mean, that definitely is agood starting point for sure.
I want to jump back to the PetFirst Aid Kit, because obviously
we're getting the foreknowledgehere and not in the crisis
where we're looking around toMutt-Gyver things.
Can I go on Amazon or someplaceand get a good Pet First Aid
Kit, or is it something that Itruly need, Like I know ours
around here is prettysophisticated?
Arden Moore (26:35):
It's not you know it's not your average kit.
I work with a company calledAll Cat Adventures and I have
the kit available on my PetFirst Aid for you website.
It should be something that'swaterproof.
It should be something that'sgood for cats, dogs and, ideally
, people.
And every six months go throughthat bag and see what is
(26:56):
something that could haveexpired that I need to replace.
And I always say do it when youchange your clocks, rather than
January 1st and July 1st of July, because you're hungover, maybe
from the new year and 4th ofJuly you're crazy, going on a
trip, so do it when it's boring,do it the same time.
Your carbon monoxide monitorsand your smoke detectors.
(27:19):
When you look at what's in akit, my kits actually have a
cheat sheet that I created, soyou're like I don't know what to
do, and there it is, I slip itin there.
But there is hydrogen peroxidein that kit and this I hope I
can share with your, yourfollowers.
Amy, we do the hydrogenperoxide pledge, so I'm going to
(27:41):
ask you if you could do thiswith me.
You ready?
Amy Castro (27:43):
I won't embarrass you.
Raise my right hand.
Arden Moore (27:45):
Yeah, raise your right paw, my right paw, sorry.
Okay, repeat after me.
I promise I Never to usehydrogen peroxide.
Amy Castro (27:54):
Never to use hydrogen peroxide To clean a
pet's wound.
To clean a pet's wound.
Arden Moore (28:00):
So help me paw, so help me paw.
The only safe use for hydrogenperoxide on a pet is if you know
they got into a toxin.
You're far away from aveterinary office and they're
not puking.
You insert it in their mouth tomake them vomit.
But if you try to clean a woundwith hydrogen peroxide, you see
(28:23):
the bubbling and you think, oh,that's good.
No, you are destroying healthyskin around the wound, making
the wound bigger and processmore of a mess.
Really, keep in mind this onyour body, on your cat's body,
on your dog's body, the largestorgan is the skin, so you muck
(28:44):
up the skin.
The body's immune system islike mayday, mayday, mayday
coming over there and all theother systems get compromised.
Day, may, day coming over thereand all the other systems get
compromised.
So that's why we have everybodydo water.
Clean a wound with water reallyhard, really hard.
Just clean the wound, yeah, sothank you for taking the
hydrogen peroxide pot pledge.
Amy Castro (29:05):
Yes, I have pledged.
I used to have to keep anindustrial size bottle of
peroxide underneath my kitchensink for my Doberman who had
let's just say he had dietaryindiscretion.
If we could, if we could catchthe fact that he'd swallowed a
sock hole pretty quickly, wecould literally get him to.
So I'll tell a quick storyabout that, because you'll
appreciate this.
(29:26):
So we got to the point where wecould you know, we, where we
knew how he operated.
And I was doing laundry andnoticed that two men's knee-high
white heavy-duty socks two, notjust one, but two were missing.
And the dog was there, lookingvery guilty.
So I get the peroxide out, Igive him the dose that my vet
had trained me to give and, loand behold, up come the socks.
(29:50):
So I took the socks outside andI hung them on the edge of a
table to take a picture to showher, because she used to be like
, no, don't tell me, don't tellme.
And I went back inside forsomething and the dog ate them
again.
So I had to dose him again.
Now see, a cat would never dothat, I know, yeah.
So from there on out, the doghad to.
(30:10):
When he was unattendedespecially if you put him
outside, because most of thestuff he got into was outside he
had to wear a wire basketmuzzle to keep him from killing
himself.
Arden Moore (30:18):
He was suicidal.
Yeah, and dogs explore morewith their mouths and cats
explore more with their paws.
You know, I'm glad your dogsurvived, Wow, yeah yeah, he was
a menace.
Amy Castro (30:31):
He was a menace, all right.
So one of the things that Ithought I had remembered reading
on the many things that arethat you have available out
there all the information, ispreventing emergencies.
Do you have any advice, as weget kind of towards the end of
our time here, for how peoplecan prevent emergencies?
And then I want to get into howpeople can take your course.
Arden Moore (30:51):
Well, I think it's a good habit, once a week, once
a month, to do a room-by-roominspection of your home from the
pet's perspective.
So if you're six foot tall, getdown low and look around.
My sister.
I was at her house and for somereason there was one of those
little plastic squares of dentalfloss that was left on the end
(31:15):
table by the recliner and hercurious dog, maddie, got into it
, crushed it and her mouth wasfull of dental floss.
As I heard her choking ran toaround the my sister has many
recliners ran down the hallwayaround the recliners as she
passed out with a mouthful ofdental floss oh wow.
(31:38):
Fortunately the metal clip wasright here at the throat, hadn't
gone down and I.
It took me two, one minutes ofrescue breathing and I revived
her.
So doing that room by room check.
We're coming out of theholidays, but anything that has
your scent on it, you know it'san attraction to a pet that's
(31:59):
bonded with you.
So, linear objects, sharpobjects.
If you like to cook and bake,do not leave that dough rising
on the counter, because evenchihuahuas will figure out how
to get that dough.
If there's a will, there's away, and that could cause
blockage in the stomach.
So you know, hot pans of water,pasta.
(32:22):
Keep your pets out of thekitchen when you're making food.
Have them in another area witha keep-busy toy or something.
But just think about likeyou're a pet safety, parent
Safety, safety safety.
I don't know if that answersyour question.
Amy Castro (32:38):
No, I mean, it definitely does, and I think you
know just the awareness.
I just saw a video the otherday talking about minoxidil and
how toxic it was to pets Rogaineand so if you've got somebody
in your house that's trying tomaintain their hair and they use
Rogaine, even the tiniestamount that they have on their
hands can cause toxicity to, andlethal toxicity to, pets.
