Oxygen masks for dogs: Should all UK fire engines carry them?

All fire engines should have oxygen masks for animals, according to one not-for-profit organisation.

Smokey Paws wants every fire service in the UK to have them to help look after pets who are caught up in fires.

The couple who run the organisation imported a set of special oxygen masks from the US and donated them to their local fire service, after finding out that the UK Fire and Rescue Service didn't carry them.

Smokey Paws says that masks designed for humans aren't the correct shape for animals, because the animal masks need to have a conical shape to fit over the snout.

It also says animals are able to get much more oxygen from a mask specially designed for them. Animals only get about 10-15% of the oxygen with a human mask, but 85-90% using the animal one.

So far, the organisation has managed to provide 2,800 masks to various fire stations around the UK.

It is now hoping to raise £90,000 to be able to provide every fire engine in the UK with them.

Its website says: "These masks save the lives of over 22,000 animals every year in the US and are needed in the UK."

The animal oxygen masks come in lots of different sizes

Over the past few years, there's been a greater awareness of how important it is to protect pets after a fire.

They can be used on a wide variety of animals including dogs, cats, guinea pigs, puppies, kittens, sheep, and ponies, with the smallest ones for hamsters!

What do you think of the idea? Let us know in the comments below.