Emergency situations
Pets: Rescuers receive thousands of emergency calls
There are emergency numbers in Germany for quick help for sick and injured dogs and cats. photo
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
If a pet is in an emergency situation, a special nationwide telephone number offers help.
By the beginning of December, around 2,000 emergency calls had been received there, said animal rescue paramedic Patricia Picker. The number is at the same level as the previous year. “Anyone who has an animal emergency can seek help there.” The organization says it sees a need for a nationwide uniform number.
Contact points for animal rescue
So far it is like this: There are various animal rescue contact points in several federal states, sometimes they concentrate on individual cities. In some cases, volunteers or specially trained experts drive emergency vehicles to the injured or seriously ill animals.
In Thuringia, for example, the state veterinary association has set up an emergency call that directs pet owners to the nearest veterinary doctor in an emergency. About 20,000 calls were received each year, a spokesman said. There is one veterinarian in each district who is on call if the pet is not feeling well in the evening or at night. Veterinary clinics are also contacts.
More missions in summer than in winter
According to Tiernotruf.de’s experience, most emergency calls are received in the summer months. “It’s simply because people are more active with the animals, it’s longer light,” said Picker. The animal rescuers based in the north also travel to emergencies themselves.
“We are only responsible for pets, wild animals are not included,” she said. For example, they take care when animals are poisoned or have accidents. In the aid organization’s experience, its rescuers are called more often in rural areas than in cities. The organization also sees differences between urban and rural areas in the operations themselves. “In a big city, dogs and cats sometimes fall out of the window. That happens less in the country.”
Stefan Bröckling from the animal emergency call in Düsseldorf manages a maximum of ten missions a day. For example, he catches injured animals or saves them from awkward situations.