Mouth-to-Snout Resuscitation
Lucy, a 10-month-old English bulldog, chased ducks into a partly frozen lake near Randy Gurchin's home in Papillion, Nebraska, but quickly became paralyzed in the icy water and briefly went under.
The 50-pound dog was unresponsive and had a blue face and bloody foam around its muzzle when Gurchin (who flew combat missions over Irag and Afghanistan) edged onto the ice.
Gurchin, 51, put his military first-aid training to use. He closed Lucy's mouth, put his mouth over her nose and started forcing air into her lungs and pushing on her chest.
Within minutes, the dog began breathing shallowly and was rushed to a nearby veterinarian.
Doctors soaked Lucy in warm water, injected steroids and muscle relaxants and put her in an oxygen chamber. She has since made a full recovery.
That is so awsome! I'm glad there are people like Gurchin in the world.
Ann-Cheri
Posted by: Ann-Cheri | March 10, 2007 at 10:46 PM
Wow, that is so scary! My dog (husky) loves to swim and if that ever happened to her I wouldn't know what to do! I've now learned somehting about dog CPR and not to let my dog swim in freezing cold water!
Posted by: Abbi | March 11, 2007 at 01:02 PM
Great job! Dog first aid is an important.
Posted by: Tom R | March 11, 2007 at 02:04 PM
heyy.
that's awesome.. if we had more people like Gurchin in the world... it would be a better place
Posted by: Ali | March 11, 2007 at 07:44 PM
Isn't it wonderfull that there are people in this world that will do anything to save their pets. I learned Pet CPR years ago when we first got a Chihuahua/Terrier mix.
Posted by: April | March 13, 2007 at 06:11 PM
Some American Red Cross chapters teach a class called 'Pet First Aid.' It includes c.p.r. and mouth-to-snout skills. A great class for anyone to have and love their pets.
Posted by: Becky Smith | June 26, 2007 at 10:03 PM