Arden Moore (32:58):
So just knowing you know, doing your homework on
certain items in your home too,and knowing what's not safe and
what is safe and have on yourphone or on your refrigerator,
like the poison control hotline,the ASPCA poison control
hotline.
There's also another pet poisonhotline.
There's two of them, butthey're 800 numbers.
They're staffed 24-7 byboard-certified veterinary
(33:21):
toxicologists and you can dolike a video call and gather the
evidence.
And yes, you do have to pay forit.
That's how they make theirliving.
But I would say, have thathandy so that anybody in the
(33:43):
house.
And another preventative is ifyour pet has any allergies like
to bee venom and they can closetheir throat if they get stung,
instead of just pills ofantihistamines, make them gels
with a safety pin on the box andthe dose written in marker so
that if your pet's throat isclosing you can use that safety
pin, puncture the gel, drip itinto the mouth and keep that
(34:05):
airway open en route to the vetyeah, that's, that's good to
know.
Amy Castro (34:10):
yeah, because allergies, that's a a whole
other potential hazard there,for sure.
Arden Moore (34:13):
Yeah, I'll tell you what learning pet first aid.
It's great to take your dog ona doggy vacay, give him a cool
toy, whatever, but if you reallywant to show how much you love
your pet, you need to take aclass.
And if you take a class withpeople like me, you're going to
have fun and you're going tolearn and you're going to bond
with your pet.
Amy Castro (34:34):
Yeah, definitely.
So, on that note, obviouslyyou're in the Dallas area, so
you do in-person classes upthere, correct?
Well, I've traveled through thecountry, yeah.
Arden Moore (34:45):
I've traveled through the country, depending
on the situation, like I went upto Kansas City because I taught
for four or five days.
There was a whole group ofpeople and it was worth doing
that.
I've been to Mobile, alabamaand other places.
But if you take a class inperson with me, you get Casey
and Kona, and if you take aclass with me, interactive, on
(35:07):
Zoom, it's the best Zoom ever.
You actually have your own dogor cat in your room where the
pet feels safe, and I guide youin real time how to do the
different demos.
So there's a Benny to both.
And then, by the end of thefirst quarter of 2025, we're
going to be offering an onlineself-paced course for Pet First
(35:27):
Aid for you, so we reach evenmore people, wow.
Amy Castro (35:31):
So basically, there's no excuse whatsoever to
not have this training.
Yeah.
Arden Moore (35:35):
And I promise you you will have a good time, you
will learn and you will feelthat connection with your pet.
Amy Castro (35:42):
Yeah, definitely, and we'll put the links to
access the information about thecourses in the show notes.
So people have that I know youtold the story about.
I mean like as if we'recasually talking oh, I just
saved my sister's dog.
But are there any, for all yourtime in doing this, any success
stories where somebody has comeback and said this training,
you know this information savedmy pet's life?
(36:04):
I'm sure you've got a bunch Ifyou go on petfirstaidforyoucom,
you'll see some testimonials.
Arden Moore (36:09):
One of my favorites is a friend.
A lady took a class and she hada medium-sized mutt named Mr
Finnegan Isn't that a great name?
It's a great name.
Yeah, mr Finnegan was in herback seat with the window down.
She had him in a harness andshe thought the harness was
secured with that seatbelt strap, you know, connected to the
seatbelt thing.
No, he flew out of the window,oh my God, tumbled in the median
(36:37):
.
She turned around and when shegot to him he was spurting blood
and she said, as I wasrendering aid to him, I said in
my head Arden said, I havepermission to freak out.
Later in my classes I show youhow to stop an arterial bleed
without doing a tourniquet.
So she was doing what I taughther.
(36:59):
She flagged down a guy who wasdriving a brand new truck.
Must be a dog lover must be.
She's all bloody, mr Finnegan'sall bloody.
They get in the cab of histruck and that nice man took him
to the nearest vet clinic andMr Finnegan lived.
Wow, that's awesome.
So the point is yes, guys, weneed to take these classes and
(37:23):
I'm going to be in your head,and if I'm in your head.
I know you're going to do theright thing and you're going to
help your dog or your cat.
Amy Castro (37:30):
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
Have I missed anything that youwant to cover?
Arden Moore (37:34):
Well, I hope people would subscribe to my YouTube
channel.
It's Arden Moore, I think it'sArden Moore 342 or something,
but there's no politics, there'sno religion, there's no
snarking.
We have over 800 videos.
I've got over a million viewsand there's a lot of fun things
there.
There's some things about PetFirst Aid and I hope they would
(37:55):
check out my shows O Behave onPet Life Radio and Four-Legged
Life, which is a nationallysyndicated radio show that then
goes to YouTube, and myfourleggedlifecom site Cool.
Amy Castro (38:08):
And what's the difference?
Just so people know, Because Ifeel like in listening to the
two shows it's a completelydifferent kind of focus.
I am, and that's a good thing.
Arden Moore (38:19):
Well, OVA is the longest running podcast on the
planet.
We've been on the air since 07.
Amy Castro (38:24):
But it is strictly a podcast.
Arden Moore (38:26):
There is no video.
The Four-Legged Life show Ihave a different producer and
that one does go on radio shows,so you know you get the weather
and all that inputted fromwhatever.
And then we do make it into aYouTube 15, 20 minute production
video and then it goes on FourLegged Life, the website, and we
do put some stuff on TikTok andInstagram so it gets diced and
(38:49):
sliced, so we get the messagesout.
Amy Castro (38:52):
Great yeah, cause people like those little
snippets of info and having it.
And it's amazing with some ofthe things that you have
mentioned just today.
Arden Moore (38:59):
little bits of information, but they're
memorable, they're going tostick with you and they're going
to save a life, yeah all thoseyears as a daily newspaper
reporter, I'll be known for thehand that pumps is closest to
the rump, oh well.
Amy Castro (39:11):
Yeah, some journalism professors rolling
over in his grave at this point,but it's okay.
Arden Moore (39:16):
The medium is the message.
Amy Castro (39:19):
Oh gosh, well, Arden , thank you so much for being
here and sharing thisinformation, and I can't wait to
share the links and so thatpeople can get access to your
many, many resources and notonly sharing your knowledge, but
your dedication and caring forpets and pet parents.
