Animal first aid

Animal Rescue Chemnitz e. V.

Anyone whose pet is in distress or who finds an injured wild animal has been able to call the emergency number 01573 58 000 22 in our city for almost a year to get help from Chemnitz Animal Rescue. They care for the animals on site and then take them to a clinic or a vet. Sandra Kögel founded the organisation together with like-minded people. As Maker of the Week, she talks about the voluntary work that she and her colleagues are called out to do every day.

How did the organisation come about last year?
Sandra Kögel : I first came into contact with the topic of animal rescue 15 years ago, when I supported the Erfurt animal rescue in the PR area. Since then, my goal has been to realise this here in Chemnitz. Through various campaigns - including a dog search campaign at the end of 2019 - I got to know some people who were just as passionate about this idea as I was. So we got together, drew up a concept and founded the association on 6 March 2020.

The association currently has around 25 members, the majority of whom are active members who answer emergency calls and drive to operations. In autumn 2020, the association had collected enough donations to buy a used human ambulance and equip it with the most important veterinary equipment. Since then, they have been able to cover the entire city area. "However, if there is an emergency in the immediate vicinity of Chemnitz and we are able to cover it at that moment, we will of course go there," says Sandra Kögel. However, none of the members do this work full-time; they all help animals and owners in their free time.

Volunteering in your free time - how do you organise your work?
We form teams of two people from the active members and so we try to cover a kind of on-call duty from Monday to Sunday from 7 am to 10 pm. The members can choose the times themselves. This has worked well so far.

How does a call-out work?
When a call comes in via our emergency number 01573 58 000 22, the control centre first collects all the data relevant to the call. This means that it filters out whether it is an acute emergency situation, whether we can help or whether other institutions are responsible. The on-call team, which consists of a trained animal accident paramedic and a technical assistant, is informed and travels to the scene. It is in constant communication with the control centre which - if necessary - initiates further specific measures. If, for example, it is a matter of game that falls under hunting law, the consent of the responsible authorised hunter or the lower hunting authority here in Chemnitz must be obtained in advance.
At the scene, the rescue team secures and cares for the animal. We then drive it to a veterinary clinic or veterinary practice. Released wild animals are given to a foster home or a rearing centre, which takes care of the animal's further care. Once the operation is over, the team informs the control centre again. A report is drawn up and the operation is discussed internally in order to optimise processes if necessary and to inform all active emergency services.

Where is your control centre located?
The control centre is currently made up of four people. There is currently no central control centre at the location of our ambulance, but we hope that this will change soon.

What questions need to be answered on the phone when a pet owner reports an emergency or someone has found an animal?
Firstly, of course, the situation must be described. Which animal is it? Is it a technical rescue or a medical rescue? Where is the animal in distress? Then we decide whether we need to call the fire brigade or the police. This is all determined during the interview.
If it's a medical emergency, it depends on what the caller is reporting. If it's poisoning, for example, very specific questions are asked about this medical condition: What has the animal ingested? How much has it ingested? Is it still possible to identify the poison? This is called a preliminary anamnesis. We first ask about the symptoms, whether the animal has allergies to medication, whether it is already taking medication and its patient history. By taking a medical history, we try to get a clear picture of the problem. However, the on-call team asks everything again on site, because the caller's excitement often means that important information is forgotten during the initial consultation or the situation is somewhat different on site.

How does the communication between you and veterinary clinics and vets work?
So far, we have found that we have been very well received by vets and veterinary clinics. We announce our presence there before we arrive. This is done either by the on-call team directly from the ambulance or by the control centre. We let them know which emergency we are attending.
We're not vets ourselves, we're an outpatient emergency service, first aid so to speak. We bridge the gap between the scene of the emergency and the vet or clinic and prepare the animal for treatment as far as we can so that no important time is lost.

What training do you need for animal rescue?
The basic training is the animal accident paramedic. This is the lowest level, similar to human rescue. We club members are currently working our way through the other levels: Those who have completed the animal paramedic training will now do the animal rescue paramedic and, once this has been completed, the animal emergency paramedic.

Do you do the training yourself?
For the most part, we don't do them ourselves because we still see ourselves as beginners. We do the medical training through the Association of German Animal Rescue Services (Gemeinschaft Deutscher Tierrettungsdienste e. V.). The association offers a very high-quality training concept with veterinarians and veterinary clinics. As a member of the association, we can benefit from these medical and technical training programmes.
We also continue our training privately, for example we have been involved in the rescue of wild animals at the game reserve. Last year, we also attended a workshop on rescuing horses so that we can secure them according to their natural behaviour if, for example, a stable is on fire and they need to be driven out.

If someone wants to help out, how can they get involved with you?
Ideally, of course, active membership means travelling with us to operations. However, we also have members who don't have the confidence to do this. They can then be on site as technical helpers, for example. In addition to emergency medical care, we have also focussed on technical rescue. A technical emergency is, for example, when an animal has become trapped or caught somewhere. We need expert helpers who know how to free animals from their predicament. Our members are trained in both technical and medical rescue.
We also fill other positions such as the control centre, which is primarily responsible for organising the operations. In addition to the on-call teams, we are also supported by so-called "animal taxis", which take animals from the place where they were found to the care centres if passers-by have already secured them. This allows us to keep the ambulance free for real emergencies.

You are not yet able to offer a 24-hour service. Is that planned?
Our aim is definitely to be able to offer a 24-hour service as soon as possible. Road accidents in particular happen in the late evening hours because wild animals are primarily out and about in the evening. In order to be able to provide an animal rescue service around the clock, we still need some active members who can also take on night shifts.

You are also currently building up a network of care centres in the region. How many are already involved?
The network currently comprises around 15 centres, each of which has expertise in a specific animal species, for example care centres for squirrels or hedgehogs or wild bird centres. Without the foster centres, we would not be able to carry out our work. It actually ends when the animal has been cared for by us. As we do not take in the animals ourselves, we are dependent on foster homes.

What advice do you give pet owners in emergencies?
It's very important to stay calm in an emergency, as otherwise it will spread to the animal. A cool head on the part of the pet owner also helps us to get a better impression of the situation during the anamnesis.

What needs to be considered when someone finds an injured wild animal?
First of all, it is very important to observe the legal requirements, because a wild animal may not simply be taken away. If it is an animal that is subject to hunting law, it is forbidden to take it with you, even if it is obviously injured. The lower hunting authority or the person authorised to hunt must first be informed and issue an official release declaration, only then may the animal be removed from the scene and cared for. If the injured wild animal is a protected species, we also inform the Lower Nature Conservation Authority.

Do the people of Chemnitz have a heart for animals?
Definitely! We are absolutely overwhelmed by the response we have received from the public to our ambulance campaign and, in general, to the founding of the animal rescue organisation. The people of Chemnitz have a very big heart for animals. The fact that our ambulance was largely financed by private donations shows how animal-loving the people of Chemnitz are.

What else would you like to pass on to the people of Chemnitz?
We hand out emergency cards that you can carry in your wallet. You can write down on them how many pets of what kind you have at home. It doesn't matter whether you give this information on a handwritten note or on one of our emergency cards, but you should keep it in your wallet so that the emergency services can see immediately that animals need care or that someone needs to be informed to take care of them. This is particularly important for people who live alone so that they can ensure that their pet is cared for while they are unable to do so themselves.

What do you think about Chemnitz being European Capital of Culture 2025?
We are delighted and already have some ideas. We have definitely planned to get involved.

Contact:https://www.tierrettung-chemnitz.de/
Emergency number: 01573 58 000 22