By Christine Morente
Inside Bay Area

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — Gypsy played injured — not dead — for the medics.

On Tuesday, Linda Janowitz of the Peninsula Humane Society slipped a funnel-shaped oxygen mask onto Gypsy's snout and comforted the 4-year-old search-and-rescue dog at the South San Francisco Fire Department's Station 61.

"What I look for is how they're breathing," Janowitz said to the men who were being trained on how to use special oxygen masks made for dogs and cats. Many of them have never resuscitated animals before.

Janowitz warned them how pets could be easily spooked, especially while being approached by firefighters with all of their gear on.

"With people, you can say, 'Calm down, I'm here to help you,'" the veteran chief of staff said. "But with a cat, to get a mask on will put it over the edge."

Two months ago, the fire department received six masks of various sizes that can be used on dogs, cats and birds — donations from Vince and Louise Senatore, formerly of South City, said Fire Chief Philip White.

Last year, the couple, who now live in Memphis, Tenn., read in a newspaper article that a fire department received similar masks after someone's pet was overcome with smoke from a house fire.

The Senatores called White and asked him if the department would need the oxygen masks, too. White said Tuesday he wasn't initially aware of the reusable masks from HELP Animals Inc., but he accepted the donation.

In the past, the firefighters used adult or child oxygen masks after doing a mouth-to-nose resuscitation on animals. California Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 3 in Menlo Park also has the masks.

They reverse the effects of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide and provide fresh air, said White, who has had plenty of experiences saving animals. He once provided mouth-to-nose resuscitation to a cat and performed the Heimlich maneuver on a dog.

Gypsy belongs to Tom Carney, the department's safety inspector and code-enforcement officer.

Carney said the masks will make jobs easier on the medics and other firefighters and bring comfort to pet owners.

"You'll know you gave 110 percent in saving the animal's life," he said. "The person knows that everything had been done. There are no questions, no 'What if?' People are attached to their pets. They become part of the family."

Carney is now reassured that Gypsy could be treated if she gets hurt on the job.

"Having her being certified and going through four years of training, you want to give the best protection," Carney said. "The chances of getting hurt or wounded are high."

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