All of your accomplishments aredefinitely a testament to how
much you care, and that means awhole lot, so I really
appreciate it.
Well, thanks for having me onyour show, amy, all right and
(39:41):
everybody.
Thank you again for listeningto another episode of Muddy Paws
and Hairballs.
We will see you next week.
Thanks for listening to MuddyPaws and Hairballs.
Be sure to visit our website atmuddypawsandhairballscom for
more resources and be sure tofollow this podcast on your
favorite podcast app so you'llnever miss a show.
And hey, if you like this show,text someone right now and say
(40:04):
I've got a podcastrecommendation.
You need to check the show outand tell them to listen and let
you know what they think.
Don't forget to tune in nextweek and every week for a brand
new episode.
And if you don't do anythingelse this week, give your pets a
big hug from us.
This week on Muddy Paws and Hairballs, I'm joined
by the one and only Arden Moore,a pet safety guru and pet
expert, who somehow makes firstaid with your pets sound like
the most fun you've had.
All week We'll be talking petfirst aid, behavior quirks and
the stuff no one tells you aboutkeeping your pets safe and
happy Trust me you're not goingto want to miss this one.
(00:22):
miss this one.
Welcome to Muddy Paws andHairballs, the podcast where we
dig into the messy, heartwarmingand sometimes life-saving
aspects of pet parenting.
I'm Amy Castro, and today we'rejoined by someone who is a true
lifesaver for pets, Arden Moore.
Arden wears a lot of hats andwe're going to get into that in
(00:44):
a minute, but she is also thefounder of Pet First Aid for you
, a master-certified pet firstaid and CPR instructor, and the
host of not one, but two supersuccessful podcasts Obehave,
which I was so honored to haveyou on the show, because that is
literally the oldest petpodcast there is.
(01:05):
It's been around for a longtime and super successful.
And then her second podcast,Four-Legged Life.
She has helped countless petparents and professionals
through her training, many, manybooks and hands-on classes.
So, Arden, with all those hatsand all the things you've got
going on, thank you for takingthe time to be here on our
little old show.
Arden Moore (01:24):
Hey, pause up, Amy.
It's an honor to be on yourshow and I think we both love
what we do.
We're getting to bring out thebest in pets and their people.
Amy Castro (01:33):
Yes, that's what it's all about Living your best
life and keeping everybodytogether in my book.
So before we launch into thefirst aid part of things, I want
to kind of start with you,because you have built what I
believe you're kind of like myinspiration to building this
career around pets, petparenting and saving pet lives.
Arden Moore (01:54):
So how did you get here?
What's the path?
Well, let's start in diapers.
No, I'm just kidding, I'vealways been.
I was a journal.
I still am a journalist forsomething called newspapers,
daily newspapers for 20 years,major dailies.
I remember those, and I coveredeverything from Super Bowls and
space shuttles to serial killers.
I've always had pets in my lifegrowing up.
First dog was a fat beaglenamed Crackers and I had a cat
(02:18):
that would swim named Corky.
I didn't know that catsshouldn't swim.
Corky liked to swim.
I didn't know that catsshouldn't swim.
(02:40):
Of course they like to swim.
And then fast forward after 20years in newspapers, I went to
the publishing world and workedat Rodale Press, which is like
men's health prevention magazine, and I got in the book division
and they started of pets and mylove of writing and
communicating.
And then for the last God, I'mreally old.
For the last 20 some years Ihave been without the W-2 safety
net and I have written over 27dog and cat books the two shows
I love health, I love talking toreally good, vetted out sources
(03:03):
and I realized, amy, there wasa piece of the puzzle missing
and that was how do we keep ourpets safe?
So I got into the field of petfirst aid and that was back in
2011.
And now I'm a master instructor, but I'm always a student,
always a teacher.
I work with a team of stellarveterinary advisors.
(03:24):
I have a pet safety dog Kona andpet safety cat Casey, and
together we're trying to savelives, one paw at a time, and
we're always improving ourprogram.
And I don't know if for thepeople that are going to tune
into your shorts Kona, come here, come here, kona, come on.
(03:45):
Kona is a terrier mix, so cute.
She's a shelter alum.
I don't call them rescues.
She's a shelter alum from theRancho Coastal Humane Society.
She's also a certified therapydog and she is the most
intuitive dog I've ever met.
She knows how to bring upenergy, bring down energy,
meeting a dog, a cat, a person,and she's my best friend.
(04:09):
Now this is more difficult,right, amy?
I have a cat named Pet SafetyCat Casey, who's willing to be a
safety cat.
He purrs like a Mack truck.
He is a shelter alum from theSan Diego Humane Society.
We call him a feline GeorgeClooney because he charms
(04:32):
everyone.
Amy Castro (04:33):
He's very handsome as well.
Arden Moore (04:34):
He's also a therapy cat and he has been to 16
states by car and by plane tohelp me teach behavior and first
aid and I call him my BFF bestfeline friend.
So there you go.
You met the team.
Amy Castro (04:50):
That's a great team.
That's a great team.
I need a team like that.
Mine are all a little bit nuts,but I don't know.
There might be some potential.
I need to weed through the seventhat I've got floating around
the house right now and see ifthere's somebody who could be a
co-host on the show or somethinglike that.
So you know, pet first aid, Ithink, is something that pet
(05:10):
parents don't think about.
You know, they think I've got aveterinarian or I know where
the emergency vet is, and I alsothink that people don't realize
the many, many, and then maybeit's just being in rescue and,
having had so many, I may havehad over 4,000 fosters come
through my house, and that'swhen I stopped counting.
So I don't even know since then.
That was a couple of years ago.
That's impressive.
Thank you for doing that.
(05:31):
Oh hey, it's a labor of lovefor sure, but the many things
that they can get into, that canactually end quite tragically.
So why is it that pet parentsreally need to investigate and
get smart about pet first aid?
Arden Moore (05:45):
Well, because we love them, we want to save some
money in our wallet and we'dlike to have them grow old with
us.
I mean, there you go, check,check, check.
I tell people what is pet firstaid.
It's that life-saving bridgebetween the uh-oh and the
veterinary clinic.
Our role is to render aid onthe scene, stabilize them and
(06:08):
safely get them to the vet.
