Some gifts, people look forward to using.

Then, there are the other kind.

The donations that fire departments in Wiscasset, Woolwich, West Bath and Arrowsic got October 30 from Wiscasset veterinarian Tammy Doughty are ones she and the departments' chiefs hope will never be needed.

They're oxygen masks, designed for conscious or unconscious pets exposed to smoke or other fumes.

The chiefs couldn't recall times they would have needed the masks. But they said they will be glad to have the new equipment with them at fire scenes.

The alternative is to run oxygen near a pet's face, officials said. The reusable masks each department received, in a set of three different sizes, would work better, they said.

Doughty handed out the mask kits and instructions in a presentation at the Woolwich Fire Station. Besides the help the masks could give animals, Doughty said she wanted to do it to thank the departments. They burned down a Hunnewell Lane, Woolwich, house for her on October 20, at the future site of Woodbrook Animal Clinic.

Doughty, of Woolwich, plans to move the clinic there from Wiscasset in early summer 2014.

The departments had already gotten the benefit of training by doing the recent burn for Doughty. So Arrowsic Fire Chief Chris Cummings said he appreciated the veterinarian also wanting to give them the masks.

“It's above and beyond, which was very nice on her part,” Cummings said.

“I love it,” Woolwich Fire Chief Geoffrey McCarren said of the donation.

Of the four towns, Woolwich is the only one that already had pet oxygen masks. Those are on its ambulance. The new set can go on the town's rescue truck that goes to fire scenes with the fire trucks, McCarren said.

Doughty ordered the masks through Wag'N 02 Fur Life, which describes itself as an educational and public safety organization. For more information, visit www.petoxygenmasks.org.