Dog lover saved her pooch's life by performing Heimlich Maneuver
A dog lover saved her pooch's life after he started choking on a piece of sofa - by performing the Heimlich Maneuver.Louise Davies was left petrified when her little French bulldog Angus started making a wretching noise and losing the colour in his face.It was when the poor pup started to lean sideways as if he was losing consciousness that Louise jumped into action.Luckily the 48-year-old church administrator had just done a first aid course at work and the lifesaving technique was fresh in her mind.Louise, from Congleton, Cheshire, said: "I knew straight away that Angus must be choking - it was horrifying to see, he could not breathe at all."My heart was in my mouth at first but my training kicked in, allowing me to keep calm."I looked in Angus' mouth and, when I couldn't see anything, I picked him up from behind and pulled into his belly."Nothing happened the first time so I had to do it again, and this time he started breathing again."Nothing flew out of Angus' mouth, so mum-of-two Louise, married to car salesman Aaron, 51, suspects whatever had been stuck must have gone down.She does not know what got stuck his throat in the incident last month but, as the three-year-old adorable canine's favourite thing to chew is the sofa, she suspects it was part of that.The family are currently on their fourth sofa in the kitchen as little Angus has a fondness for eating them.Louise said: "We would never let him in our living room with the posh sofa otherwise it would be destroyed, luckily these sofas have either been second hand or fairly cheap but it's still not great he ruins them all."He's a cheeky little thing, he's such a whirlwind, he snaffles everything."Angus, who was bought for a present for Louise's 21-year-old Instagram influencer daughter Jessica for her 18th birthday, was taken to the vet afterwards where he was given the all-clear.Relieved Louise said: "I am so grateful I had done a first aid course, it just goes to show that first aid knowledge of any kind is worth knowing."I never thought I would be saving the life of my dog when I did that course but I am so happy I did."This could have been a very different story."Advice on website petheirs.com says: "Knowing a few emergency procedures, such as CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and the Heimlich Maneuver for dogs, is critical to saving lives because you may not have time to get to a vet and your dog could suffocate."Only use the Heimlich Maneuver if you are certain your dog is choking on a foreign object, as performing the maneuver can cause additional injury."Be careful when using this method, as you could potentially cause damage to a dog's internal organs if you apply too much force. "Also, canine ribs are more flexible than human ones and thrusting can cause the lungs to flail, which may not create enough pressure to expel the foreign object."The technique is basically the same as for a human."
A dog lover saved her pooch's life after he started choking on a piece of sofa - by performing the Heimlich Maneuver.Louise Davies was left petrified when her little French bulldog Angus started making a wretching noise and losing the colour in his face.It was when the poor pup started to lean sideways as if he was losing consciousness that Louise jumped into action.Luckily the 48-year-old church administrator had just done a first aid course at work and the lifesaving technique was fresh in her mind.Louise, from Congleton, Cheshire, said: "I knew straight away that Angus must be choking - it was horrifying to see, he could not breathe at all."My heart was in my mouth at first but my training kicked in, allowing me to keep calm."I looked in Angus' mouth and, when I couldn't see anything, I picked him up from behind and pulled into his belly."Nothing happened the first time so I had to do it again, and this time he started breathing again."Nothing flew out of Angus' mouth, so mum-of-two Louise, married to car salesman Aaron, 51, suspects whatever had been stuck must have gone down.She does not know what got stuck his throat in the incident last month but, as the three-year-old adorable canine's favourite thing to chew is the sofa, she suspects it was part of that.The family are currently on their fourth sofa in the kitchen as little Angus has a fondness for eating them.Louise said: "We would never let him in our living room with the posh sofa otherwise it would be destroyed, luckily these sofas have either been second hand or fairly cheap but it's still not great he ruins them all."He's a cheeky little thing, he's such a whirlwind, he snaffles everything."Angus, who was bought for a present for Louise's 21-year-old Instagram influencer daughter Jessica for her 18th birthday, was taken to the vet afterwards where he was given the all-clear.Relieved Louise said: "I am so grateful I had done a first aid course, it just goes to show that first aid knowledge of any kind is worth knowing."I never thought I would be saving the life of my dog when I did that course but I am so happy I did."This could have been a very different story."Advice on website petheirs.com says: "Knowing a few emergency procedures, such as CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and the Heimlich Maneuver for dogs, is critical to saving lives because you may not have time to get to a vet and your dog could suffocate."Only use the Heimlich Maneuver if you are certain your dog is choking on a foreign object, as performing the maneuver can cause additional injury."Be careful when using this method, as you could potentially cause damage to a dog's internal organs if you apply too much force.
"Also, canine ribs are more flexible than human ones and thrusting can cause the lungs to flail, which may not create enough pressure to expel the foreign object."The technique is basically the same as for a human."
