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When Goldie the Labrador fell into a fast moving river and stopped breathing, it seemed all hope was lost. But then her Dad remembered the most important rule of pet resuscitation. And here it is...
Goldie, like most Labradors, could swim. After all, those big webbed feet are useful for more than just digging holes. But the speed of the river in Scotland where she was holidaying seemingly surprised even her. But as she was dragged lifeless out of the river, she had one big thing on her side. Her owner, Norman, was a (human) first aid volunteer.
Realising she’d stopped breathing but still had a heart beat, he went about trying to save her life. And in the process, stumbled across THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE OF PET RESUSCITATION.
You see, rather than giving her mouth to mouth (where a big tongue might block her airway) he gave her mouth to nose breathing. This delivered life saving oxygen through her large nasal passages straight into her lungs. Incredibly, it was enough to bring Goldie back to life. And meant she was ready to leap into so many more adventures. But hopefully holding back on the aquatic variety...
So here it is. If your dog or cat has stopped breathing, try mouth to nose breathing.
One breath every 5 seconds.
How big? Enough breath to see their chest rise. But not too much. Their lungs are smaller than ours after all.
And get them to the vet as soon as possible...