I can't make you a veterinarian, amy, in one hour, right, but
in a pet emergency, as you know,fostering all the pets that you
have, every minute counts,every minute counts.
So they did a poll, a nationalpoll, and I was surprised about
(06:28):
2% of the American populationthat have pets only 2% have
taken Pet First Aid.
So I'm on a mission to bump upthose percentages because if you
can be there and know what todo when your pet is choking or
if your pet collapses, and knowhow to do CPR and then hand over
that pet to the veterinary team, you just may save your pet's
(06:53):
life.
Amy Castro (06:54):
Yeah so, so true.
So you know you mentionedchoking.
What are?
Because, like I mentioned, Ithink a lot of people don't
realize the many things that canhappen.
What are some of the mostcommon pet emergencies that you
think people are unprepared forand where pet first aid training
would be life-saving for theirpet?
Arden Moore (07:11):
Well, choking is a big one because there's
different types of choking.
Your dog could grab the chickenleg off your plate and run,
crush it and get the brokenbones stuck in their throat.
Or swipe your avocado pit andit's a gooey and slippery and it
seals right against the airway,against the throat.
(07:32):
How you gonna get that that out?
Or the kitty cat.
I hate the pictures of kittensnext to a big ball of yarn.
The subtitle to me is kill,kill, kill the Kitty.
Because with their barbedtongue they can't resist
something that's moving like asnake.
They swallow the yarn.
It gets stuck in their throat.
(07:52):
So it happens like this, amy,that's just choking.
But they can get too hot, theycan get too cold, they could
slip and fall and break a leg,they could get in a fight and
have wounds, puncture wounds,and they could have their heart
stopped.
So we cover a lot of it.
(08:14):
But I think what makes my classa little different?
First of all, my, my podcast iscalled oh behave.
So strap yourselves in whenyou're gonna take a pet first
class with me, because I havefound you shouldn't scare people
.
Scaring people does not openthe brain to learn, but if you
give them good little jinglesrhymes.
You make it fun and interactive.
(08:36):
Then guess what?
When the pet emergency happens,what I've taught you kicks in.
That's my mission is to make itso that you leave the class
going.
I know what to do.
Amy Castro (08:51):
Well, it's interesting.
You know, I am one of thosepeople that I don't know if it's
just how I was raised, becausemy mom was a nurse and you know
her philosophy was, if youweren't bleeding from your
eyeballs and you didn't have 103fever, you were going to school
.
So like nothing, really nothingreally phased her, you know
blood bones, broken bones,things like that, and so that's
how I grew up.
(09:11):
So I don't panic in crisissituations.
Arden Moore (09:14):
I might flip out afterwards from what I've been
through, but I think most peoplepanic and then they become
frozen, that's a really goodpoint, because in my class I'm
not oprah, so you're not goingto get a free car, but I got
something better to give youthat oprah doesn't, and that is
this I give everybody in myclass at the start of class
permission to freak out laterand it really resonates because
(09:41):
pets, as my cat casey would say,here comes the bad pun.
You have to be in the me now tosave me.
You have to be in the presentmoment.
You can't panic about whathappened unless you're a time
traveler and you can reverse thepast and you can't have a lot
of control of the future, but ifyou stay in that lane called
(10:02):
the present, you really can helpyour pet and then, when the pet
is in the hands of the vet team, freak out, go cry in the
shower, run up the street, havea shot of fireball, whatever.
But if you know that they needyou and you can breathe.
And that's the other thing Ilearned and I work with a lot of
EMTs, paramedics, other firstresponders they teach me, I
(10:26):
teach them, and we get everybodyto act like a first responder,
a pet detective, and you'regoing to love this, amy we teach
everybody in our class to be apoopologist.
Yes, please, because what comesout of the mouth and if you're
not paying attention could be amedical emergency.
Yeah, so we teach you how tocontrol your breathing, how to
(10:50):
gather what you see, hear, smell, safely feel, how to freak out
later.
And we don't have people puttingtheir nose in a course book
during the class.
It is interactive.
You get the course book butnobody's going to page 13
reading paragraph four, becauseif you get to learn in the
present moment and other peopleare talking with you and you're
(11:11):
saying the things and not justhearing me going at saying that
to you, you actually learn, andthat's my biggest mission.
I want you to know what to doand just do it.
That's kind of.
I've been on this mission since2011.
That's amazing.
Amy Castro (11:28):
So can you give us an example of one of your
acronyms or memory devices?
I mean, I don't want you togive away the class, because I
want people to actually take itbut just as an example.
Arden Moore (11:38):
Well, one of the biggest things that people think
they should do when a dog orcat is overheated is to give
them ice.
And when a dog or cat is goingon the bridge of heat stroke,
the worst thing you could do isgive them the polar opposite to
their body, which is ice.
Instead, they sweat differentlythan we do.
(12:01):
They sweat through their pawsand by panting.
They don't have skin pores allover their body.
You know, you and I are inTexas right now, and it seems
like I moved to Texas and all ofa sudden, every pore of my body
sweats Like what is going on inthis state.
Yeah, right, when you get out ofthe shower you can't even dry
(12:23):
off because you start sweatingalready.
I hate it.
So we teach people that you diptheir paws in cool water, you
get them in the air conditioning, you don't use ice, you don't
put ice cubes in the water bowlbecause and here's how you're
going to remember it All right,this is dorky, but this is me
because ice, ice, not nice baby.
And you say baby, and theneverybody in class says ice, ice
, not nice baby.
(12:45):
And what do you think that does, amy, to them, remembering when
their kid is overheated.
Amy Castro (12:50):
It's going to pop right into their heads just like
any other song, lyric jingle,whatever it might be slogan that
you remember from 1973?
.
Arden Moore (12:58):
The other one we do when we do pet first aid and
there's new guidelines now forpet first aid when a dog or cat
is unconscious and you're goingto do first aid, you always
position yourself your belly totheir back because you don't
want to get bit.
But people are like do I turnthem on one side or the other?
I don't know Well.
Well, the heart's in the middle, it's okay, all right, for your
(13:20):
safety, though you alwayspurposely do.
The hand that pumps is alwaysclosest to the rump.
