Quick-Thinking Dog Mom Saves Pup After Freak Accident with Fur Sibling—Her Inspiring Rescue Story & What You Can Do
Knowing first aid basics is crucial for everyone, but how many of us consider the importance of learning pet first aid essentials? Luckily, one dog mom from Columbus, Ohio, knew exactly what to do when a freak accident left one of her dogs unresponsive. Her quick thinking saved his life, and now she’s on a crusade to educate other dog owners about the importance of learning canine CPR. (Watch video below)
Saving Oakley With Canine CPR
A regular day of play turned into a close call for Oakley, one of Courtney Walker’s two dogs. He was playing with fur sibling Bentley when one of Bentley’s teeth became stuck in Oakley’s dog collar. While Bentley panicked trying to free himself, he twisted Oakley’s collar, accidentally strangling him. Courtney quickly leapt into action trying to remove the collar, but she couldn’t even slip a pair of scissors beneath the tight collar. She and her son watched Oakley stop breathing as they struggled to free him. As soon as Courtney unclipped the collar, she knew precisely what she had to do.
“This is truly one of those instances where there would have been no time to, you know, load him up and take him somewhere,” she told WBNS. “It was either I could save him at that time or he wouldn’t be saved.”
She immediately began to perform CPR on Oakley and before long, he began breathing on his own again. Her quick thinking single handedly saved his life, as dogs have about two to three minutes maximum before oxygen stops flowing in the body.
CPR Basics All Dog Parents Should Know
While Oakley’s close call is inspiring Courtney to talk about the importance of CPR for dogs it’s still up to each pet parent to learn this essential skill. You never know when your dog may have a medical emergency or freak accident, but knowing CPR for pets can be the difference between life or death.
Source: Youtube – WBNS 10TV
Dr. Dillon Clouse, a veterinarian at Animal Care Center in Columbus, recommends moving dogs and cats onto their sides to perform CPR. While CPR for humans should be performed at around 100-120 compressions per minute (which is also the beat to a few hit songs like Stayin’ Alive and Pink Pony Club) CPR for dogs should be done closer to 100 compressions per minute. This is already a lot of information–we know–but the first aid experts at the American Red Cross have put together a handy list of step-by-step directions to performing CPR for dogs.
First, you’ll want to check for a heartbeat or breath from your dog. If they are not breathing and you can’t find a heartbeat, continue down this list to begin CPR.
Giving chest compressions is arguably the hardest part about about pet CPR because your technique will depend on your dog’s size.
- According to the American Red Cross CPR for pets guidelines, “place the heel of one of your hands directly over the pet’s heart and place your other hand directly over the first hand” when performing CPR on small dogs or cats.
- “For deep chested dogs, place the heel of one hand over the widest part of the chest and place your other hand directly over the first hand.”
- “For barrel chested dogs, place the dog on its back, place one hand over the widest part of the sternum, and place your other hand directly over the first hand. Lock your elbows and make sure your shoulders are directly above your hands.”
Once your hands are in position, you’re ready to begin chest compressions. You’ll want to press down about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way, then ensure your pet’s chest fully comes back up before beginning the next compression. After 30 of these compressions, you can give your dog two rescue breaths by extending their neck to open the airway, closing their mouth, and gently breathing into their nose by covering it with your mouth. You should see their chest inflate.
The ideal pattern for performing CPR on dogs is 30 compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths. Ideally your dog would begin breathing again within minutes, but you can continue CPR until you reach an animal hospital.
If you want to learn more about CPR for pets, there are many helpful video resources and in person training courses for dog owners. Even the American Red Cross offers classes in Pet First Aid Training!
