Woman rallies to donate pet oxygen masks to SWFL fire departments

Firefighters work to protect us, and now they have tools to save our pets as well.

And it’s all thanks to one woman and a special donation to Southwest Florida fire departments.

Jean Bobis loves dogs, her pup Moochi is part of the family.

“I’ve had dogs since way back in the 1970s,” she said.

So she turned that passion for animals into a lifesaving mission for our canine companions.

“I saw something on TV about a fireman saving a life of a dog using a mask,” she said.

So she reached out to local fire departments to see if they had the pet oxygen masks. She found that either they didn’t have any, or if they did, they were expired.

She decided to band together with the Dog Obedience Club of Lee County, organizing a fundraiser.

“We’ve been raising money for oxygen masks for all the animals,” she said. “They come in three sizes so they’ll fit just about any size animal and they can resuscitate them with oxygen.”

They purchased and presented masks to fire stations across Lee County.

“To Cape Coral we are giving them 11, they have 11 stations so one for each station, North Fort Myers needs three so they’re getting three, then Fort Myers we’re giving four,” she said. “One thing we really do like is they’re not disposable so they’ll last and we’ll clean them and disinfect them and be able to keep using them.”

Cape Coral Fire Chief Donald Cochran says one mask could save the lives of many animals during emergencies.

“Pets are part of our family and part of our community and they’re important so they’re important to us,” Cochran said. “This is a great opportunity for our city and for our fire department.”

The Dog Obedience Club of Lee County says that Fort Myers Fire needs five more masks. If you are interested in getting involved or learning more, you can visit their Facebook page here.