So the hand that pumps isclosest to the rump because your
other hand can go back andslide across the neck and the
face.
If the dog suddenly wakes up,you have an ability to put your
(13:40):
hand down to keep that face fromattacking you.
And I say to be a member of theVan Gogh family.
You don't want to be a memberof the Van Gogh family.
You don't want to lose that ear.
So the hand that does the pumpis closest to the rump and the
palm is the pump.
That's an art and original thatnow some veterinary schools,
according to some of my vetadvisors, are now using my rhyme
(14:01):
.
You're just not going to forgetit.
Amy Castro (14:03):
The hand that pumps is closest to the rump.
Arden Moore (14:04):
Who wants to be in a class where people are using
oh, my cat just hacked up atribosaur.
I know a fancy word forhairball.
I don't use big words.
I say butt, I say rump, becauseI want it to be practical and
and and.
Everything is approved by theteam of veterinary advisors with
their big Vanna White initialsafter their names.
But I'm here to teach you howto save a life and you teach by
(14:28):
having them get to do and havingrhymes and easy phrases and and
make it common sense.
And so that's what I, what Ibuild my first day class around.
Amy Castro (14:39):
Yeah, well, and I'm glad that you're focusing on the
safety, because that was goingto be one of my questions to you
.
You know, is or or just adiscussion about the fact that I
remember seeing this horrificvideo, and it was an after story
about a woman who washospitalized and I don't know if
she lost part of her arm or shewas at risk of losing her arm
because her cat had been in ahorrific.
(14:59):
I won't tell the gory story,but the cat was horrifically
injured and she was trying tohelp the cat but the cat was
shredding her and biting her inthe process and it's like at
what point do you say am I goingto lose my arm for this?
Like?
So just the fact that you'rerolling in things to keep
yourself safe because you got todo that too, you can't take
care of your pet if you end upin the hospital.
Arden Moore (15:22):
Oh no, we.
I'm one of the fear-freecertified speakers.
Dr Marty Becker has startedthis program and it's all about
FAS reducing fear, anxiety andstress.
So we get into how we approachan injured dog or cat, what we
say, what we never say, and wehave some practical all right,
(15:43):
here comes the pun Mutt-Gyverhacks tips.
If you don't have a pet firstaid kit and the vet is far away,
what can you do to render aidon the scene to an injured dog
or cat and still keep all yourfingers and everything?
So we use towels, we usesweatshirts, we use six-foot
leashes, we even take an Ikeabag you know those blue shopping
(16:07):
bags.
Yeah, we cut it lengthwise, weleave the handles and if you
have a large dog, you just gotyourself a $2 gurney.
And it rolls up and I keep it inthe car.
There's been times I've seendogs get hit by cars and I've
had to use it.
But I'm a daughter of anengineer, so if you roll the dog
(16:27):
in a towel or a blanket and youhave to drag it across carpet
or a rug, it's really hard.
But if you put them wrapped ina slick plastic, slick Ikea bag
or something similar, it doesn'trip and it has no friction, so
it glides.
Plus, you have handles.
So we show things like that inour class.
Amy Castro (16:48):
That's amazing, that's yeah, that's, that's so
awesome.
Just be able to improvise withwhat you've got, because we
always have stuff in our car.
As a matter of fact, I alwayssay to my daughter if we ever
get pulled over by the police,we're probably going to jail
because I mean, we've gotsyringes, we've got.
You know, sometimes it's justleftover stuff, but you know,
it's amazing the things that youhave around you, if you have
(17:09):
the wherewithal and theknowledge of how to put them
into play, how you can makethose work to your advantage.
Arden Moore (17:15):
I mean, you draw strings on a hoodie is a great
makeshift muzzle.
Amy Castro (17:19):
Yeah, absolutely, or a leash, you know something
like that for sure.
Arden Moore (17:25):
Yeah, we show a lot of MacGyverisms because I want
you to leave that class going.
I got this, and the other thingis I learned from veterinarians
.
I give up a night every fewmonths and spend it in the ER
and I'm always learning morethings because I want to share
it and this is something thatveterinarians have told me that
(17:46):
I want to pass on to all of youlistening who love your pets,
and for those in the foster andthe rescue world.
You've got to be practical anddon't beat yourself up.
That's easy to say, but theytaught me to tell you you have
to do the best you can in thecircumstances.
You're in with the skills youhave, right.
So you take a pet first aidclass.
(18:06):
I tell everybody you justwalked in the store.
When you walk out of the storeand get your two-year
certificate, you're going tohave more knowledge, you're
going to have more skills,you're going to have a better
chance of saving that pet's life.
But even veterinarians can'tsave every pet.
But I want to empower you andtell you this is going to be a
(18:27):
game changer of a class for youand that's how we approach it.
Amy Castro (18:31):
Well, and I think, from the standpoint of peace of
mind for the pet owner, from thestandpoint of peace of mind for
the pet owner rescuer, foster,whatever it might be I know for
myself I don't feel the anxietyand guilt when an animal passes
that somebody else might, andpart of that I'm sure I can
attribute to the fact that I'veseen a tremendous amount of
animal suffering and death.
(18:52):
At the same time, I feel likeI'm well equipped and by the
time it gets to the vet andsomething in, let's say, the
poor animal passes away, I knowI've done everything that is
humanly possible for Amy Castroto do.
So I'm not going to beat myselfup over it, but it's because I
have acquired the equipment, orthe mudgyvering it, and the
knowledge and the information,so that I've got as many tools
(19:14):
as possible to help in as manysituations as I can.
So I feel like I'm, you knowI've done my best along those
lines.
But I think where people getinto trouble is when they, when
they realize it's something thatmaybe they could have easily
prevented or easily, you know,administered some type of aid
that could have made a hugedifference, and they didn't do
it, didn't know how.
(19:34):
And that's where you startknocking yourself over the head.
Arden Moore (19:37):
Well, yeah, and you bring up a good point.
I mean, I'm one person, eventhough my last name is Moore,
but I also team up with acompany called Pro Pet Hero, in
addition to my Pet First Aid foryou class, and my job is to
teach people to become Pet FirstAid instructors.
