OT- this could happen to you - please be prepared

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

This pertains to those of you with pets, although knowing the Heimlich

maneuver could also save a human life so may be worth a read even if you

don't have pets.

I nearly lost my beloved 14-year-old minpin, Mokie, about a half an hour

ago. I had cut a big turkey neck in half and given her one half and my

chihuahua the other half. Mokie is a gulper and we've already had one

choking incident on a roasted beef Achilles tendon several months ago,

although apparently it didn't get lodged in her throat that time. So what I

do now is to allow her to chew things, but take them away before they get

small enough for her to swallow. However, I hadn't noticed how far along she

was getting with the turkey neck while I was several yards away typing out

an email.

Then, I noticed that her hunk of neck was getting smallish, so I went to get

a little treat to tempt her away from the neck. When I approached her she

frantically tried to gulp the remaining neck down. It was approx. an inch in

diameter, which is fairly big for an 11 lb. dog. She seemed to get it down.

But then she got into the vomit stance and looked like she was trying to

vomit it up. Then she became stiff and appeared to stop breathing. She

seemed to be struggling. I don't remember if she keeled over on her own, or

whether I put her there. But the next thing I remember is that she was on

her back with her legs sticking straight in the air and her eyes glassy and

panick-stricken. I put my finger in her throat to try to get the turkey neck

out but it was much too big and I only pushed it further down. Then I

remembered that I'd read how to do the doggy Heimlich maneuver recently due

to her last choking incident (although the object wasn't stuck in her throat

that time, it seemed. She had vomited it up). In fact, when I gave her the

turkey neck earlier, I thought it would be a good time to read the Heimlich

maneuver again, but I got caught up writing emails and forgot. Nonetheless,

I remembered the basic maneuver, so while she was on her back on the floor,

stiff, glassy-eyed and unresponsive, I started pumping on the soft spot

right between where her top ribs come together. I did several strong thrusts

(screaming " no " with each thrust as I couldn't bear to lose her this way).

But nothing happened. I thought about taking her to the emergency vet but

immediately dismissed the idea because they are 45 mins away (It's sunday,

and they're the only one's open). If *I* couldn't save her, she wasn't going

to make it. I can't tell you how much this thought scared me.

Then I remembered that one site I read said to put the dog on her stomach on

the edge of a bed so that her head is below her body (so that gravity can

help, I think). So I flipped her over onto her stomach right there on the

floor (thinking this position would be better even if her head wasn't lower

than her body). She was like a rag doll with her legs limply flying

everywhere. She had lost complete control of them. Then, with my hands under

her body, I thrust my fingers up into the same soft spot between her ribs

and did a few strong pumps. The chunk of turkey neck came up into her mouth.

I removed it. She was breathing. She had a lot of mucous in her nasal

passage (prior to this incident) and so I could easily hear her mucousy

breaths. We just lay there for several minutes with me on my elbows and

knees and my face on the floor next to her and her body under mine. I softly

stroked her and kissed her ear and repeatedly told her how much I loved her.

I attempted to get my adrenaline rush in check so that I could appear calm

to her so I could soothe her. She seemed to want to just stay there and get

herself back together, too.

I cannot begin to express how thankful I am that she came back to me. For

the life of me, I don't know how this dog survives my mistakes, and I'm not

going to count on it again. All chewing will be *strictly* monitored from

now on.

As incredibly thankful I am to have her life back, unfortunately, we seemed

to have lost significant ground with her disk issue. I don't know how this

incident re-damaged her disks (prior Dx is that several cervical disks and

two lumbar disks were protruding), but it did. We had gotten her to the poin

t where she rarely if ever showed any signs of pain, was walking almost

completely normally again (no staggering) and was back to taking daily walks

again. (Any observer wouldn't have any idea that she had any back problems.)

After this choking incident she immediately began staggering, and she cannot

turn her neck in a normal manner. She's limping a bit and needed help

walking up her ramp. She clearly has pain when she tries to walk. She hasn't

been this bad in a long while. It seems like the last month of intensive

disk therapy has been erased in the blink of an eye.

