Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

FIRE

New kits aim to save pets in emergency situations

Pet owners in Switzerland can now rest assured their beloved dog or cat will be looked after should something happen to them, thanks to a new emergency kit.

Published: 18 August 2017 10:20 CEST
New kits aim to save pets in emergency situations
photo: sve-my-pet.ch

The set, containing a sticker for the house door and a card to be carried on the person, alerts the emergency services to the presence of a pet.

The kit was launched this week by the Swiss branch of the animal protection organization Four Paws and the Swiss firefighters association Swissfire.

It is the first time a national approach has been taken to protecting house pets and is part of an international approach.

The campaign extends to neighbouring Germany and Austria.

There are an estimated 7.5 million pets in Switzerland, according to the news release.

Emergency services are regularly called on to save not just people but also pets – whether in the event of a fire or following road accidents.

The information on the card and sticker alerts rescuers to the fact that an animal is in the property or that someone involved in an accident has a pet at home.

The save-my-pet sets are available to order for 8.50 francs from Four Paws and Swissfire.

ANIMAL

WATCH: Swiss water police rescue drowning deer

Water police in the Swiss canton of Zug were called into action on Monday afternoon to rescue a deer in difficulties. An expat in the area caught the incident on camera.

Published: 1 May 2018 11:46 CEST
Updated: 3 May 2018 10:10 CEST
WATCH: Swiss water police rescue drowning deer
The animal was returned to the forest. Photo: Zug police

Water and environmental police had just carried out a joint exercise on Lake Aegeri when a boy informed officers the animal was in trouble in the water, the force said in a statement.

Officers used the Bella patrol boat to track down the roe deer, locating it a long way from the safety of shore.

Kovaldas Balciauskas, an expat based in Oberägeri told The Local via email be had been playing tennis when the deer came charging through the village and slammed into the fence surrounding the tennis courts.

“We continued to play tennis and the deer remained in the creek for about 20–30 minutes before it ran out of the mouth of the creek and proceeded to swim away from shore,” he wrote.

When he and his friend Will Pendered saw the animal was struggling, they decided to jump in a row boat to see if they could help the animal. 

“If it began to struggle we would have intervened but it was unnecessary,” Balciauskas wrote, noting police vessels were already intervening. His video footage above shows the rescue in progress.

 Photo: Zug Police

The animal was returned to shore shortly afterwards.

“Wildlife officers returned the deer to the forest where it could recover from the shock,” police said in their statement.

“This was an unusual operation for water police and environmental protection officers which, to the delight of everyone involved, ended happily,” they said.