It's a 16-hour course, two days, eight hours, and you're like
(19:58):
what, but it goes like that.
And we keep the classenrollment to a small handful,
five or six max every month, andwe've been doing that since 18.
And I have now trained over 400people to be pet first aid
instructors, and they're indaycares, they're in rescues,
they're pet sitters, they're vetassistants.
(20:19):
So Arden's Army's out there,and that's my.
If I had to have a legacy, mylegacy was she's the chick that
made it so that more people tookpet first aid.
Yeah, I know, it's not a bigthing, I didn't win the lottery,
but if I get to go to heavenknowing that's my legacy, I'm
happy.
Yeah, amen to that for sure.
(20:41):
And you must have feline energy, because my cat, casey, is
purring into the microphone andhe is like flirting with you on
the table.
So there you go.
Amy Castro (20:51):
I'm definitely a cat whisperer, for sure, because
the vast majority of the animalsthat come through our rescue,
purely because of logistics overthe years, have been cats.
I mean, we get the occasionaldog, maybe 15 or so a year and
some years more, but for themost part it's dozens and dozens
of cats.
So yeah, we definitely, and youlearn a lot.
(21:13):
You learn a lot about themischief that those animals can
get into and the signs andsymptoms the poop don't.
You wouldn't believe how manypictures of cat poop I have on
my phone.
What do you think about this?
What do you think?
Or my fosters will send me apicture.
You're being a poopologist, Iam a poopologist In my class.
Arden Moore (21:33):
I actually tell people I saved Casey's life when
he, about four or five yearsago he went into the litter box
and he just sat and I'm like,dude, you're reading a novel,
what's going on?
And all of a sudden you guysknow this sound and I went and
he's a big, long orange tabbyand there was a little bit of
(21:55):
urine and it had red in it blood.
So of course it was a sundaynight.
You all can relate rightemergencies only happen on
holidays.
Right before your vacation, youknow where you can pay more
money at the er.
But he's my man, he's acertified therapy cat and he's
my best feline friend.
I took him him that night tothe vet ER and they manipulated
(22:19):
his bladder and he released ariver of urine on that table.
Amy Castro (22:24):
He had a blockage.
Arden Moore (22:25):
Yep.
And the thing was this theysaid we're going to keep Casey
overnight, we're going to checkhim out, make sure.
And I remember what theveterinarian said in the morning
when I picked up Casey with aclean bill of health.
She said had you waited, arden,until Monday to try to work him
into your regular vet, there'sa very good chance he would have
(22:47):
died of a urinary blockage,urinary toxicity, yep.
So she said it's always, alwaysbetter to be a little too soon
than a little too late.
I think it's better to be alittle bit more proactive than
wait till it gets worse.
And so, in this case, I tellpeople that boy cats, boy dogs,
(23:10):
they're urethra.
I call it the pee-pee pipelineit is.
It's like a road rally race,more so than females, so there's
more curves that stones andcrystals can come in and block
the flow.
So if your cat isn't going,that's a medical emergency, same
(23:30):
for our dogs.
Amy Castro (23:31):
And so, had I waited until Monday, I may not have
Casey right here next to me yeah, that can happen so fast and
well, because most of the time,by the time somebody discovers
that the cat's having an issue,it didn't just start with that
urination.
It's something that has beenbuilding up or going on for a
little bit, and we may not wantto tell us, because they're both
(23:51):
prey and predator.
Arden Moore (23:52):
They're like I feel great.
Sure, my leg is dangling, butI'm good.
The dog will be like you know,I think I stubbed my toe, yeah.
Amy Castro (24:03):
Yeah, that's yeah and that's a lot of people don't
realize that.
About cats how long they hide,you know, it's like they're fine
until they're definitely not,and there's not often an obvious
progression for people to seeAlong those lines, because that
was another thing I wanted toask you about.
It's like, because we evenstruggle with this in rescue
Should we take him to the vet?
Should we not take him to a vet?
(24:23):
You know, and obviously we know, there are certain things where
you can't wait.
But how does the average petparent know?
Are there any guidelines thatwould say?
Arden Moore (24:32):
Well, my veterinarians tell me to say
this.
There's the four biggies.
Okay, All right, they don'thave a heartbeat, they're not
breathing, they're spurtingblood, an arterial bleed, and
for our doggies, they aresuffering from bloat and that's
the twisted stomach that happensto deep-chested dogs and that
(25:02):
is life-threatening.
Those are the four biggies.
You need to render aid and youknow what Our phones have
speakers.
Put your phone on speaker whileyou're calling the nearest vet
and give them the stats quickwhile you're still rendering aid
.
And we even have a little gamewe play in our class.
But please, guys, I understandmy dog Kona, my cat Casey and
the rest of the pets in myhousehold.
They're my family and I'm goingto do whatever I can to save
(25:25):
their life.
But if you freak out on thephone and start screaming, every
minute counts.
So, we actually teach you how toreport an emergency in our
classes, because when are wegoing to freak out Amy, Later,
after.
So those are the four biggieand I've done CPR four times.
(25:47):
I've actually saved two, butI've had pets choke and pass out
and I've revived them.
So again, being in the presentmoment, gathering clues.
If they hack up the world'smost obnoxious hairball before
passing out, put it in a poopbag or a baggie and bring in the
evidence.
Veterinarians want the clues.
(26:08):
You're a pet detective in themaking, so I don't know if that
helps or not.
Amy Castro (26:13):
No, that's definitely.
I mean, that definitely is agood starting point for sure.
I want to jump back to the PetFirst Aid Kit, because obviously
we're getting the foreknowledgehere and not in the crisis
where we're looking around toMutt-Gyver things.
Can I go on Amazon or someplaceand get a good Pet First Aid
Kit, or is it something that Itruly need, Like I know ours
around here is prettysophisticated?
Arden Moore (26:35):
It's not you know it's not your average kit.
I work with a company calledAll Cat Adventures and I have
the kit available on my PetFirst Aid for you website.
It should be something that'swaterproof.
It should be something that'sgood for cats, dogs and, ideally
, people.
And every six months go throughthat bag and see what is
(26:56):
something that could haveexpired that I need to replace.