However, we did it once, and we can do it again. I'm confident that we'll

have her up and functioning pain-free in another month, or so. I'm just

grateful I didn't lose her.

Needless to say, this was a HUGE scare for me. When I woke up this morning I

didn't know this day would be different than any other day. I'm sure no one

does when something like this happens. But this type of thing can happen to

most any dog, even those who are not gulpers. Pray that it never happens to

YOUR dog, but know that we can't always control these things. They can choke

on just about anything - chew toys, greenies, RMBs, stuff they pick up

outside. So please be *prepared* just_in_case. Please read the Heimlich

maneuver instructions below, as well as the CPR instructions so that you'll

know what to do if you ever find yourself where I found myself today (or in

a situation that requires CPR). Print it out, put it somewhere that's easily

accessible. Make sure your family reads it too. I hope you don't ever find

yourself in this situation but if you do, reading how to do the Heimlich

maneuver and committing it to memory could mean the difference between life

and death for your beloved companion.

(If anyone has better write-ups on the Heimlich, please post them. And Feel

free to cross post this email.)

Grateful for a second chance,

Suze

P.S. I didn't do any of the CPR described below, I went straight to the

Heimlich as I knew that she couldn't breathe due to choking.

-------------------------

Save a Life:

Learn Animal CPR

For the EMS Provider and Pet Owner

http://members.aol.com/henryhbk/acpr.html

Lori H. Feldman, DVM

Henry J. Feldman, MA EMT-M

© 1996

Dr. Feldman is a Massachusetts and New York Licensed Veterinarian and a

member of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society. This document

is primarliy aimed at EMS and Emergency Medical personel who may encounter

animals in arrest.

Pet owners should consult their veterinarian for specific details on

procedures outlined here.

web: http://members.aol.com/henryhbk

email: henryhbk@...

A. Airway

The first step in animal CPR, after determining non-responsiveness, is to

obtain a patent airway. You should not continue on, until this step has been

achieved.

Carefully pull the tongue out of the animal's mouth

WARNING: even an unresponsive dog may bite by instinct!!

Make sure that the neck is reasonably straight; try to bring the head

in-line with the neck.

WARNING: Do not hyperextend in cases where neck trauma exists

Attempt 2 rescue breaths, by closing the mouth, and performing mouth-to-nose

ventilations. If they go in with no problems continue to B-Breathing.

Reposition the neck and try step 3 again.

Visibly inspect the airway by looking into the mouth, and down the throat

for foreign objects occluding the airway. Unlike human-CPR, rescuers may

reach into the airway and remove foreign objects that are visible

Proceed to the Heimlich maneuver

A. Heimlich

After attempting to ventilate:

Turn the animal upside down, with its back against your chest [suze's note:

this means hanging upside down in the air. Not turning them upside down on

their back on the floor, as I'd initially done.]

With both arms, give 5 sharp thrusts (bear hugs) to the abdomen. Perform

each thrust as if it is the one that will expel the object

Stop, check to see if the object is visible in the airway, if so, remove it

and give 2 mouth-nose rescue breaths. If the breaths do not go in, go back

to step 1

Use gravity to help you expel the object

Do not proceed with CPR, even if the animal goes into cardiac arrest. You

must clear the airway first.

B. Breathing

After achieving a patent airway, one must determine whether the animal is

breathing, and whether this breathing is effective:

Carefully pull the tongue out of the animalOs mouth

WARNING: even an unresponsive dog may bite by instinct!!

Make sure that the neck is reasonably straight; try to bring the head

in-line with the neck.

WARNING: Do not hyperextend in cases where neck trauma exists

Ventilate the animal by closing the mouth, and performing mouth-to-nose

ventilations. If they do not go in with ease go to A-Airway

Ventilate at 20 breaths per minute If supplemental Oxygen is available, and

the animal is breathing on its own, use a high-flow blowby.

