Pets are at risk of injury or death from smoke inhalation during home fires - 40,000 pets die in home fires nationwide each year - just as people are, but human oxygen masks don't fit properly on animals, leaving rescue workers with no way to help them. On average, 10 pets die for every human killed in a home fire, most from smoke inhalation.

"We have three adopted pets - our dogs, Belle and Bailey, and our cat, Camden - who are a part of our family. If our house caught fire, our pets are the one thing we wouldn't be able to live without. And during the baseball season, we live in an apartment in Houston. When you think about how many other people live in an apartment complex and the fact that all it takes is for one person to be careless or make a mistake and potentially set the entire complex on fire - you want to do all you can to make sure your pets will survive," Dave Borkowski says.

According to Jill Borkowski, most cities and individual fire departments do not have money in the budget to purchase pet oxygen masks, so it's up to individuals and businesses in the community to "step to the plate" and raise the necessary funds.

Pet oxygen masks are cone-shaped to fit over an animal's snout and are equipped with a donut-shaped rubber seal at the wide end to ensure good oxygen flow to the pet. Each mask set costs $55 and includes three sizes for small, medium and large pets.

Since Best Friends Pet Care launched their pet oxygen mask campaign in Houston, community members and Best Friends' clients have contributed more than $2,000. Those contributions were matched by Best Friends and were enough to purchase one set of pet oxygen masks for each of the nearly 100 fire stations in the Houston Fire Department.

"We're so excited that every fire station is now equipped with a set of pet oxygen masks. It's a great start, but it's not enough. Most fire stations have multiple trucks, and are sometimes deployed to different locations. And in many cases, the pet oxygen masks are part of the Fire Chief's truck. If the Chief visits the fire scene and determines he is no longer needed on site, he might leave, taking the pet oxygen masks with him. We will continue the pet oxygen mask campaign - with Best Friends continuing to match each dollar donated - until we've raised enough to equip EVERY FIRE TRUCK in the Houston area and many of the suburbs with a set of pet oxygen masks," says Brandy Waggoner of Best Friends Pet Care.

Alicia Whitehead, who works in the Houston Fire Department's community outreach division says, "There's so many times when someone is screaming 'my baby, my baby' and that 'baby' turns out to be their dog or their cat. The specially designed pet oxygen masks give canine and feline fire victims a better chance for survival and it keeps our human oxygen mask supply full and focused on human life saving."

The Borkowski's are asking Astros fans and animal lovers to join their team and contribute to the Best Friends Cause for Paws pet oxygen mask campaign. Donations can be made in person at Best Friends Pet Care's Spring location (26839 Interstate 45 S.) during their AKC Responsible Pet Ownership Day celebration on Saturday, September 15th (10 am - 3 pm; activities will include a canine fashion show, pup pool time, pet contests, pet photos and more). Dave Borkowski will be on hand from 10 am - noon to sign autographs in return for a donation. All donations will go towards the pet oxygen mask campaign.

Contributions also can be made by:

(1) Visiting Best Friends Pet Care at 5602 Royalton, Houston 77081or 26839 Interstate 45 S., Spring 77380 during regular business hours.
(2) Mailing a check made payable to Best Friends Pet Care (please note "pet oxygen masks" in the check memo) to Best Friends Pet Care, 5602 Royalton, Houston 77081.
(3) Calling 713-664-6111 and making a credit card donation over the phone.

Any individual or business who makes a contribution of $55 (the cost of one set of masks) or more by October 15, 2007 will be entered into a drawing; the grand prize winner will receive a baseball autographed by Dave Borkowski, one of Borkowski's personal bats autographed by the entire Astros team and a "pampered pooch" weekend getaway at Best Friends Pet Care.

The Borkowski's also want to remind pet owners to post "emergency rescue" stickers on multiple windows and doors throughout the house to notify emergency response workers that pets are in the house. Anyone who makes a donation to the pet oxygen mask campaign by stopping into a Best Friends Pet Care location will be given a complimentary emergency rescue sticker.