And I always say do it when youchange your clocks, rather than
January 1st and July 1st of July, because you're hungover, maybe
from the new year and 4th ofJuly you're crazy, going on a
trip, so do it when it's boring,do it the same time.
Your carbon monoxide monitorsand your smoke detectors.
(27:19):
When you look at what's in akit, my kits actually have a
cheat sheet that I created, soyou're like I don't know what to
do, and there it is, I slip itin there.
But there is hydrogen peroxidein that kit and this I hope I
can share with your, yourfollowers.
Amy, we do the hydrogenperoxide pledge, so I'm going to
(27:41):
ask you if you could do thiswith me.
You ready?
Amy Castro (27:43):
I won't embarrass you.
Raise my right hand.
Arden Moore (27:45):
Yeah, raise your right paw, my right paw, sorry.
Okay, repeat after me.
I promise I Never to usehydrogen peroxide.
Amy Castro (27:54):
Never to use hydrogen peroxide To clean a
pet's wound.
To clean a pet's wound.
Arden Moore (28:00):
So help me paw, so help me paw.
The only safe use for hydrogenperoxide on a pet is if you know
they got into a toxin.
You're far away from aveterinary office and they're
not puking.
You insert it in their mouth tomake them vomit.
But if you try to clean a woundwith hydrogen peroxide, you see
(28:23):
the bubbling and you think, oh,that's good.
No, you are destroying healthyskin around the wound, making
the wound bigger and processmore of a mess.
Really, keep in mind this onyour body, on your cat's body,
on your dog's body, the largestorgan is the skin, so you muck
(28:44):
up the skin.
The body's immune system islike mayday, mayday, mayday
coming over there and all theother systems get compromised.
Day, may, day coming over thereand all the other systems get
compromised.
So that's why we have everybodydo water.
Clean a wound with water reallyhard, really hard.
Just clean the wound, yeah, sothank you for taking the
hydrogen peroxide pot pledge.
Amy Castro (29:05):
Yes, I have pledged.
I used to have to keep anindustrial size bottle of
peroxide underneath my kitchensink for my Doberman who had
let's just say he had dietaryindiscretion.
If we could, if we could catchthe fact that he'd swallowed a
sock hole pretty quickly, wecould literally get him to.
So I'll tell a quick storyabout that, because you'll
appreciate this.
(29:26):
So we got to the point where wecould you know, we, where we
knew how he operated.
And I was doing laundry andnoticed that two men's knee-high
white heavy-duty socks two, notjust one, but two were missing.
And the dog was there, lookingvery guilty.
So I get the peroxide out, Igive him the dose that my vet
had trained me to give and, loand behold, up come the socks.
(29:50):
So I took the socks outside andI hung them on the edge of a
table to take a picture to showher, because she used to be like
, no, don't tell me, don't tellme.
And I went back inside forsomething and the dog ate them
again.
So I had to dose him again.
Now see, a cat would never dothat, I know, yeah.
So from there on out, the doghad to.
(30:10):
When he was unattendedespecially if you put him
outside, because most of thestuff he got into was outside he
had to wear a wire basketmuzzle to keep him from killing
himself.
Arden Moore (30:18):
He was suicidal.
Yeah, and dogs explore morewith their mouths and cats
explore more with their paws.
You know, I'm glad your dogsurvived, Wow, yeah yeah, he was
a menace.
Amy Castro (30:31):
He was a menace, all right.
So one of the things that Ithought I had remembered reading
on the many things that arethat you have available out
there all the information, ispreventing emergencies.
Do you have any advice, as weget kind of towards the end of
our time here, for how peoplecan prevent emergencies?
And then I want to get into howpeople can take your course.
Arden Moore (30:51):
Well, I think it's a good habit, once a week, once
a month, to do a room-by-roominspection of your home from the
pet's perspective.
So if you're six foot tall, getdown low and look around.
My sister.
I was at her house and for somereason there was one of those
little plastic squares of dentalfloss that was left on the end
(31:15):
table by the recliner and hercurious dog, maddie, got into it
, crushed it and her mouth wasfull of dental floss.
As I heard her choking ran toaround the my sister has many
recliners ran down the hallwayaround the recliners as she
passed out with a mouthful ofdental floss oh wow.
(31:38):
Fortunately the metal clip wasright here at the throat, hadn't
gone down and I.
It took me two, one minutes ofrescue breathing and I revived
her.
So doing that room by room check.
We're coming out of theholidays, but anything that has
your scent on it, you know it'san attraction to a pet that's
(31:59):
bonded with you.
So, linear objects, sharpobjects.
If you like to cook and bake,do not leave that dough rising
on the counter, because evenchihuahuas will figure out how
to get that dough.
If there's a will, there's away, and that could cause
blockage in the stomach.
So you know, hot pans of water,pasta.
(32:22):
Keep your pets out of thekitchen when you're making food.
Have them in another area witha keep-busy toy or something.
But just think about likeyou're a pet safety, parent
Safety, safety safety.
I don't know if that answersyour question.
Amy Castro (32:38):
No, I mean, it definitely does, and I think you
know just the awareness.
I just saw a video the otherday talking about minoxidil and
how toxic it was to pets Rogaineand so if you've got somebody
in your house that's trying tomaintain their hair and they use
Rogaine, even the tiniestamount that they have on their
hands can cause toxicity to, andlethal toxicity to, pets.
Arden Moore (32:58):
So just knowing you know, doing your homework on
certain items in your home too,and knowing what's not safe and
what is safe and have on yourphone or on your refrigerator,
like the poison control hotline,the ASPCA poison control
hotline.
There's also another pet poisonhotline.
There's two of them, butthey're 800 numbers.
They're staffed 24-7 byboard-certified veterinary
(33:21):
toxicologists and you can dolike a video call and gather the
evidence.
And yes, you do have to pay forit.
That's how they make theirliving.
But I would say, have thathandy so that anybody in the
(33:43):
house.
And another preventative is ifyour pet has any allergies like
to bee venom and they can closetheir throat if they get stung,
instead of just pills ofantihistamines, make them gels
with a safety pin on the box andthe dose written in marker so
that if your pet's throat isclosing you can use that safety
pin, puncture the gel, drip itinto the mouth and keep that
(34:05):
airway open en route to the vetyeah, that's, that's good to
know.