WARNING: Do not attempt to intubate the animal, without prior training, and

properly sized ET tubes.

Proceed to C-Circulation, while continuing respiratory support as necessary

C. Circulation

This is the final step of CPR and should only be initiated after the airway

and breathing steps have been completed:

Make sure that there are no major (pooling/spurting blood) points of

bleeding. Control as necessary

Lay the animal on its right side

Locate your hands where its left elbow touches the chest. Approximately the

middle of the rib-cage

Compress the chest 15 times followed by 2 rescue breaths (3 compressions

every 2 seconds)

Compress

1/2 " - small dogs

1 " - medium dogs <

1.5 " - large dogs

Repeat as necessary

Important:

Animals do not have palpable carotid pulses. You can only obtain a femoral

pulse in the inguinal crease. (Palpate carefully on a conscious dog!)

E. Extra

During an emergency it is very important that you remain calm. Animals can

sense your unease, but cannot understand what is happening and you cannot

verbally tell them. Your body language is very important. Be calm, yet

deliberate in your actions.

When you determine that you either have corrected the life-threatening

problem, or are unable to stabilize the animal, you should transport to the

nearest emergency veterinary hospital.

Notify your emergency clinic that you are coming in with a dog in

respiratory arrest with a foreign body airway obstruction and/or cardiac

arrest.

Give them the following information via phone if possible:

Your name

Your ETA

Steps taken (CPR, O2...)

Breed/size

If a foreign body, what the suspected object is

If a poison or medication has been ingested

Mechanism of injury (hit by car...)

Write the phone number of the 24 hour animal hospital nearest you here:

Suze Fisher

Lapdog Design, Inc.

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg

Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine

http://www.westonaprice.org

----------------------------

" The diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause

heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times. " --

Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt

University, Tennessee; heart disease researcher.

The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

<http://www.thincs.org>

----------------------------

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[Guest guest]

> Hello everyone,

>

> I nearly lost my beloved 14-year-old minpin, Mokie, about a half an hour

> ago.

Oh, What a trauma for you both, I'm so glad your puppy is ok!

I hope Mokies disk problem heals. I hope she can heal and be well again.

You should be proud you were able to save her,

don't blame yourself for her injuries, you did what you had to to save her.

Blessings, Bruce

[Guest guest]

God, Suze, I can only imagine how frightening this has been for you!

I'm so glad that you were able to do something! Thank you so much for

sharing this very important information. I will definitely pass it on

to dog owners I know.

[Guest guest]

> Re: OT- this could happen to you - please be prepared

>

>

>> Hello everyone,

>>

>> I nearly lost my beloved 14-year-old minpin, Mokie, about a half an hour

>> ago.

>

>Oh, What a trauma for you both, I'm so glad your puppy is ok!

>I hope Mokies disk problem heals. I hope she can heal and be well again.

>You should be proud you were able to save her,

>don't blame yourself for her injuries, you did what you had to to save her.

>

>Blessings, Bruce

>

Thanks Bruce (and ) for your well wishes :-) Mokie is doing quite well

considering. She does have some pain from nerve compression, but I'm sure

we'll be able to heal that up with the same protocol that helped her heal

over the past month.

I really think everyone should learn the Heimlich maneuver in case they ever

have a similar situation with a pet OR human. I'm sure my dog would be dead

today if I hadn't read about how to do it.

Suze Fisher

Lapdog Design, Inc.

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg

Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leader, Mid Coast Maine

http://www.westonaprice.org

----------------------------

“The diet-heart idea (the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause

heart disease) is the greatest scientific deception of our times.” --

Mann, MD, former Professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt

University, Tennessee; heart disease researcher.

The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics

<http://www.thincs.org>

----------------------------

[Guest guest]

Suze-

>Mokie is doing quite well

>considering. She does have some pain from nerve compression, but I'm sure

>we'll be able to heal that up with the same protocol that helped her heal

>over the past month.

Good luck! I'm very glad to hear Mokie is OK!

-