I have never been as scared and upset as I was tonight. My dog almost died in my arms. And the most shocking part is that it was Cruella, not Molly!
Molly is taking several medications, and the only way to get them down her throat is by placing the pills in a small piece of hotdog. When I gave her the pills tonight, she separated the pills from the hotdog and then threw everything on the floor. She was not the slightest bit interested in the hotdog. Cruella grabbed the hotdog, and then the dogs started fighting. It took me a while to break them apart. I finally grabbed Molly and held her still so that both dogs could calm down. That is when I heard a gagging sound. Cruella was choking on a piece of hotdog! I ran over to her, expecting the hotdog to go down her throat just as I got there. It didn’t. I gave her a few whacks between the shoulders and still nothing! By this point, I was scared to death. And then it got even worse! Cruella became disoriented and started to stumble around the room. I started screaming, and I continued to whack her between the shoulders, hoping to dislodge the food.
After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably closer to a couple of minutes, Cruella fell onto the floor, knocking over a couple of chairs in the process. That is when I really panicked. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I am ashamed to say that before tonight, I hadn’t prayed in quite some time. But in the midst of my screaming, I yelled, “God, please help me!” Cruella was practically lifeless on the floor. She wasn’t moving. I just kept screaming, and pounding on her back and shoulders. I tried to recall the last seven years of CPR classes. But those classes don’t teach you how to perform CPR on dogs! I lifted her up and put a lot of force into those whacks across the back and shoulders, and I pressed on her abdomen a couple of times. She finally started breathing, so I guess the hotdog had gone down her throat. I ran to the phone, called Jake, and told him to hurry and get to my house because my dog was almost dead. Thank goodness, by the time he got there, Cruella was breathing and was moving around a bit. Jake stayed with us for a little while to make sure she was okay. She coughed and wheezed for about half an hour after the choking, so I decided to take her to the Animal ER and get her checked out.
When I got Cruella to the ER, she was still coughing and wheezing. They checked her out, and she is fine. Her trachea is irritated, so the doctor gave her an anti-inflammatory shot to make her feel better. But other than that, my girl is fine! Thank God! I wouldn’t be able to handle something happening to my dogs.
I am so thankful that I was able to help Cruella. But I hope I never experience anything like that again!
February 8th, 2007 at 1:16 am
Ack!! When it rains, it pours… Glad to hear it all worked out, but geez…
February 8th, 2007 at 3:18 am
Yikes!
Your poor doggies have a drama filled life here lately. Hope things get back to normal for them soon!
February 8th, 2007 at 4:02 am
Os ~ I know exactly what you mean! And thanks for the kind words!
Mama ~ Thanks for the well wishes!
February 8th, 2007 at 5:27 am
omg! You poor thing…
Thinking of you and your puppies
Take care.
~Tracy
February 8th, 2007 at 7:17 am
That’s some scary stuff!!! I would have felt helpless in that situation. I’m so glad Cruella is ok, but gosh it’s frightening to think she could have gotten hurt. Hugs to everyone!
February 8th, 2007 at 9:22 am
i am so turned on right now!
actually, when you called (seeing that you dont usually call me in the evening) i figured something was wrong with your dog. of course, i was shocked to learn it was the OTHER dog!
seriously, good job!
February 8th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Oh sugar, I know what ya mean. Something similar happened to one of my dogs on Christmas Eve. He had ingested bird food and feathers into his lungs. We spent the morning in the ER. I almost lost him that day. Boy it sure is scary. Glad all is better now:-).
February 8th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
I ALWAYS worry about Charlie choking but I have never experienced that!!! That must have been awful for both of you! I’m so glad she’s okay.
February 8th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Wow, doggie drama! That must have been frightening…
Good job though – some people would be that quick thinking!
February 8th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Glad Cruella is fine, and hoping Molly is better soon.
February 8th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Wow, that is scary but damn girl, you rock!
So glad to hear Cruella is going to be fine.
February 9th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Cheese and Rice!!! Good job with the quick thinking!
February 10th, 2007 at 12:39 am
You did an amazing job!
Thank goodness she is ok.
February 10th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
I 2nd the hope you don’t have to do this again.
Here’s hoping for both of your dogs health and happiness.
Take care.
February 11th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
I had a dream last night that some famous person, can’t remember who, was on tv talking about their favourite bloggers and one of them was you! And they showed your picture with Tish beside it. And then I check my email and I have an invite to join your blog. Weird.
February 11th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
OMG I would have freaked out!!! You did an AWESOME job and your love for your doggies is beautiful. I adore animals as well–as does my wife.
Glad all is well.
May you and your dogs enjoy great health for a long, long time.
February 12th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
OMG I’m glad Cruella is OK! Cut those hotdogs into bite-sized pieces!
July 3rd, 2007 at 12:48 pm
[...] once saved my dog Cruella from [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
[...] have been certified in Adult CPR for the last seven years, and it is that knowledge that helped me when my dog Cruella choked on a piece of hot dog earlier this year. It was a very traumatic event for me as well as her, but [...]
February 11th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
[...] I’ve never had to use my skills on a person, but it was just over a year ago that I saved one of my dogs from choking. I’ll admit that being certified in Adult CPR helped me deal with the situation, but I still [...]
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
[...] never been in a situation that required me to use my skills on a human, but I was able to save one of my dogs when she choked last year. I thank God that I had my CPR skills to fall back on. Otherwise, Cruella [...]
April 15th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Does anyone know where one can go to get certified in animal (pet CPR)?
Thanks,
P.