Amy Castro (34:10):
yeah, because allergies, that's a a whole
other potential hazard there,for sure.
Arden Moore (34:13):
Yeah, I'll tell you what learning pet first aid.
It's great to take your dog ona doggy vacay, give him a cool
toy, whatever, but if you reallywant to show how much you love
your pet, you need to take aclass.
And if you take a class withpeople like me, you're going to
have fun and you're going tolearn and you're going to bond
with your pet.
Amy Castro (34:34):
Yeah, definitely.
So, on that note, obviouslyyou're in the Dallas area, so
you do in-person classes upthere, correct?
Well, I've traveled through thecountry, yeah.
Arden Moore (34:45):
I've traveled through the country, depending
on the situation, like I went upto Kansas City because I taught
for four or five days.
There was a whole group ofpeople and it was worth doing
that.
I've been to Mobile, alabamaand other places.
But if you take a class inperson with me, you get Casey
and Kona, and if you take aclass with me, interactive, on
(35:07):
Zoom, it's the best Zoom ever.
You actually have your own dogor cat in your room where the
pet feels safe, and I guide youin real time how to do the
different demos.
So there's a Benny to both.
And then, by the end of thefirst quarter of 2025, we're
going to be offering an onlineself-paced course for Pet First
(35:27):
Aid for you, so we reach evenmore people, wow.
Amy Castro (35:31):
So basically, there's no excuse whatsoever to
not have this training.
Yeah.
Arden Moore (35:35):
And I promise you you will have a good time, you
will learn and you will feelthat connection with your pet.
Amy Castro (35:42):
Yeah, definitely, and we'll put the links to
access the information about thecourses in the show notes.
So people have that I know youtold the story about.
I mean like as if we'recasually talking oh, I just
saved my sister's dog.
But are there any, for all yourtime in doing this, any success
stories where somebody has comeback and said this training,
you know this information savedmy pet's life?
(36:04):
I'm sure you've got a bunch Ifyou go on petfirstaidforyoucom,
you'll see some testimonials.
Arden Moore (36:09):
One of my favorites is a friend.
A lady took a class and she hada medium-sized mutt named Mr
Finnegan Isn't that a great name?
It's a great name.
Yeah, mr Finnegan was in herback seat with the window down.
She had him in a harness andshe thought the harness was
secured with that seatbelt strap, you know, connected to the
seatbelt thing.
No, he flew out of the window,oh my God, tumbled in the median
(36:37):
.
She turned around and when shegot to him he was spurting blood
and she said, as I wasrendering aid to him, I said in
my head Arden said, I havepermission to freak out.
Later in my classes I show youhow to stop an arterial bleed
without doing a tourniquet.
So she was doing what I taughther.
(36:59):
She flagged down a guy who wasdriving a brand new truck.
Must be a dog lover must be.
She's all bloody, mr Finnegan'sall bloody.
They get in the cab of histruck and that nice man took him
to the nearest vet clinic andMr Finnegan lived.
Wow, that's awesome.
So the point is yes, guys, weneed to take these classes and
(37:23):
I'm going to be in your head,and if I'm in your head.
I know you're going to do theright thing and you're going to
help your dog or your cat.
Amy Castro (37:30):
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
Have I missed anything that youwant to cover?
Arden Moore (37:34):
Well, I hope people would subscribe to my YouTube
channel.
It's Arden Moore, I think it'sArden Moore 342 or something,
but there's no politics, there'sno religion, there's no
snarking.
We have over 800 videos.
I've got over a million viewsand there's a lot of fun things
there.
There's some things about PetFirst Aid and I hope they would
(37:55):
check out my shows O Behave onPet Life Radio and Four-Legged
Life, which is a nationallysyndicated radio show that then
goes to YouTube, and myfourleggedlifecom site Cool.
Amy Castro (38:08):
And what's the difference?
Just so people know, Because Ifeel like in listening to the
two shows it's a completelydifferent kind of focus.
I am, and that's a good thing.
Arden Moore (38:19):
Well, OVA is the longest running podcast on the
planet.
We've been on the air since 07.
Amy Castro (38:24):
But it is strictly a podcast.
Arden Moore (38:26):
There is no video.
The Four-Legged Life show Ihave a different producer and
that one does go on radio shows,so you know you get the weather
and all that inputted fromwhatever.
And then we do make it into aYouTube 15, 20 minute production
video and then it goes on FourLegged Life, the website, and we
do put some stuff on TikTok andInstagram so it gets diced and
(38:49):
sliced, so we get the messagesout.
Amy Castro (38:52):
Great yeah, cause people like those little
snippets of info and having it.
And it's amazing with some ofthe things that you have
mentioned just today.
Arden Moore (38:59):
little bits of information, but they're
memorable, they're going tostick with you and they're going
to save a life, yeah all thoseyears as a daily newspaper
reporter, I'll be known for thehand that pumps is closest to
the rump, oh well.
Amy Castro (39:11):
Yeah, some journalism professors rolling
over in his grave at this point,but it's okay.
Arden Moore (39:16):
The medium is the message.
Amy Castro (39:19):
Oh gosh, well, Arden , thank you so much for being
here and sharing thisinformation, and I can't wait to
share the links and so thatpeople can get access to your
many, many resources and notonly sharing your knowledge, but
your dedication and caring forpets and pet parents.
All of your accomplishments aredefinitely a testament to how
much you care, and that means awhole lot, so I really
appreciate it.
Well, thanks for having me onyour show, amy, all right and
(39:41):
everybody.
Thank you again for listeningto another episode of Muddy Paws
and Hairballs.
We will see you next week.
Thanks for listening to MuddyPaws and Hairballs.
Be sure to visit our website atmuddypawsandhairballscom for
more resources and be sure tofollow this podcast on your
favorite podcast app so you'llnever miss a show.
And hey, if you like this show,text someone right now and say
(40:04):
I've got a podcastrecommendation.
You need to check the show outand tell them to listen and let
you know what they think.
Don't forget to tune in nextweek and every week for a brand
new episode.
And if you don't do anythingelse this week, give your pets a
big hug from us.
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